Today marks the beginning of Banned Books Week 2019, and while I long for a time when writing about this is no longer necessary, the past year has proven that censorship is not only alive, but positively flourishing.
And it’s not just children’s and YA books that are challenged and banned. Some of the most common authors who have had their books banned or challenged include: Toni Morrison, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Mark Twain, E. L. James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harper Lee, Margaret Atwood, George Orwell, David Guterson, and Ray Bradbury.
This week if, you visit a library or book store, anywhere in the country, I guarantee that most will have a display of banned or challenged books. Please, if you see one you haven’t read, check it out.
By Hook Or By Book 
1) Ban Books
2) Burn Books
3) Persecute writers
We all know what happens by the time we get to 4.
Well done, Kim!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Pete. And you’re absolutely right.
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when I helped to found a library a few years back in my old town, I made sure to get a list of the “banned” books and had at least two copies of each of them. Labeled them and placed on a special shelf. it annoyed the heck out of the city council but there wasn’t anything they could do about it.
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You ROCK Suzan! I was a children’s librarian for 26 years and did banned books displays for both the children’s area and the YA room. While most people loved them and I’d spend the week trying to keep up with the demand, every once in a while I’d have a patron come to me and challenge a book that was part of the display.🤦🏻♀️
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Captain Underpants and the sensational saga of Sir Stinks a lot!! 🤣🤣🤣 how can they ban such a great title!?
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Absolutely NO sense of humor!
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😡
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I am going to share this on Wednesday with my “Wednesday Bookmobile”, which is going to feature only banned books…such an important issue!
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Awesome John! And thanks!
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I am posting a story about a banned book and will include the link to your story…just looking at the books still being banned today…shocking, especially for the reasons given!
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I’m looking forward to reading it. It’s mind-boggling that this is still happening in 2019!😡
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Just posted it and linked to your original post as well: http://johnrieber.com/2019/09/23/naked-lunch-banned-books-week-has-cult-movie-monday-this-banned-book-turned-into-unfilmable-film/
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I see that Sherman Alexie is still there. I’ll never understand that.
Well, I don’t understand the whole concept and how it’s compliant with US constitution.
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Just this year, the Stockton, Missouri school board banned The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian because of one parent’s concerns. 😡
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I’m sure they haven’t read the book.
I don’t understand why the educative community of a school bends to the will of ill informed parents.
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Usually it’s because of funding or who’s in charge.☹️
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Ah. Here schools are only funded with state money and teachers are civil servants. They can’t be fired.(which causes other problems)
So no outside pressure will make them ban books.
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Agh, Fahrenheit 451 is so prophetic. Nice post. Although… sometimes it would be nice if books had content warnings, especially for the sensitive folk like me!
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Thanks Emily. And I understand. It’s why I include trigger warnings in some of my reviews, especially when it’s not clear from a book’s premise that there might be themes such as rape or suicide that could upset some readers.
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Great post Kim. When I was a teacher/librarian I had parents calling and coming in all upset because there was something in the library that they didn’t think should be there. I told them all books were board approved and I was not removing any from the shelves. I did find one that had pages, sections and words cut out of it once, I bought a new copy. I am not surprised that there are still so many books that are challenged by parents.
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Thanks Carla. I’ve always understood that it’s a parent’s prerogative to screen what they want their children to read. At least up to a certain age. However, when they try to force their opinions on other people, well I completely take issue with that.😡
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I agree totally.
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It is always shocking to see some of the books banned and the reasons why. I can’t believe The U Give was banned for being anti-cop. Then Thirteen Reasons why is banned because of addressing teen suicides. Unbelievable stuff.
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And I’d say a majority of the people issuing challenges haven’t even read the books they’re complaining about.
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