Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Banned Books Week

It's Banned Books Week this week, so why don't you celebrate your freedom to read by picking up a banned book? Here is a list of books that were challenged or banned in 2008. In celebration, libraries and bookstores around the country are holding various events that you might want to check out. Some of my favorite books of allll time are on the list: Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep, Lois Lowry's The Giver, Toni Morrison's Beloved, Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, pretty much all of the Harry Potter books. And, one of Julia's favorites, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. There are some really good books on the list.

Isn't it interesting that we go watch movies with violence and sex all the time without a second thought, yet books get banned or challenged for a gamut of things, like one "inappropriate" sex scene or curse word whatever? My favorite book, J.D. Salinger's A Catcher in the Rye, holds the distinction of being the most censored book AND the second most taught book in the US. And the main reason for censorship? Vulgar language. If I recall correctly, Holden says the F-word once in the entire novel. The fact that these books have been banned or challenged for whatever reason (whether you think the reasons are valid or not) makes them that much more intriguing, no? Books can be exciting!! :D Yeah?? Happy reading.

1 comments:

Julia Park said...

Wow, I've read a lot of the books listed in that banned list. I personally think that Richard Wright's Native Son should be on that list. I read that in high school and remembered FREAKING OUT. That and Toni Morrison's Beloved weirded me out, but after growing up and rereading Beloved in my seminar, it was a better read.

But yeah, I could see why so many parents have asked for those books to be banned from their high school (or younger) aged kids. Well, with the exception of Harry Potter, that is ..