Happy Banned Books Week!

Yes, it’s that time of year again when a spotlight is shone on the problem of censorship in United States libraries and bookstores. To quote the Banned Books Week Web site:

According to the American Library Association, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011, and many more go unreported. Banned Books Week is the national book community’s annual celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events.

The 2012 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 30 through October 6.

The ten most challenged books of 2011 include Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games trilogy (sex and violence), Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird (offensive language and racism), and Dori Hillestad Butler’s My Mom’s Having a Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy (nudity and sex education—seriously?!).

For more information, just click on the poster.

Right now I’m reading Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. How will you celebrate the week?

Happy Banned Books Week!

Ever read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? How about To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? Well, now’s your chance to catch up on your reading and strike a blow for free expression!

To quote the Banned Books Week Web site:

During the last week of September every year, hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events.

The 2011 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 24 through October 1.

Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,000 books have been challenged since 1982.

Contemporary Young Adult entries include Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games trilogy (sex and violence), Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian (sex education and violence—and sex!), Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series (more sex and violence!), and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books (’cause they endorse the occult, don’cha know).

Gee, that’s some fairly prestigious company you’ve got there. Maybe I need to get on that list…  😉

For more information, just click on the poster.