BW39: Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week was formed in 1982 as a response to the surge of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries from different individuals, parents, groups, and organizations.  Since 1982, more than 11,300 books have been challenged for many reasons, including but not limited to sexual, political, anti-ethnic, anti family, violence, and profanity content.  During 2012, there were 464 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom.  The ten most challenged titles last year were

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey:  
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie:   
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher:  
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
5.  And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
6.  The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
7.  Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
8.  Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
9.  The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
10.  Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    

Over the years, at least 46 classics listed on Radcliff Publishing top 100 novels of the 20th Century have been challenged:


1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
9. 1984, by George Orwell
11. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son, by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
29. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
38. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
40. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
45. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
50. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
53. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
55. The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
57. Sophie's Choice, by William Styron
64. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
66. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
67. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
73. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs
74. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
75. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence
80. The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer
84. Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller
88. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser
97. Rabbit, Run, by John Updike

To find out more, click here to see yearly lists, frequently challenged books of the 21st century, 100 most frequently challenged books by decade and more.

I currently have Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird on my shelves.  Celebrate your freedom to read this week by reading a banned book.

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Link to your reviews:    Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post. 

BW40: Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week  September 30 through October 6, 2012

This week marks the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week which celebrates our freedom to read.  Every year objections are filed about books containing subjects such as sex, profanity and racism as an attempt to have them removed from school and library shelves.   Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Library Association and calls attention to those books challenged, restricted, removed or banned each year.    Bill Moyers and his wife, Judith Davidson Moyers are the honorary Co-chairs this year and here is what Mr. Moyers has to say about Banned Books.


Listed below are some of the books included on the 2010-2011 list as reported by the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.


Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 
My Mom's Having a Baby by Dori Hillestad Butler 
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 
The Koran 
Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India 
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon 
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison 
ttyl by Lauren Myracle 
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut 



Check out Banned Books Week.org or American Library Assocation for the list of frequently challenged books and why they have been challenged.  There has been quite a few classics challenged over the years. 

According to the Office for Intellectual Freedom, at least 46 of the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have been the target of ban attempts.

1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
9. 1984, by George Orwell
11. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son, by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
29. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
38. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
40. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
45. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
50. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
53. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
55. The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
57. Sophie's Choice, by William Styron
64. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
66. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
67. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
73. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs
74. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
75. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence
80. The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer
84. Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller
88. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser
97. Rabbit, Run, by John Updike

Visit Banned and Challenged Classics to see why these classic books have been challenged.

Read a banned book this week and support our freedom to read. 

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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url. If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.