This Week is Banned Books Week – Find Out What Banned Books You Have Read

I love those moments when you learn about something that you didn't know about before.  As I am going through email, Facebook, and starting my morning, I found out that this week is Banned Books Week.

Banned Books Week is a week to celebrate the freedom to read.  Libraries and bookstores all over the country display and celebrate books that have been challenged or banned.  Banned Books Week is mostly about bringing awareness to the problem of censorship.

According to BannedBooksWeek.org these were the top challenged and banned books of 2012.

    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.

 

I'll admit, I have only read one of the books on this list and it is ironically is still on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

Banned Books Week ends on Saturday, September 28th.  So, if you can, read a banned book by Saturday.

So do you think books should be banned?