Banned Book Week starts Saturday

[Nate the great]

I just found this. I'm going to show my support by finding a book that has been banned and read it.

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/info.html

[Bilbo1967]

There is a category of Banned Books on ManyBooks - some of these I didn't know had ever been banned ('Huckleberry Finn', 'Black Beauty'?).

See here.

[queentess]

I think I might take a stab at reading Lady Chatterley's Lover. From what I can tell, it was banned in the U.S. right up until the 1960s.

[lilac_jive]

Ooh yeah I'll participate

[doreenjoy]

I'll be re-reading Lady Chatterly's Lover. Great book.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I'll be re-reading Lady Chatterly's Lover. Great book.

How does it compare to Sons & Lovers? That's the only D.H. Lawrence I've ever read (and only then via the compulsion of it being a set school text), despite being inexplicably chuffed at sharing the same surname. I enjoyed Sons & Lovers, feeling like it was the first "mature" text we'd been taught. I've not even read Kangaroo, though one of my favourite quotes describing Sydney comes from it ("And it didn't seem to be real, it seemed to be sprinkled on the surface of a darkness into which it never penetrated").

Cheers,
Marc

[dreams]

Here is another fun link about banned books.

http://classiclit.about.com/od/banne...Censorship.htm

I'm still trying to get over the fact that I have already read most of the books starting from a young age. I had no idea that my teachers and parents were corrupting my mind or that I had such questionable taste in books. (We even read Uncle Tom's Cabin... oh, my)

I might reread Catch 22 to see if it drives me insane again or The Grapes of Wrath, as I grew up in California or Of Mice and Men or geesh even His Dark Materials again. Maybe, Candide or Tropic of Cancer or... It seems like most every book has someone objecting to it.

I remember lessons in school were discussions about our reading. Teachers taught point of view and how personal world views filter information. Seventh grade through 12th grade was a required book a month for students.

The below is from..http://classiclit.about.com/od/banne...edbooks.01.htm

"A Light in the Attic" - Shel Silverstein

A Light in the Attic is a book that's been beloved by young and old. The book is by Shel Silverstein. It has been banned because of "suggestive illustrations." One library also claimed that the book "glorified Satan, suicide and cannibalism, and also encouraged children to be disobedient."

[nekokami]

I used to have an "I Read Banned Books" t-shirt. It eventually fell apart because I wore it so often. I think we need an "I Read Banned eBooks" t-shirt. I'll try to get one into the shop ASAP.

[Sweetpea]

Could anybody explain what banned books are? Aren't you even allowed to buy them in stores, are they not available in libraries???

Personally, I find the concept of banning books horrible.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Could anybody explain what banned books are? Aren't you even allowed to buy them in stores, are they not available in libraries???

To quote the Banned Books Week website:

"Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. Click here to see a map of book bans and challenges in the US from 2007 to 2009. People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent. They object to profanity and slang, and protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups--or positive portrayals of homosexuals. Their targets range from books that explore the latest problems to classic and beloved works of American literature."

Personally, I find the concept of banning books horrible.

I'm pretty sure you're not alone in that.

Cheers,
Marc

[dreams]

There is even a list of banned books by governments (and explanations as to why they are/were).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banned_books

Schools are still being required to pull books from libraries due to protests by community and or parents. (Can't do that for much longer as a lot of the school libraries are being cut from the budget.)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Could anybody explain what banned books are? Aren't you even allowed to buy them in stores, are they not available in libraries???

Personally, I find the concept of banning books horrible.

So you think it's "horrible" that "Mein Kampf" is banned in Germany, Sweetpea? I think personally that there are situations (such as this one) where it is entirely justifyable.

[kennyc]

I Love Banned Books!

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I think personally that there are situations (such as this one) where it is entirely justifyable.

I don't.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

So you think it's "horrible" that "Mein Kampf" is banned in Germany, Sweetpea? I think personally that there are situations (such as this one) where it is entirely justifyable.

On one hand I think it should be banned, on the other, I don't think it should. How can we learn from mistakes in the past if the proofs of those mistakes are banned? But I don't think children should be allowed to read such books as "Mein Kampf" without parental supervision.

But, if I read that wikipage dreams posted, most banned books are banned because they apparently tell some truth a government doesn't want to hear (or want its populace to hear). A book that really tries to set up people against each other is different, naturally...