(I have to give a nod to the Dixie Chicks for the title of this post)

So, I return. There is no drum roll. I can't say I come in glory or even have a little entourage to applaud my decision to return to the blogosphere.

After my last post, I needed a hiatus. Big time.

I was bitter, angry, burned professionally. Scraping by thanks to thoughtful, loving parents and a knack for being a lousy secretary.

Happily, the past months have found me employment again as a reporter, an apartment I adore and can afford, a twitchy dog, and all manner of decently good things.

But, I had yet to really get a grasp on what I should blog about, if ever I were to return.

A visit to the St. Louis Public Library started an idea blooming in my head.

As usual, I owe them my first born. Actually, a book I have yet to return and over $20 dollars in fines.

While leaving the wonderful Central Stacks building, it occurred to me that, despite my penchant for failing to return reading materials on time, it is likely at some point, I would not have been able to take out certain books.

My mind raced back to Banned Books Week, from days of yore when I worked on the Library Guild at my high school. Happily away, I thought about the charges of obscenity, racism, indecency, Satanism etc. levied against countless books I enjoyed as a child, from Little Black Sambo to the Pigman to Lolita to the Harry Potter series. I have always read these news stories with interest.

So, I am announcing my project for the Midwestern Front for the coming year: "A Year of Reading Dangerously" will be blog posts centered on my thoughts and reactions to reading over 100 books from the beginning of Banned Books Week 2009.

I will attempt several experiments and posts may remark on the subject.

I shall:

- Attempt to read and blog about as many of the American Library Association's "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books: 1990-1999" as well as any included since 2009 that are not already on the list. These books include authors such as Maya Angelou, Mark Twain and Judy Blume.

-Borrow as many or all of the materials from my local library to see if any are not available

-Link to and monitor stories of censored or challenged materials for the year

-Explore the history of library challenges and the attitudes surrounding them.

It's a tall order for someone who can't seem to keep a blog kicking. But I am determined, as Louisa Musgrove says in Jane Austen's Persuasion.

The official kick-off of this project will be Banned Books Week 2009, Sept. 26 to Oct. 3.

Until then, I'll keep prepping and posting.

To get us in the swing of things, here's today's story from the New York Times' "City Room" blog regarding the Brooklyn Public Library's approach to challenged materials. Writer  Alison Leigh Cowan interviews  a number of people involved in library challenge issues. The charge against the "Tintin" book removed from the shelves in this case is its treatment of African characters. It looks like a large part of this dispute has to do with the illustrations as well as the content. I'll explore "Tintin" more tomorrow.

On a final note though, judging from the photo of where the book is now kept, I think a vault is a bit excessive. Is a book really that dangerous?

It's a question I hope this project answers. And I hope you all weigh in. It's not called a debate for nothing.