Sometimes it's not about that. I know our county library has no such policy of restricting "controversial" books like Dick, but is lacking a lot of books. When I asked about it to the guy who orders all the graphic novels, who is a fellow sci-fi, comics fan, he basically said, the libraries have limited budgets, if something sits on a shelf for a year or two and is never checked out, and isn't a staple classic, there's a good chance it gets pulled off the shelf, put in the friends of the library book sale and sold, with the money being put towards buying new items that may circulate in the library. He said this is becoming more and more common with funding, not only do they have to struggle with limited funding, but they have to show lawmakers who vote the funding evidence that materials are being used by the community, and niche books that do not get checked out and sit on the shelves hurt circulation percentages, which is one of the big things that people voting on appropriations look at. 

There's also logistics. If the library wants to add more computers for people to use, they need the space in the existing building, and so shelving units have to be taken out (and probably sold to raise more money), which means there's less room to store items, so items that don't circulate get taken out of the holdings first. 

The ideal that the library is a vast repository of varied stuff is no longer true, modern libraries have to be lean, mean and functional to survive. Everything in the catalog is usually electronically tracked, so they know what gets checked out, what sits, etc., and that informs decisions about what to acquire, and what to retain. It's one of the reasons I make it a point to request and check out almost every graphic novel or trade the get in, and other books that may interest me, whether I intend to  read it at the time or not, because doing so provides proof of use statistically to support the purchase and retention of items of the types I am interested in. Priority is given to items that circulate the most, get the most requests, and that are on reading lists of the local schools. After that, it's basically a crapshoot as to what gets ordered or not, and I am often frustrated when I go to request an older volume they used to have, but is no longer in the collection (sometimes it gets lost by a patron, but often it was a victim of downsizing). 

-M

Well, I am a really big fan of this novels, more than his poetry. Not that his poetry is bad of the little of all poetry I've read, I just can't read poetry for as long as most of poetry books that have been complimented. But if I were to suggest one (and I have not read them all) it would be Pleasures of the Damned.

As far as novels, all but Pulp are embellished autobiographies of his life. Each detailing most of his life from childhood till his involvement in the making of Barfly. He is very candid. He doesn't embellish and he doesn't sugar coat. So there is slurs and vulgar language. Not saying you're easily offended, just letting you know.

Post Office (1971) His first novel recounts his 12 year stint at the post office in Los Angeles. It is probably the least offensive if that is a concern, but it is by no means no Disney story either. I like this in it this is Charles (Henry Chinaski as he uses in his novels) trying as all other humans try to do in a civilized world, survive. His horror stories of the work load in the post office is collaborated by fellow workers in the documentary Bukowski: Born Into This (on netflix instant ... go watch it!!) making his storytelling all the more horrific to the reader. Plus it deals with the first of two woman he married.

Factotum (975) This is the only of all his novels I've read only once. It does come both after Post Office in his (Henry Chinaski) and in publication release. This is him having left the post office and drifting from different jobs and places to live. He shacks up with a gal for most of the book, and does contain one of my favorite bits that really gives you a feel for the kind of person he was and the kind of life he had expected at that point.

Women (1978) My favorite by a land slide, though Hollywood, which is what follows in his life, from Women, is really good too. I can't say much without a lot of spoilers about what it's all about. But this is both Charles and Henry in the book, at their best. There is something that captures me whenever I read this. And I've read it a lot. I think it's probably because of what Charles had been through and how that reflected in his life. This was also the start of what he, at least chronicled in his books, as the best part of his life. As he said "don't anyone tell you otherwise. life starts at 50" to paraphrase. Because of looking on the surface and not at the whole picture he was accused a lot of being sexist (which in some cases was probably true) and misogynistic. In Women you see the whole man. It helps that it is the start of the one relationship that lasted longer than the either of the two women he married or the mother of his child.

Ham On Rye (1982) This is my least favorite. Not because of quality but because of the contents. This is the chronicling of his childhood, mostly from the time that his family settled in Los Angeles to the time that he finally was on his own. It's not all sad, but most of his childhood was. (There's also a good interview in Bukowski: Born Into This that talks about his relationship with his father.)

Hollywood (1989) My second favorite novel and the continuation of his life following Women. In this one he writes about his involvement in writing the screen play for the movie Barfly, which in turn was suppose to be a chronicling of his life on screen. He was played by Mickey Rourke, though like himself he uses fictional pseudonyms instead of their real names. Also in this, he has turned a new leaf thanks to Sara (as she is called in Women and his novel) who got him off hard liquor. As he said "She's determined to add 10 years to my life."

Pulp (1994) This is the only novel not a autobiography of his life and his a complete work of fiction, though you can see some of Bukowski in the main character. It is a novel that is so ridiculously plotted that I don't see how anyone can see it anything but a parody of pulp fiction. It is written seriously in a way, yet the happenings are so ridiculous that you have to wonder if Charles was deliriously sober. However, all that being said, I enjoyed it immensely at the first read. (If you've ever read anything of Mario Acevedo, most of his novels that I have read, seem to take inspiration from Pulp.) It is also quite obviously written with his own mortality on his mind, whether the reader knows the writers history or not.

But in the end, if I were to suggest one novel, just to get an idea of how Bukowski writes and his tone and intent. Especially as the rest of his novels are by no means sensational story telling. But the account of a man, just like most of us, trying to survive in life. My personal liking of his work is his non compromising way through life, embellished as I'm sure it was. For better or worse, much like Bukowski, the discovery of alcohol was also an epiphany for me too. I've just never written novels about it.


Sorry M, I was being a bit facetious and know that's not all of it. Unfortunatly it's true, as I hadn't been to the library in probably 3-4 months and I noticed last night that they remodeled and expanded the computer section, replaced the actual checkouts with people, with automated checkout machines, leaving the library with probably 5 employees that I could see. The DVD movie section seemed larger too, but that could have been my imagination.

Any time I have disposable income I go to the local library sales they hold three times a year. In fact I actually picked up two of the three Rosy Crucifixion novels by Henry Miller, that I couldn't find within the library's system.

My whole comment came more at the same thing you were talking about, frustration over the further limiting selection of books, and the expansion of all other media. It's look less like a library of books and more like a Hastings. :-(

Our local library is pretty much entirely airport fiction. The college's library is better, but only marginally so.

I think I may be done with Western comics again. Switching to online "saved me money" and it was nice to know I was getting my books, but without the ritual of new books every week my interests shifted. I didn't even think to place my May order until I got an email saying I hadn't done so. I went ahead and placed it, but I still haven't read last month's books. I'll get those Lone Sloane collections, and this time I'm not going to dump my collection, but until I have a real LCS I'm done with everything else.

That was fun.

More comics-related deaths. Damn.

Unrelated, what are you guys reading these days, new or old? I've been in a rut with comics and generally ignoring them aside from The Walking Dead. Is there anything that is grabbing anyone's interest right now that's on the shelves or a classic? I wouldn't mind rekindling my interest about now.