BANNED!

Hey guys, apologies for the lateness. Life has been a little hectic lately. I don’t know if you know it or not, but this week is Banned Books Week. Usually I am very gung-ho about this week, but I have to admit that this year it kind of snuck up on me so I don’t really have anything special that I’m reading. However, I have read some of the books on the list before (and some during this year), so I don’t feel too badly about it.

 

What is Banned Books Week, you may ask? Well, if you don’t know, there are several books that have either been banned from or challenged at certain schools, libraries, and other countries. Typically the books have some kind of material in them that is questionable to someone, who tries to get the book banned.

I really dislike people who try to ban books. A lot of the “banned” books are on the list for silly reasons. I’m not a huge fan of censorship–in fact, I hate it. And it’s so sad that here, in the “Land of the Free”, that we allow books to be banned. A lot of people claim they are just looking out for the children, but you know what? That isn’t the country’s job–it’s YOUR job as a parent. If you don’t want your child to read something in particular, it’s up to you to enforce it. It’s not fair to limit the freedoms of others simply because you disagree or view it as evil.

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Here’s a list of the top ten banned books of 2011 (original source here):

Out of 326 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle

   Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

   My Response: Have not read.

2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa

   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

   My Response: Have not read.

3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins

   Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence

   My Response: Read, loved. How is it anti-ethnic? How is it anti-family? Insensitivity? What offensive language (please do tell me, I do not recall it). Occult? Are you kidding? Santanic? The only thing that seems true of this series is that is is violent. But guess what? So are most movies, TV shows, events in real life. I mean, even the Bible has violence. Violence is unavoidable.

4. My Mom’s Having A Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler

   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

   My Response: Have not read. Banning a book for sex education? Really?

5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

   Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

   My Response: Have not read. Really want to, though.

6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint

   My Response: Have not read. Really want to, though.

7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

   Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit

   My Response: Have not read. Really want to.

8. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones

   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit

   My Response:Read, really liked. Nudity? How does a book have nudity, exactly? This isn’t a picture book… Offensive language? Maybe. Who cares? So does TV and people in real life. Sexually explicit? Were we reading the same book? I don’t recall any “sexually explicit” scenes.

9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar

   Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit

   My Response: Read, hated it (though I really like the show, minus the latest seasons). Drugs? Yes. Offensive language? Yes. Sexually explicit? Yes. So? So are real teenagers, like it or not. I mean, not every teenager is the same, but a good majority do at least one of these things. I don’t exactly recommend the Gossip Girl series to anyone, but it still deserves to be read.

10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

    Reasons: offensive language; racism

    My Response: Have not read. Really want to.  However–racism? Isn’t this kind of the theme in the book? From my understanding, the book deals with racism, but it’s not like the book is telling people to be racist. They have missed the point.

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Want to know a fun fact? Ray Bradbury’s (RIP good sir) Fahrenheit 451 has been in the #69 spot on  the American Library Association’s list of top banned/challenged books from 2000 to 2009. One of the reasons for the ban? In the book, The Bible is one of the many books that gets burned/destroyed. Whoever had a problem with this point in the plot completely fails at reading comprehension and the point Bradbury is trying to get across.

Source:http://firstlightforum.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/book-burning.jpg

Support Banned Books. Support Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Ideas!