In 2012, September 30 – October 6 is the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week!
Typically held during the last week of September and celebrated all over the world, Banned Books Week highlights the value of free and open access to information. It seeks to bring together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
Take a look at these examples of classic books frequently challenged – which ones have you read?
The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding – a challenge by an American high school in 1981 states the book is “demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal.”
Animal Farm, by George Orwell – challenged in Florida in 1981 because Orwell’s novel is “pro-communist and contained explicit sexual matter.”
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien – burned in New Mexico as recently as 2001 outside Christ Community Church along with other Tolkien novels, for being “satanic”.
The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger – removed from reading lists by a school board member in South Carolina in 2001 for being “a filthy, filthy book.”
But guess again if you think book challenges and bannings are a thing of the past. Current literature that frequently tops the ‘most challenged’ lists include the Twilight, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series.
See http://bannedbooksweek.org/ for more information.
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