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Banned Books Week

Posted by libdrone • 9/29/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: banned books week, censorship, free people read freely

This coming week is Banned Books Week sponsored by the American Library Association. Observed since 1982, this annual event serves to remind Americans not to take for granted their precious freedom to express one's opinions, even or perhaps especially when those opinions are unorthodox or unpopular.

Please consider exercising your right as a free citizen to Read Freely by reading a banned book this week. To learn more visit my blog at

libdrone.blogspot.com/2007/09/free-people-read-freely.html

And if you do decide to read a banned book please leave a comment to share your choice. On Monday I wil be doing a follow-up feature on banned books chosen by my blog readers.

User Comments

9/29/07

jungl

One of my favorite Norwegian writers, Agnar Mykle, had one of his books banned back in 1958.

You can read more about him here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnar_Mykle
Seems like he has been translated to English so you should check him out.

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9/29/07

libdrone

Thanks very much, jungl, I will see if I can get a copy.

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9/29/07

techfun

This year some of the books with the most complaints filed against them (as reported to the ALA) have gay or lesbian themes. I guess that shows where the nation's head is this year.

A couple weeks ago I blogged about the upcoming Banned Books Week at blog.techfun.org/scary-gay-penguins

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9/29/07

libdrone

I had read about the "gay penguins" book on the ALA site. Unless you object I will link to your post.

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1. 9/29/07
  
  techfun
  
  Go for it. Anything I don't want linked to I flag as private so only people with logins can see it.
9/29/07

clioandme

Thanks for starting this thread. I've mentioned the week on two of my blogs now. Still have to consider what to read. My wife's on a Harry Potter binge right now, which I guess counts.

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1. 9/29/07
  
  techfun
  
  The attempts to ban Harry Potter books amuses me to no end. Since it is always on religious grounds it makes me wonder exactly how insecure one must be in their faith to worry about the influence of a series of books that are CLEARLY fantasy on the minds of kids.
9/29/07

libdrone

yes, harry does count. lots of attempts to get it banned by people who equate the "magic" in those books to Satanism and the occult.

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9/29/07

clioandme

Here's a page I like that contains a lot of historical examples of censorship with links to these books online: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html

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1. 9/29/07
  
  libdrone
  
  thanks for the link, that's more good info. I appreciate it.
9/29/07

scorpy01

I just want to say that I am shocked at the books on that list. Not only have I read many of them, I've read a number of them with my children.

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1. 9/29/07
  
  libdrone
  
  I first read most of those books as school assignments myself. Isn't it amazing what some small minded people want to protect you from?
2. 9/29/07
  
  techfun
  
  Yea, its amazing how many of them were assigned reading for me.
  
  Yay for good teachers!
3. 9/29/07
  
  scorpy01
  
  I read many the first time in school, too. I'm really confused by all this. I attended 12 years of Catholic school, graduated in 1977, in a small West Virginia town. Some of those books were assignments, some I chose myself from the school library (which was small and not well stocked) or from the public library, but all for book reports. None were ever deemed objectionable at our Catholic schools.
  
  I'm glad my own daughter is now attending that same high school. I never realized how fortunate we were to not have our reading curtailed. Don't get me wrong, I've looked over the list and I'm not sure there's much literary value to Madonna's Sex but I certainly don't think it ought to be banned.
  
  I honestly thought this kind of stuff had peaked and ended in the 60s. I need to pay better attention.
4. 9/29/07
  
  techfun
  
  I think a lot of the socially conservative local politics has been a big factor in all this. In the 90's there were whole movements geared towards electing Christians to school boards for the soul purpose of revising curriculum.
  
  Here is an article from back in 1997 about school boards trying to eliminate evolution from text books or at least placing it on the same level as creationism.
  
  "To avoid disputes about evolution, publishers omit chapters in books shipped to certain states. Some schools glue together offending pages or adhere "educational-aid" labels to texts pointing out that evolution is only the current theory, not a philosophy of life or the final truth."
  
  findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_n4_v13/ai_19074370
9/29/07

Rich

That you for reminding us Libdrone. This is certainly worth covering. I'll be on an online radion show tomorrow talking about the First Amendment... you don't mind if I mention your site do you?

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1. 9/29/07
  
  libdrone
  
  No, not at all. I'd certainly appreciate it.
9/29/07

clioandme

How did Shel Silverstein's _A Light in the Attic_ get on the list?

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1. 9/29/07
  
  libdrone
  
  In one of the whimsical poems a girl wishes for a pony and says she'll die if she does not get it. Her parents don't give her the pony and sure enough she dies. Critics wanted it banned for promoting suicide. It is also charged as promoting themes to young children about horror, violence, suicide, drug use, and cannibalism. For more info see
  
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Light_in_the_Attic
2. 9/29/07
  
  clioandme
  
  Gotta love literalists. My wife was just telling me that Harry Potter was challenged in one place not for the whole magic thing, but because the children resisted authority. Have these complainers never heard of Nazi Germany, where resisting authority might have been a good thing?
3. 9/29/07
  
  techfun
  
  That one threw me too. I'd consider a complete set of Shel Silverstein's books to be an ideal gift to almost anyone, adult or child.
4. 9/30/07
  
  Rich
  
  Silverstein has always made the list. Talking trees and what not. Boo.
9/29/07

libdrone

In most cases wikipedia has very good information about why a particular book was banned and is the best place to start if you'd like to learn more regarding a particular title. The American Library Association at ala.org is also a good resource. I'm happy to field specific questions as well

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1. 9/29/07
  
  techfun
  
  Google Books has also created a page: books.google.com/googlebooks/banned
  
  Quote: To Kill a Mockingbird. Of Mice and Men. The Great Gatsby. 1984. It's hard to imagine a world without these extraordinary literary classics, but every year there are hundreds of attempts to remove great books from libraries and schools. In fact, according to the American Library Association, 42 of 100 books recognized by the Radcliffe Publishing Course as the best novels of the 20th century have been challenged or banned.
  
  Google Book Search is our effort to expand the universe of books you can discover, and we're proud to join libraries and bookstores across the country in celebrating Banned Books Week – a nationwide initiative to help people learn about and explore banned books. You can start by browsing the 42 classics below or by visiting the ALA's library to explore the books that were challenged or banned from 2006-2007.
2. 9/29/07
  
  scorpy01
  
  That google link isn't working for me. Anyone else get there?
3. 9/29/07
  
  clioandme
  
  books.google.com/googlebooks/banned/
  
  Don't ask me what the difference is, but this one works. I guess that last slash really matters.
4. 9/29/07
  
  scorpy01
  
  Thanks. It's the slash at the end. How odd is that?
9/29/07

libdrone

you should be writing this article techfun, you are a font of info on the subject and I thank you very much. I have gotten nine excellent nominations and am working on the post now. If I get one more I will also include it but ten is the most books I can comfortably talk about in one post so if I get more than one more I will save it for a second post.

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1. 9/30/07
  
  techfun
  
  Thanks Alan, but I think you are better suited for it. I will probably write something midweek, but your blog is nicely focused for this. Stuff on my blog is way too driven by my mood on any given day.
9/30/07

libdrone

that's cool. I seem to be slipping into problogger mode lately but i know this too shall pass...and I still have private blog for when i just want to rant or diary

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9/30/07

libdrone

Many thanks to everyone who suggested a banned book or provided more info. I now have all the books I can include for Monday's Thin Red Line, but feel free to leave more suggestions. If I get more I will do another post later in the week. Everyone who suggested a book in this thread or in my blog comments will get a mention and a link. Thanks again to all who participated and please do exercise your right to read freely.

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