Banned

I guess I’ve been so occupied with other affronts to the thinking public that I entirely missed Banned Book Week which was September 27th – October 3rd this year.  Promoted by the American Library Association and Amnesty International, and celebrating the freedom to read,  the last week in September has marked this observance since 1982.

Apparently, anyone can nominate a botok for banning, but this is most often done by parents or librarians.  (Say what?  Presumably they are not members of the American Librarry Association.  Go figure.)

The process for banning a book seems all too easy.
First: Someone files a complaint with the library regarding a certain book. Within their complaint, they must specify what they found offensive or why they are filing the complaint.
Second:  A committee or board reviews the challenged book to determine if the claim is substantial or unfounded.
Third:  Depending on the verdict of the committee or board, the book is either banned or removed from the library, or is left on the shelves.

The “battle of the book” can escalate to an actual court room where a judge will decide the book’s fate. If one party disagrees with this decision, they can fight to get the verdict overturned in a higher court of law. This fight can potentially escalate all the way up to the Supreme Court, where they will issue a final verdict that cannot be challenged again.

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
• One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Banned

I am happy to say that I have read all of these books, some of them many times over.  Not only that, but I highly recommend all of them and to anyone who is old enought to read them with understanding and to sustain their interest throughout.  I don’t believe you can put parameters on the ability to think and to reason.

Plus, of course, it amuses me to think that, for many of us, knowing that a book has been “banned” is the ultimate challenge to read it!

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