(no subject)
Thanks to kphoebe for noting that this coming Saturday starts off Banned Books Week, and for this idea in general.
Despite my not being very well-read (as far as I'm concerned--and definitely amongst my peers) there are actually a surprising number of challenged books that I've read:
Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (I remember liking this one)
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (I ate these books up like a vanilla sundae)
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (This was another one I loved! Must've been "challenged" for its ending)
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier (We read this one in class way back when)
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (One of the few books I read in Junior/Senior year that I LOVED)
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I even went out of my way to buy this book in college, I loved it so much)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (Ow. Owowowowowowowow, my head hurts whenever I THINK of it, but if people're into post-modernism, so be it)
The Pigman by Paul Zindel (I still don't get why this one's on here)
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (Well, the short story, anyway)
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (Who hasn't?)
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford (!!!!)
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (I don't remember this one at all; just that I read it once long ago)
I'm kinda surprised Fahrenheit 451 isn't on there (book-burning, razing cities to the ground), or The Most Dangerous Game (suggested cannibalism). But hey, wait! Unlike Where's Waldo, neither of the books have any women without bikini tops on them that don't show anything and are stuck amongst a crowd of hundreds, nor do they have any witchcraft like the Harry Potter books! Or maybe they were, but not this year.
EDIT: Thanks to Lady Brick, I remembered to look out for series that I've read as well. "Scary Stories" didn't ring a bell, but "Scary Stories (to Tell in the Dark)" did. And I didn't remember Anastasia Krupnik until I remembered the side story Lowry published about her little brother Sam.
I also love the fact that some of these stories are being panned for being "unsuited to age group." Isn't that a little...you know, patronizing? And does the author really determine which age group reads it?
Despite my not being very well-read (as far as I'm concerned--and definitely amongst my peers) there are actually a surprising number of challenged books that I've read:
Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (I remember liking this one)
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (I ate these books up like a vanilla sundae)
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (This was another one I loved! Must've been "challenged" for its ending)
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier (We read this one in class way back when)
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (One of the few books I read in Junior/Senior year that I LOVED)
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I even went out of my way to buy this book in college, I loved it so much)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (Ow. Owowowowowowowow, my head hurts whenever I THINK of it, but if people're into post-modernism, so be it)
The Pigman by Paul Zindel (I still don't get why this one's on here)
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (Well, the short story, anyway)
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (Who hasn't?)
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford (!!!!)
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (I don't remember this one at all; just that I read it once long ago)
I'm kinda surprised Fahrenheit 451 isn't on there (book-burning, razing cities to the ground), or The Most Dangerous Game (suggested cannibalism). But hey, wait! Unlike Where's Waldo, neither of the books have any women without bikini tops on them that don't show anything and are stuck amongst a crowd of hundreds, nor do they have any witchcraft like the Harry Potter books! Or maybe they were, but not this year.
EDIT: Thanks to Lady Brick, I remembered to look out for series that I've read as well. "Scary Stories" didn't ring a bell, but "Scary Stories (to Tell in the Dark)" did. And I didn't remember Anastasia Krupnik until I remembered the side story Lowry published about her little brother Sam.
I also love the fact that some of these stories are being panned for being "unsuited to age group." Isn't that a little...you know, patronizing? And does the author really determine which age group reads it?