Scandal!

I love a good book scandal.  There's the chick who plagiarized big chunks of her book from Megan McCafferty, the cover whitewashing scandals, Harlequin's self-publishing division/scam.  I don't know why, but I love the lowest common denominator.

So  let me tell you a little about the current one.  Bitch magazine put out a list of 100 YA books for the feminist reader.  It's a good list, with a bunch of good books.  Shortly thereafter, a kerfuffle arose in the comments thread, and thereafter three books were removed: one for using rape as revenge ("uncritically"), one for victim-blaming, and one for being potentially triggering.  (Warning: lots of those links have spoilers.)

I found my way to these threads from a post at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and I have been following avidly ever since.  The outrage on both sides, the defense of free speech, denouncing of censorship, holding up of Best Of lists as inviolate, trivializing them as irrelevant, questioning of feminist credentials--it's as painful and twisted as any comments thread.

I know which way I come down, though mostly it's just on the side of really, really wanting to read Tender Morsels now.  Anyone else have an opinion?