“Celebrating the Freedom to Read: Sept. 22 – 28, 2013”
From the Banned Books Week web site: “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.”
If you are looking for a book to read in celebration of the freedom to read, here are the 10 most challenged titles of 2012:
1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman
Alexie
Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited
for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide,
unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin
Richardson.
Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint,
sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age
group
8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence
Need more ideas? The University of Pennsylvania has an online list of banned books
If you work in Seattle, you might want to check out this
event:
Banned Books Week Readings
Each weekday during Banned Books Week we will read a banned book in
the library, from 12-1pm.
This is a brown bag event.
Antioch University Seattle
2326 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
If you want more than a list of books, Banned Books Week also has videos of folks talking about and reading from banned books, including videos of some celebrities: http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/videos%2B
Banned Books Week is also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bannedbooksweek
~ Marcie
