City Councilman Eric Jergensen wants to replace one of the books from the adult reading list because of its use of profanities, such as the f-word. He says the city should pick something more suitable for polite company.

Jergensen acknowledged Monday that he had not read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon - on The New York Times paperback fiction best-seller list for 10 weeks and listed Sunday at No. 13. The councilman says he doesn't plan to, after a friend e-mailed an excerpt that included the vulgarities. One troublesome word makes an appearance on page 4 in the adult-fiction title.

"This is simply not appropriate. And this is what's being recommended for the people of our city to read so we can kind of come together and respect one another?" asks an incredulous Jergensen.

Mayor Rocky Anderson's office, which decided to create a citywide club that will start Sept. 15 and helped pick the books, was equally flabbergasted - with Jergensen.

Spokeswoman Deeda Seed, who has read the book and believes the vulgarities are few and aren't gratuitous, called Jergensen's request as "bordering on censorship."

She said the city will keep Haddon's book on the list, along with the adult nonfiction The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams: A Memoir by Nasdijj. Salt Lake City Reads Together also has a children's title: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien.

Jergensen said he plans to scan the Blood Runs Like a River title to see if it's appropriate. The children's title, "is probably safe," he added.

"To be afraid of words is a bit absurd and a bit backward, unfortunately," Seed said. "This is a work of literature, and art in all its forms sometimes contains images and depictions that may make people uncomfortable. That's the point of art."

Based on several other cities with book clubs, Salt Lake City's is meant to get people talking and build community.

In March, a committee will choose another three titles.

Seed said Haddon's book was chosen because the committee thought it was well-written, compelling, thought-provoking and provocative - though members didn't know it would cause this conversation.

"You really can't judge a book by its cover or by hearsay. It's really important to actually read books and consider the viewpoint and then decide what you think about it," Seed said.

Jergensen said he is not trying to censor the book. People can read it, but the city shouldn't promote it, he said.

He also said that while his "value system is offended" by the foul language, he didn't raise questions about the book because of his religion. He is LDS.

"This is a cultural issue, meaning how we deal with one another. When we recommend a book that has this kind of foul language . . . what it's saying is, this is the kind of thing we want to be part of our public dialogue, part of our public life. I don't think so. There are lots of other books that we could recommend that are absent this kind of language and degrading [content]."

The book is written from the point of view of a 15-year-old autistic boy who sets out to solve a mystery about a dead dog. It was chosen for the "Today Show" book club.

Catherine Weller, new-books department editor for Sam Weller's Zion Book Store and a member of the book selection committee, noted School Library Journal gave the book a positive review.

"There were no cautions [about language] mentioned," she noted. She suggested this controversy could be good for the fledgling book club.

"Discussion is what it's all about. The book itself is about seeing through somebody else's eyes. Frankly, [Jergensen] is going to sell us some books."

hmay@sltrib.com