Banned Books Week

[Wildbreeze]

This week is Banned Books Week. (http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/)

Basically, Banned Books Week celebrates freedom to read and is against censorship. Some books have been banned for clear reasons, but some of them are more bizarre. This is the first year I'm participating in it, by reading a couple books that have been banned.

(For lists of frequently challenged/banned books, here: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks)

 

This week I'm going to read 1984 by George Orwell and Call of the Wild by Jack London. Are you participating in Banned Books Week? If so, I'd love to hear what you plan on reading! :)

[Ali Cat]

I had no idea it was Banned Books week! Thanks for letting everyone know :) I've already opened up a few lists on the page you linked and plan to take a crack at a few of the books (if I manage to make any free time, that is.)

[Rebecca~]

I love celebrating banned books week! I've found some of my favourite authors and books that way.

In highschool, I think when I was 14 or 15, I printed off a list of the 100 most commonly banned books in north america, and slowly but surely read through almost the entire list. It was wonderful. And it made me happy to see how many of the books on the list where in my local libraries. :)

 

I think I'll re-read Slaughterhouse 5, which was the very first book off that list I read, and spawned a great love of Vonnegut, and continue my re-read of the His Dark Materials triology- I finished The Golden Compass again just a couple days ago. :D

[Xepha]

1984 is a great book, I'm sure you will enjoy it ^^!

 

Not sure if I'll take part this year, but I was already aware of the existence of Banned Books Week.

[Wildbreeze]

I'm actually rereading 1984. I wanted to read it again, and this was a valid excuse. :D

 

 

And, yes, I specifically got this edition of the book, just so I could take this picture.

[Rune Valentine]

I love that a lot of the books on this list, we had as reading material in High School. I'm not from America; and even went to a Catholic school. I guess we're a little more lenient here xD I didn't know there was a banned books week, either, but I've been re-reading Slaughterhouse Five, because I always re-read it when I have trouble sleeping.

[coltom]

To say that a book is banned, simply because some high school, somewhere decides that it is age inappropriate, is hyperbolic to the extreme. I had the opportunity to spend some time with Kurt, argue some religion with Kurt and he was a great man .Not too bad of a writer, but some of his stuff isn't middle school appropriate. Shoot, none of my stuff is appropriate for most high teens. Although to the best of my knowledge none of my stuff has ever been required reading in high school, if it had I would certainly object.

 

[Rebecca~]

To say that a book is banned, simply because some high school, somewhere decides that it is age inappropriate, is hyperbolic to the extreme. I had the opportunity to spend some time with Kurt, argue some religion with Kurt and he was a great man .Not too bad of a writer, but some of his stuff isn't middle school appropriate. Shoot, none of my stuff is appropriate for most high teens. Although to the best of my knowledge none of my stuff has ever been required reading in high school, if it had I would certainly object.

 

A lot of the stuff on that list is for elementary aged kids, but people think it's not appropriate for stupid reasons- Harry Potter because of witchcraft or whatever. It's one thing saying that something is not age appropriate and not teach it- another to declare that something needs to be kept away from teenagers because it encourages them to think for themselves and go against the grain (The Chocolate War) or show the realities of war, or because it shows queer relationships. These books aren't not just taught in classes- they're banned from school and public libraries. THAT is the problem.

[coltom]

Rebecca, I do not disagree with anything you said. It is one thing to ban a book from a county/city library, it is another to remove a book from a middle or high school library and a very, very different thing to remove a book from an approved curriculum. It irked me to the extreme that the above mentioned website seemed to lump these different action together into one large lump of outrage. I know back home they removed Huck Finn from the suggested reading list. I had a very mixed feeling about this, Clemens was a genius, I would recommend his fabulous trip to heaven for anyone with mind to think, however there was a legitimate concern for the negative oldblood stereotypes in his river raft opus. Some might say that is being overly protected, but experience teaches that we get enough of that in reality, we need not have our wide noses rubbed in it in literature.

[blondeeakajamie]

I am so happy to see this! :) I'm taking a children's lit class in school (I want to teach!) and my teacher got so excited about Banned Books Week so she brought in a bunch of the lists from past years. I think it's pretty awesome. :) It's just fascinating to me how so many books that aren't even inappropriate can be banned.