Classic literature
I got a laugh out of that idiot the other day who thought the world should ban making fun of Muhammad. I find it unbelievable that adults, even so-called leaders of their countries, don’t have more important things to do. I’ll go out on a limb here and predict that one of these theocratic nations will be the one to start World War III, the end of humanity, the destruction of the Earth. Probably one from the Middle East, but a Republican-controlled United States is also a distinct possibility.
Now let us move on…….to “Banned Books Week.” That’s this week just in case you haven’t been paying attention. Yep. Here in our own United States of America, people want to ban books, of all things. Wouldn’t banning something like, say, divorce be more for the public good?
Interestingly, the desire to ban books is greatest in the Southern and Midwestern States. Care to guess which States are the most religious? Ah-ha! You’ve been paying attention!
Banned Books Week is the last week in September each year; someone explain to me why Banned Books Week this year is September 30 through October 6. That week has only one day in it from September, and who starts a week on Sunday anyway?
The first Banned Books Week was held in 1982, and the Week is sponsored each year by the American Library Association (ALA). Over the years, more than 11,000 books have been challenged, a term to indicate that someone wanted to ban a book from a school or library. In 2011, there were 326 challenges, but those are only the ones that were reported to the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom,, which estimates that as many as 75% of challenges go unreported. Challenges are based on everything from insensitivity (!), religious viewpoint (!!), offensive language, violence, and sexual explicitness and can be as simple as a religious mom walking into a library and asking a librarian to remove a book from the library.
The Top 10 most challenged books last year were these:
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“ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r” (series) by Lauren Myracle
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“The Color of Earth” (series) by Kim Dong Hwa
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“The Hunger Games” (trilogy) by Suzanne Collins -
“My Mom’s Having A Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy” by Dori Hillestad Butler
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“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie
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“Alice” (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
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“Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
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“What My Mother Doesn’t Know” by Sonya Sones
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“Gossip Girl” (series) by Cecily Von Ziegesar
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“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
I have not read any of those so I cannot speak to whether or not they should be banned. Well, actually, yes I can. They should NOT be banned! And for the record, I did see the movies “Brave New World” and “To Kill A Mockingbird.” They were excellent!
Many of the books that are challenged are considered “classics,” with “Brave New World” and “To Kill A Mockingbird” fitting in that category. Here are some other classics that are regularly challenged:
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“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald -
“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger
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“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
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“Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
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“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker
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“Ulysses” by James Joyce
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“The Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
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“Animal Farm” by George Orwell
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“1984″ by George Orwell
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“The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway
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“A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway
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“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote
Except for “The Color Purple,” all of those were on my high school and college required reading lists. Should I admit that I have not read a single one? I did read the Cliff Notes, though. (Like if you know what Cliff Notes are……..lol). I was too busy reading horror and science fiction to both with classics.
My list of the greatest classics, in alphabetical order by title:
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“Carrie,” by Stephen King -
“Cell,” by Stephen King
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“Christine,” by Stephen King
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“Cujo,” by Stephen King
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“The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger,” by Stephen King
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“The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three,” by Stephen King
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“The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands,” by Stephen King
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“The Dark Tower IV: Wizards and Glass,” by Stephen King
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“The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla,” by Stephen King
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“The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah,” by Stephen King
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“The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower,” by Stephen King
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“Dolores Claiborne,” by Stephen King
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“Dreamcatcher,” by Stephen King
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“Firestarter,” by Stephen King -
“From a Buick 8,” by Stephen King
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“It,” by Stephen King
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“Misery,” by Stephen King
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“Needful Things,” by Stephen King
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“Pet Sematary,” by Stephen King
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“Salem’s Lot,” by Stephen King
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“The Dead Zone,” by Stephen King
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“Rose Madder,” by Stephen King
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“The Running Man,” by Stephen King
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“The Shining,” by Stephen King
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“The Stand,” by Stephen King
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“The Talisman,” by Stephen King
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“Thinner,” by Stephen King
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“The Tommyknockers,” by Stephen King
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“Under the Dome,” by Stephen King
I expect to add “11/22/63,” by Stephen King, to that list by the end of the year.
Happy reading!
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Posted on October 4, 2012, in Opinion and tagged american library association, banned books week, stephen king. Bookmark the permalink. 39 Comments.
Yay!! You are my long lost son! I devour Stephen King novels. What a mind that man has! How many nightmares has he given us! And, didn’t we go back for more …
I didn’t have a single nightmare……….lol
Why would anyone ban books? Our Mummy practically lives in her library!
Whee think war and murder should be banned. Wouldn’t that save more lives than book banning. What are they trying to protect people from? Paper cuts?!
