Welcome to Banned Books Week – September 21−27, 2014
Reading is important because it is one of the best ways to shape a mind, and that is one of the reasons why I have done the personal libraries of successful people series. People should have the freedom to read what they want to read, but they should be responsible about how they apply the information. Many great men have read the great books, the same books that Hitler and Stalin read, yet they did not commit despicable acts such as the holocaust and labor camps – Hitler and Stalin embodied evil. I have read some of the books that were banned or challenged and I cannot figure out why they were banned or censored in the first place. We could say that we are living in different times, but 307 books were banned in the US in 2013, and that doesn't include books that librarians many self-censor. I want to say that there are certain books that I will not read, but that is my personal preference.
This week, we are celebrating Banned Books Week and I am kicking off the week with curated content that speak against banning books.
Related Post:
Banned Books Week – September 21−27, 2014
Banned Books Week – September 22 – 28, 2013
Bone author Jeff Smith speaks out ahead of US Banned Books Week: In this article, Guardian newspaper writer, Alison Flood (@alisonflood), writes a well-researched piece on banned books. She quotes Jeff Smith, a cartoonist who speaks up against banning books. It so happens that Smith’s comic Bone (Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
) is one of the books parents in the United States have tried hard to ban this year. There are many organizations that support the freedom to read.
7 Reasons to Celebrate Banned Books Week: In this post, Kelly Konrad (@LitzyDitz) as the title suggests, gives reasons why it is important to celebrate Banned Books Weeks. Her reasons include: Banned books are usually good books; Banned books open doors to discussion; and No one should ever tell you what you can or can't read. As an avid reader, I like Konrad’s seven reasons.
Banned Books Week – The 10 most challenged titles of 2013: Here you will find a list of the most challenged books in 2013 in a post by Amanda Patterson (@amandaonwriting). The top 5 challenged books on the list are Captain Underpants (Captain Underpants Series – Complete 11 Book Collection – Adventures of Captain Underpants, Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People, Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1
), by Dav Pilkey; The Bluest Eye
, by Toni Morrison; The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
, by Sherman Alexie; Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades Trilogy: Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, Fifty Shades Freed 3-volume Boxed Set
), by E.L. James; and The Hunger Games (The The Hunger Games Trilogy Box Set
), by Suzanne Collins.
WWKD? In Banned Books Week? He'd Celebrate Reading: In the Huffington Post article, Pat LaMarche (@PatHLaMarche) discusses how some controversial stories found their light of day in Playboy Magazine, which is a censored publication. One such story that she writes about is Kurt Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House: Stories
, which is set in a future where birth control is forbidden. Depending on where you live in the world, you may not be able to read such stories because of a ban on the magazine. Whether or not we like Playboy Magazine, some authors would never have gotten a start without the publication. Interestingly enough, 307 books were banned or challenged in 2013. Slaughterhouse-Five
was another one of Vonnegut’s book that was banned.
Reasons We Should Be Reading ‘Harry Potter’ in Grade School: This article is not about Banned Books Week, but it refers to it in the context of classrooms looking to list of banned books to see their impact on society. The writer, Rachel Raczka (@rachelraczka), raises an interesting issue, why some books are taught in schools and placed on reading lists while others are not.
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Author Bio: Avil Beckford, an expert interviewer, entrepreneur and published author is passionate about books and professional development, and that's why she founded The Invisible Mentor and the Virtual Literary World Tour to give you your ideal mentors virtually in the palm of your hands by offering book reviews and book summaries, biographies of wise people and interviews of successful people. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.
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