The American Library Association promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them. Find out more about Banned Books Week here.
Click on the following links to see the most banned and challenged books by decade:
This week is the first time I've ever heard about Banned Books Week! I've seen a couple people post about it lately, so I thought I'd check it out. To me, reading is one of the best ways to learn about something that is new or unfamiliar. I can't imagine a world where books (some or all) are banned because they don't conform with a certain belief or image that society has. I wanted to see how many of these banned or challenged books I had read, and to figure out why they were challenged. Most of the reasons given don't seem like a reason that a book should be banned, but I guess that's why I don't agree with them!
Here is a list of the books that I've read or are on my TBR list that are also on the banned or challenged books list. Which books have you read?! (:
Have Read
- The Giver by Lois Lowery
- Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
- A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
- The Face on the Milk Carton - Caroline Cooney
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- A Time to Kill by John Grisham
- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
On my TBR List
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Let's celebrate the freedom to read what we want! (:
Gosh, I LOVED Flowers for Algernon so much. I've read it in highschool, and in one afternoon, too. I just.. couldn't put it down. And I was a crying mess by the time I got to the end.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many books on the BANNED BOOKS LIST that should not be there at all. So many wonderful, inspiring, eye-opening stories. It always baffled me to see some of these titles (OK, let's be honest - ALL OF THESE TITLES) being seen as harmful/ too opinionated or opinionated in the wrong way by some people. But then again, you see lists such as "15 books you may want to read before your teen gets to them" pop up on respectable (not anymore!) pages and you can't help but wonder what is wrong with the world today.
Great post! :) Happy reading! :D
I haven't read that book in so long, I honestly don't really remember it. I read it in middle school or early high school so it's been a few years! But I'm glad to hear you liked it so much! Maybe some day I'll reread it, though it won't happen any time soon with the amount of books piled on my shelves waiting to be read (:
DeleteI'm always wondering what went on with the world - book related or not ;) I can't believe that some people think no one should be allowed to read a book simply because they don't like the message or don't agree with it. Maybe I'm just such an open person about everything, whether it be religion, school choices, personal choices, etc, that I have a hard time figuring out why some people are so closed-minded. I'll probably never know...
Thanks for stopping by!