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Hey rebels! How many banned books have you read?

Haven

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It's Banned Books Week!
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

We had some fun in my reading classes today figuring out how many banned books we've collectively read.

How about you? How many banned books have you read?
http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/index.cfm

Of course, I made some giveaway buttons to put on my office door. They're for both Banned Books Week and the upcoming NaNoWriMo, so you'll see some writing love mixed in with all the reading love. :cheeky:

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318488_2281746117497_1064133266_4392165_222475283_n.jpg
 

Maisie

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I haven't read any banned books. I mustn't be very much of a rebel!
 

zoebartlett

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According to that list, I've read 11 of the banned books. I'm curious about "And Tango Makes Three." That was on the list for quite a few years!
 

Haven

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Of the most frequently challenged books from 2001 to 2010, I've read:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman (started the first one, couldn't get through it)
Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz (a childhood favorite!)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Forever, by Judy Blume
In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor

I need to get busy! I have so many more banned books to read! (Off to add the others to my To Read list on Goodreads!)
 

Haven

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Zoe|1317078031|3026278 said:
According to that list, I've read 11 of the banned books. I'm curious about "And Tango Makes Three." That was on the list for quite a few years!
That and THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. I'm so intrigued by these repeatedly banned books!
 

Matata

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There are six or so that I haven't yet read. I was amused to see Ulysses on the list. I studied it for an entire term in college. It's a difficult read due to Its stream of consciousness style. It even had its own companion book to help explain what was happening. Would love to know what made it offensive.
 

zoebartlett

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Haven|1317078458|3026285 said:
Zoe|1317078031|3026278 said:
According to that list, I've read 11 of the banned books. I'm curious about "And Tango Makes Three." That was on the list for quite a few years!
That and THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. I'm so intrigued by these repeatedly banned books!

Oh yeah, that one too. I've never heard of either one of them.

I don't agree with banning books but I did think it was amusing to see Captain Underpants listed. I hate those books. Those and Junie B. Jones books too. :knockout:

I've read:

To Kill a Mockingbird
Forever
In the Night Kitchen
Huck Finn
Twilight
My Sister's Keeper (I loved this book but I was SO TICKED at the ending.)
Of Mice and Men
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Bridge to Terabithia
and two others that I can't remember now.
 

iheartscience

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Wow, hard to believe any of those were banned! I've read these, so 27 total:

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Forever, by Judy Blume
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Blubber, by Judy Blume
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien (one of my favorites of all time!)
A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving (another fave!)
Black Boy, by Richard Wright
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume

ETA forgot to say I love your buttons!
 

soocool

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To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
1984, by George Orwell
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

I just finished Breakfast of Champions by Vonnegut (It wasn't on the list and have just started to read Player Piano -his first book)
 

vc10um

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I've read (from the top-10 lists from 2001-2010):

Twilight (series)
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Catcher in the Rye
Huck Finn
Beloved
Of Mice and Men
Harry Potter (series)
Bridge to Terabithia

I need to read more, apparently...but I LOVED Bridge to Terabithia (and obviously the HP series)...on the other hand, Beloved was torture.
 

zoebartlett

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Thing2 -- I didn't see many of the books you listed on the link Haven posted. Going by your additions, I've read more than I said earlier. Banning Judy Blume? Really?!
 

chemgirl

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I've read a lot of them! I don't really understand why half of the books on the list are banned.

Still surprised that Brave New World was required reading in my grade 11 english class! I can totally see why that one is banned!
 

LJL

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I just looked it up "And Tango Makes Three" - because I was curious too about what could be SO horrible. :errrr:

DRUMROLL PLEASE!!! Its about gay penguins. Two male penguins get together and decide they want a baby but they cant have one - they carry around an egg-shaped rock - and so the zookeeper gets them a fertilized egg to take care of and they live happily ever after. Wouldn't want anyone to get their hands on that, would we??!?! :rolleyes:
 

sillyberry

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Hmmm. Of the 2010 list, I've only read 3: Brave New World, Hunger Games, and Twilight ( :oops: ).

From 2000-2009:
1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
7. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
16. Forever, by Judy Blume (oh Ralph...)
17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
18. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
21. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
23. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
26. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
27. My Brother Sam Is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier
28. Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
33. Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
36. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
43. Blubber, by Judy Blume
46. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
50. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
52. The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson
55. Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green
66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
67. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
74. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
75. Anastasia (series), by Lois Lowry
87. Tiger Eyes, by Judy Blume
88. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
90. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
91. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
94. Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
99. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume

On FB right now, a friend and I are talking about how we had NO IDEA what those pad and belt things Margaret was wearing were all about. Or why she wanted her fricking period in the first place!!!

I'm not going to lie: I laughed when I saw The Joy of Gay Sex at #78. It seemed so out of place with the rest of the list!
 

iheartscience

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Zoe|1317079510|3026307 said:
Thing2 -- I didn't see many of the books you listed on the link Haven posted. Going by your additions, I've read more than I said earlier. Banning Judy Blume? Really?!

I looked at it by decade and used the list from 2000-2009. Let me go look at 2010-I must have missed that link!

ETA Hmm, all I could see was the 2010 Top Ten list. I've read Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich from the Top Ten list for 2010. How could that book get banned?! I've also read a bunch of the banned classics, but I'm too lazy to list those! They need 1 big list!
 

manderz

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I don't get it. I've read plenty of them, but most recently Nickel and Dimed. It was an assignment for college, and it just told it like it is for people in a working poor situation.
 

