Read a Banned Book This Week

Banned Books Week, which runs from September 29 to October 6, celebrates "the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those...viewpoints to all who wish to read them." Over the years, many books that we now consider classics have been challenged or banned. John Steinbeck, Toni Morrison, George Orwell, Ernest Hemingway and Kurt Vonnegut are just a few of the famous authors that have been challenged or banned. Most of the books that are challenged these days are childrens books, but of the top 10 challenged books in 2006, two belong to Toni Morrison (The Bluest Eye and Beloved). Many of those "classic" works of fiction, such as The Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are still challenged today.

But, maybe there is something to be said for challenging books. Labeling a book as bad or banned is a great way to get a kid interested in it. When I was a kid, I always wanted to get my hands on Judy Blume books, simply because adults thought they were bad and shouldn't be read by kids. When I was in college, I became interested in reading Salmon Rushdie's Satanic Verses. Not because I knew who he was, or even knew what the book was about. I wanted to read it simply because it had been banned in so many countries and the Ayatollah put a hit out on Rushdie. Ok, I admit that I never read the book. It was a bit over my head at that time. But I bought the book anyway, to show my support. So, in honor of Banned Book Week, I'm dusting off my copy of the Satanic Verses. Check out the American Library Association's website for more information, and celebrate your freedom to read by reading a banned book this week!