confessions of a southside catatonic chataholic

...it only seems kinky the first time.'
~ Author unknown

And then, after that, it's downright infuriating! Friday is my Cranky McRanty Pants post and today my question is: 'Censorship or Kink'?

To the person who is ripping sex scenes out of romance novels: please stop. Now. I have a mad on for you. Grr >:-<

A lot of the books that I request are romance novels - I edit our monthly romance/romance e-interview newsletters. While I poke fun of romance novel plots, covers, characters and titles I genuinely do enjoy reading them and talking them up to customers. I have a huge request list and, at any time, will have up to 15 in reserve waiting for me to get through them. So they sit on the holds shelf for a few days. That's normal.



What's NOT normal is going to collect them and finding that they have pages deliberately torn out. Not one or two pages - but huge chunks of sex scenes. Huge chunks? Well, yeah, some of these heroes are thorough :) It's not that I particularly want to read a sex scene, but it sure does interrupt the flow of a story when you suddenly get to the end, the hero/heroine kiss and make up and that's it. Literally. No chance for anybody, staff or customer, to read about how the relationships develop, what the characters overcome etc. I'm entitled to know how the story reads in its entirety. Don't tell me that it's a cliche ending like every other romance novel ever written. Let me rip random pages out of your murder mystery and expect you to suddenly understand that the butler really didn't do it even though you believed all evidence pointed to the contrary.

Manurewa Library has now implemented a 'smutty books bin' (that is my nickname for it, not theirs) that is kept behind the counter. Any of us wanting to pick up our racier romance novels has to do so in person at the front desk. All because someone can't keep their sticky fingers (god, I hope they're not sticky) to themselves I get made to feel like a criminal for reading romance.

What I'd like to know is, what does this person do with the pages? They're not turning up in rubbish bins around the branch. Yes, I've looked. Is it censorship? Does somebody object so much that they go out of their way to censor MY books? Do they expect me to be thankful? Do they think they're doing me a favour? Are they saving me? Or is it a kink? And if it is a kink, is it better or worse than censorship? Who do they share this kink with? Where are they sharing it? And if they're not sharing it then what do they need these pages for? It is my theory that this person has a bedside 'bedtime' book of one long, continuous sex scene of neverending positions, characters and orgasms - surely that can't be better than censorship?

Leave my books alone. You better hope I don't catch you. Grr ((><))