Selkie

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Bridge to Terabithia? Seriously? I probably read half of those books before I was 13 or 14. Thank god I didn't grow up in a repressive environment.
 

missy

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It's sad that people are still challenging books in this day and age. So many of these are classics and such a valuable teaching tool I think for young people.
Of the books listed I have read the following:

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck Animal Farm by George Orwell
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Forever, by Judy Blume
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Blubber, by Judy Blume
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
 

Scorpioanne

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I must be a big kid, I have read all of the "his Dark Materials" series, all the Twilight series, all the Harry Potter books, Go Ask Alice (more than 35 years ago) and several others.
 

Clio

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Here are the ones I've read from the most frequently banned list:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (love)
Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich (meh)
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer (ugh)
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (super love)
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker (so long ago I barely remember it)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (I don't trust people who don't like Twain)
Beloved, by Toni Morrison (love)
Forever, by Judy Blume (boy, did that make 5th grade more interesting)
In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak (I so don't get why this would be banned)
Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling (love)
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson (still haunted by the ending)
Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George (hated it)

And at least one of my 3 children has read:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
 

maplefemme

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Steinbeck, Twain, Rowling, Maya Angelou (really?! :lol: ) Wow...such sensitivities some folk have, they should read some Marquis de Sade and really get their panties in a twist :roll:
 

Blackpaw

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Yay for banned books week :appl: makes me proud of librarians, they're a cool bunch (for the most part)!

Ive read a fair few off the list, and a fair few more that have been banned at one time or another. That said the titles are US-centric (as they would be for a US list) so some im less familiar with but im keen to read more north american literature so here's a good starting point =)

Haven, i read the first book in the dark materials trilogy and for the life of me could go no further - isnt it odd how some books just stump you, even when you're a fairly diligent reader (as i imagine you are! [i was but have since found pricescope])...
 

wakingdreams53

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Heh, didn't realize books were still being banned...

I've read:
1. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
2. Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
3. Captain Underpants (when I was little...)
4. Goosebumps (again, little)
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (school made me)
6. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (school made me)
7. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain (school again)
8. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (school, but LOVED it)

Read a bit of Cuckoo's Nest too, so that makes it 8.5? I'm pretty sure my best friend has read at least 50 of them.

Nice thread, Haven!
 

centralsquare

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On the 1990-2000 and 2001 - 2010 lists I've read:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
The House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende
Where’s Waldo?, by Martin Hanford *****are you kidding me? this is a banned book?****
 

AGBF

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First, it's interesting that books I was assigned to read in school (and I see others were assigned to read in school) and that I assigned students to read in school are on the list of banned books. Who had to ban them in order for them to make this list? I am sure it was explained in the material posted, but I rushed through that looking for the lists of banned books since everyone else had gotten ahead of me and was already posting lists of books he had read!

Second, I never compiled an exact list of the banned books I had read. Instead I found myself on Amazon.com ordering books and justifying buying them (rather than taking them out of the library) on the basis of-if I bought four-I would get one free. Is that only for Young Adult literature? For some reason I get that offer when i buy Young Adult books and detective-type stories on Amazon!!!

Deb/AGBF
:read:
 

centralsquare

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Reading everyone else's list made me realize that I missed some on the list that I had read. Oh well. Also interesting are the stats about the banned books: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengesbytype/index.cfm.

Seems there were way more challenges in the 1990's vs. recent years. Anyone know why?

I'm confused by some of the Reasons for challenging, specifically nudity. Not sure how that occurs in books...there must be illustrations?!

Most intriguing are the challenges that came from prisons! Who would have thought?
 

AGBF

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centralsquare|1317101198|3026641 said:
Seems there were way more challenges in the 1990's vs. recent years. Anyone know why?

People have become more used to profanity, more inured to trash and trash talk, the civilzation has declined further, etcetera?

Deb/AGBF
:read:
 

Jennifer W

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manderz|1317083647|3026370 said:
I don't get it. I've read plenty of them, but most recently Nickel and Dimed. It was an assignment for college, and it just told it like it is for people in a working poor situation.

I was thinking this too. I have read a lot of these books (they don't really ban books where I live now, I'm not sure how this works) but I'm not sure why Nicked and Dimed would be banned. I would think that was essential reading for every one who ever hired staff, bought from a store, ate in a restaurant or generally used services provided by workers.
 

Brown.Eyed.Girl

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Hmm, I've read only 16 from 2000-2009, and I'm reading a couple more this year (one because I'm teaching it and one because it'll be fun).

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
5. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
8. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
19. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
21. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
26. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
29. The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline B. Cooney
36. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
67. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
74. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
81. Black Boy, by Richard Wright --> going to read this
88. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
90. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
94. Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
96. Grendel, by John Gardner --> going to read this

For 1990-1999 I've read 18. Not as many as I thought - boo!

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
The Witches, by Roald Dahl
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein
Ordinary People, by Judith Guest
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline Cooney
Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett
 

zoebartlett

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centralsquare|1317096356|3026595 said:
On the 1990-2000 and 2001 - 2010 lists I've read:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
The House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende
Where’s Waldo?, by Martin Hanford *****are you kidding me? this is a banned book?****

Okay, that's just funny. Banning Shel Silverstein books and Where's Waldo?! Some people have way too much time on their hands if they go through the effort of banning these from libraries.
 
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