Banned Book Week
From September 27 to October 3rd is banned book week, and here at the library, we're celebrating freedom of speech!
First, a little background information on banned books. Books (and other materials) have been banned for centuries. If an individual, group, government agency, or other organization/individual feels that the content in a book is inappropriate, offensive, or dangerous, they may try to have a book banned. All types of groups have banned books in the past, including stores, schools, government agencies, churches, and even libraries. Fortunately, at Ada, Star, and Hidden Springs libraries, we support freedom of speech and carry many books that have been banned elsewhere.
So celebrate your right to read what you want by checking out a banned book! Don't know where to start? Here's a short list:
A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
Animal Farm, George Orwell
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
Blubber, by Judy Blume
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Bridge to Teribithia, by Katherine Paterson
Carrie, by Stephen King
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
The Harry Potter Series, by J.K. Rowling
How to Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell
Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya angelou
James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
Mein Kampf, by Adolf Hitler
Night Chills, by Dean Koontz
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Eayrs of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
The Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank
The Pigman, by Paul Zindel
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare
Looking for more? Just ask a librarian or try searching for "banned books" in a search engine!
Does this mean "anything
Does this mean "anything goes!"? There has to be a line somewhere! Will we soon be seeing books on how to sale child porn or make meth? I know you can get this junk on line but a library should have standards to HELP protect our community.
What a cool idea. Although
What a cool idea. Although some of the books on the list are ones I didn't enjoy, and some were made into movies that I couldn't stomach, some are fabulous reads. Either way--I can't understand any of them being banned.
Who could disapprove of books like "The Diary of Anne Frank" or "To Kill A Mockingbird?"
Three of these books were required reading when I was in high school: "Animal Farm," "Lord of the Flies," and "Huckleberry Finn"--and I loved Huckleberry Finn!
Small minds are sad minds. I'm thankful there are people who continue to fight for our rights to read what we want to read!