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Oh, didn’t you read, or maybe you didn’t like it: Hearts in Atlanta, LLS (Long Lost Son)
It’s one I haven’t read yet. When I moved to San Diego in 1993, my classical literature reading time suffered severely. I’ve only recently been able to take it up again.
Hmmmmm!
Banning books is just too irritating for words!!
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You mentioned high school/college reading lists. I want to know WHY those ridiculous lists haven’t changed since 1970 and earlier!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I hope someone who knows the answer reads this question and replies!!!
Maybe because they just don’t write them like they used to?……….lol
By the way, do you have any suggestions to add to the list?
hmmm am sensing you like stephen King lol most of the classics they want to ban are because of the use of the ‘N’ word sadly when they demand this they actually show their own ignorance as the word is used to actually show the ignorance of the people using it in the books, but i am actually torn on banning books as if you remove it as an option especially in these days of self publishing then all sort of stuff slip through for example the book that made it on to amazon that was a how to guide for paedophiles on how to groom children maybe there need to be clear rules on what exactly constitutes the neccessity for for a book to be banned
I can’t think of a legitimate reason for any book to be banned, at least not in the United States of America. The book on pedophiles, for example. Pedophiles exist and it’s important that the authorities know how to identify them. It’s important that researchers and psychologists understand them, and the best way to do that is to read their diatribes, interview them, get their thoughts down on paper, which then becomes, of course, something to ban……..lol………If we don’t know about the pedophiles, the KKK, the terrorists, then they are able to continue their types of horror more easily.
I read Of Mice And Men when I was at school, and I brought the Hunger Games trilogy I have also just brought 11 22 63 cheaply
I can’t believe people want to ban books. Why don’t people complain that the book banning people are named after a supposed god? ALA = ALLAH lol
You misread that. The American Library Association, ALA, is the group that tracks challenges to ban books and, when necessary, like at School Board and Community meetings, defends the inclusion of all books.
Ahhh apologies. I thought they were the ones that wanted to ban them.
I’m fairly certain that Brave New World and To Kill a Mockingbird were part of the reading list of my early years at high school.
I wouldn’t ban books as such but I see no reason why individuals shouldn’t challenge the texts that there children can read – it is the responsibility of the parent to raise the child.
We have censorship in other forms of media, films, pc games, I don’t see why similar rules shouldn’t apply to other things.
The only censorship I’m familiar with in other forms of media, films, and PC games is when certain rated movies show up in prime time. Then the American Film Censorship Association (also known as the TV stations themselves) edit the nudity and bad words out of there.
More importantly, though, parents should take an active role in their children’s lives. That’s probably at least half of what’s wrong with the world. The great majority of parents don’t care. Give the child an iPad and an iPod and forget about hmi. There should be licensing to have children. Instead any idiot can have a one night stand and out pops a child nine months later; and they don’t have a clue.
Maybe the majority of the parents don’t care because of the literature they have read when they were younger.
Do they still have ’18′ certificate films – I wouldn’t have thought a 10year old could get into the cinema, but I guess it depends on the kind of liberal minded social environment they live in. And of course the said films will have been subjected to the censor’s knife before release and awarding of a certificate.
I’m fortunate, because my kids have reached ‘legal age’ and they have both turned out all right as far as I know. But I think I might have baulked had the schools they went to supported Mein Kampf, Little Red Book, and similar – not so much that they shouldn’t be read, far from it, but perhaps they should be read by minds that are more fully rounded and mature.
The more cynical side of me suggests the bible is supported in many schools and could anything be more dangerous than some of the ideas contained within it? Maybe the other book of the moment is similar in nature, I don’t know, I haven’t read that one.
I have to cease this drivel – sorry to take up your time, but my current situation means I don’t have an opportunity to chew the cud and I should know better than to try to engage in repartee in a web based format. sorry
No need to be sorry about anything, Stephen!
Wow – so what happens in banned books week? Do you celebrate NOT having banned them after all? Or what? And yeah, that’s idiotic re banning making fun of Mohammed. Let’s make MORE fun of everyone except maybe limping people.
Banned Books Week is to celebrated Freedom of the Press by spotlighting the idiots who want to ban books.
My wise old grandmother taught me that in order to make in in the world, you have to be able to laugh at yourself. I laugh at myself each and every day………..lol
I love your list of classic books! I’m a King fan myself – I think you’ll like his new one.
I love the celebration of banned books as it reminds us of the importance of protecting free speech – thanks for spotlighting it.
Great post Russel! I see you are quite the Stephen King fan. I knew there was some reason I liked you!
I’m a bit shocked to read which books a challenged to be banned… I mean I didn’t read a lot of this list but Brave New World was outstanding to me and I can imagine that a great part of the other books challenged is as socio-critical as Aldous Huxley’s book.
Thanks for the reading list and thanks for visiting my blog and liking some of my posts.
