September 22-28, 2013 marks the 31st anniversary of
Banned Books Week, sponsored by the American Library Association. As I
stated last year, the idea of banning books seems paradoxical in a country that
theoretically reveres freedom of speech. There are a number of exciting events which you can participate in--just check out the website!
Click
HERE for the link to the Banned Books Week website.
The 10 most challenged titles of the past year were:
- Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey - Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie - Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
- Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher - Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
- Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James - Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
- And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson - Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
- The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini - Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
- Looking for Alaska, by John Green - Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
- Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz - Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
- The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls - Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
- Beloved, by Toni Morrison - Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence
Click
HERE for the Banned Books YouTube Channel, where you can watch authors and
others read from banned books.
As usual, I am teaching several banned
books in my classes, including Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Ralph W. Ellison’s Invisible Man, Allen Ginsberg's Howl, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and several others.
All best,
Rebecca
