A number of years ago I dated a man who kept copies of an obscure trilogy of children's books in his nightstand. He said that they were magical and spiritual and had changed his life. He offered to loan them to me. I said no thanks. Silly girl.

Here I am all these years later, having discovered my own magickal spirituality, and everyone is talking about His Dark Materials, the very same books my friend found so inspiring, the first of which has been made into the movie The Golden Compass.

Anne Johnson writes about them in her post Banned Books Day!

One of my favorite columnists, Mark Morford, writes that Jesus loves 'His Dark Materials'.

It would seem that the Christian thought police have taken it upon themselves once again to "protect" everyone from the dangerous influence of children's literature. One could spend time pondering why these people find fantasy so threatening - and I'm sure that many have - but it seems to me such a waste of time and energy and brain cells. Instead, I've chosen to think about what it is that makes these books so wondrous, so special that a grown man would keep them near him like another might his Bible. And I intend to find out for myself by reading His Dark Materials as soon as I can get my hands on the books.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 10:07 AM