Haha, Methinks you are a Stephen King fan. Classic!
Brilliant post.
You are a man of varied interests! I love the line , “Wouldn’t banning something like, say, divorce be more for the public good?” Books are pretty influential, however. I would never want to set public policy against them, but as a librarian I definitely would make choices based on my beliefs and the policies of my organization. There are plenty of books written to easily leave some of them out of the library.
Books gets left out of the library every day! The budget only covers buying so many books.
I think the goal is to have a good selection, even of the bad books. I think a library of just Stephen King books would be pretty useless……..well, except for my own library of Stephen King books……..lol
I have not med a single librarian who doesn’t know what a book is about. Heck, all one has to do is read the jacket cover, maybe a book review.
And I remember my grade school library in Brigham City, Utah. Books were categorized as to appropriate grade level. I was in the third grade but had read all the third grade scarey books. I went to the fourth grade area and found a book to read. Went to check it out and the librarian said no. I had to get a parent’s permission. Of course, my mom and dad were alcoholics, so it was easy for me to forge their signatures on the permission slip. They didn’t have a clue.
The more you try to ban something, the more determined those children are to get it. And they will. Parents, put down the iPhone, iPad, and iPod, get off of Twitter and Facebook, and go have a discussion with your child, about anything! The world will be better for it.
I’d guess it’s safe to say you like Stephen King. Ha ha! Banning books is stupid. I’ve seen people in an uproar over Harry Potter books too–they thought they promoted witchcraft. Sadly, some of these people that protest the most have never even read these books.
Some of them have never read ANY book!
Love this post. You are brave for bringing up the issue, brave for writing about it. I imagine those of us who are following you would all tend to agree with you about the idea of books not being banned. But many out there would not only vehemently disagree with you, they might attack you for saying these things!! I’ve read most of the books on the lists above and cannot imagine why anyone would consider banning ANY of them! In the USA no less! Unbelievable!! “Care to guess which States are the most religious? Ah-ha! You’ve been paying attention!”….and this is the core of the issue….worldwide, not just in American. “I’ll go out on a limb here and predict that one of these theocratic nations will be the one to start World War III, ” We live in a frightening reality these days…so once again…thanks for posting this here. BTW – LOVE your list of Classics!! I eventually stopped reading Stephen King when I stopped sleeping at night, but loved everyone I did read. He is an amazing writer.
Happy reading to all!!
I agree that no book should be banned. I never censor my children’s reading; there are some things that I think they don’t need to learn through direct experience. I do, however, take umbrage with your jest that banning divorce would be a better public service. Some divorces are a public service, saving women and children from brutal men, saving men from emotionally abusive wives, and saving everyone from prior bad judgment. It’s great that you’ve never needed such service, but for those of us who have, divorce is a wonderful thing.
And sometimes divorce even saved battered men from the women who abuse them. Let’s not forget that, too. I never did like that part in the marriage vow, “….for better or worse.” That’s just stupid.
Yup. That’s the beauty of writing your own vows. We took out all that “obey” stuff too!
So, tell us how you really feel about Stephen King.
I can’t. Some things have to remain private………..lol
Gossip Girl??? Not my Gossip Girl! How can I pretend to be a rich UES teenager?
Well I definitely enjoyed reading it. This tip offered by you is very practical for accurate planning.
I didn’t know about the proposal to ban making fun of our prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) until I’ve read it here. I should read up more about that, but just on the surface level for now… I have to say it would be good to refrain making fun of anyone’s religion or their Gods or prophets, etc. The term ‘make fun’ is already key that it’s unkind. Unless I’m making fun of myself, but this is not about making fun of ourselves, but other people, in this case an important religious figure for us Muslims.
But the proposal to ‘ban’ it, I don’t know, it seems very difficult. It reminds me of something I have heard about France, that if you said something against the Jews (anti-Semitic) that’s against the law or something? I’m not sure. But I’m just reminded of that. Please excuse me if I’m wrong.
I would propose a ban to make fun of anybody’s faith and anything connected to those faiths. We are all entitled to what we wish to believe with all our hearts: Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Christians, Bhuddists, Hindus… who else… Scientologists!! Pagans! And Atheists! etc
Group hug!!!
And oh, banning books? Dear God, no. It’s great you’re speaking up on this, Russel.
Isn’t it crazy how people who think that art and free thinking should be banned? I haven’t read or watched many of these, but I have with some of them and I love them. I just love free thinkers who have an idea and go with it! Doesn’t mean anything, it’s just thoughts. I really got into hunger games and all these moms freaked out over it. I get that it’s sad but it’s suppose to be! HAHA! Doesn’t mean it’s going to happen and that kids want to go out and kill each other now, it’s about warped worlds and how to bring peace back to them. Sorry, I love this post and I’m a passionate person at times
HAHA!