Celebrate Banned Books Week

Stop by your local library or independent book store and celebrate Banned Books Week by picking up a book that has been banned.  Not sure what’s been banned recently?  Check out the most challenged books in 2015 from the Banned Books Week website:

1. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
2. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James
   Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and other (“poorly written,” “concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”).
3. I Am Jazz, by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
   Reasons: Inaccurate, homosexuality, sex education, religious viewpoint, and unsuited for age group.
4. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin
   Reasons: Anti-family, offensive language, homosexuality, sex education, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“wants to remove from collection to ward off complaints”).
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
   Reasons: Offensive language, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group, and other (“profanity and atheism”).
6. The Holy Bible
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint.
7. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel
   Reasons: Violence and other (“graphic images”).
8. Habibi, by Craig Thompson
   Reasons: Nudity, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.
9. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, by Jeanette Winter
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group, and violence.
10. Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
    Reasons: Homosexuality and other (“condones public displays of affection”)

These books are on the list because they are submitted to the Office of Intellectual Freedom, there are many other books that are challenged that you won’t see on this list. As you can see, most are challenged for having a religious viewpoint, being unsuited for age group, having offensive language, are sexually explicit and include homosexuality. None of these reasons surprise me, but as a librarian there are thousands of books available to read – I may choose not to read something, but that doesn’t mean I should be allowed to tell others what they should or should not read.  Pick up a book and read – it’s your right!