Banned Books Week – September 21−27, 2014

Banned Books Week – September 21−27, 2014

This post is about the freedom and right to read. The American Library Association compiles a list of books that are frequently banned and challenged. Listed below are the classics that have either been banned or challenged, how many books on the list have you read? Each September, Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is celebrated. For 2014, September 21−27, 2014 is designated as Banned Books Week. For the month of September, read one of the books on the list each week as an expression of your freedom and right to read. For Banned Books Week 2014, every day I will review a book on the list.  It is worth noting that most of the books on the banned list are included on the lists of the best books of all time, so what does that say?

Banned and Challenged Classics

1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (My review of The Great Gatsby)
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (My review of The Catcher in the Rye, The Sun Also Rises and Slaughterhouse-Five)
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (My review of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
8. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding (My review of Lord of the Flies)
9. 1984 (Signet Classics), by George Orwell
10. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
11. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (My review – Of Mice and Men)
12. Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition, by Joseph Heller
13. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
14. Animal Farm: Anniversary Edition, by George Orwell
15. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
16. As I Lay Dying: The Corrected Text, by William Faulkner (My review of As I Lay Dying)
17. A Farewell To Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
18. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
19. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
20. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
21. Gone with the Wind, 75th Anniversary Edition, by Margaret Mitchell
22. Native Son (Perennial Classics), by Richard Wright
23. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Signet), by Ken Kesey
24. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
25. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
26. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London (My review of The Call of the Wild)
27. Go Tell It on the Mountain (Vintage International), by James Baldwin
28. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
29. The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings), by J.R.R. Tolkien
30. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
31. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence (My review of Lady Chatterley's Lover)
32. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
33. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin (My review of The Awakening)
34. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
35. The Satanic Verses: A Novel, by Salman Rushdie
36. Sophie's Choice, by William Styron
37. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
38. Cat's Cradle: A Novel, by Kurt Vonnegut
39. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
40. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs
41. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
42. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence
43. The Naked and the Dead: 50th Anniversary Edition, by Norman Mailer
44. Tropic of Cancer (Paperback), by Henry Miller
45. An American Tragedy (Signet Classics), by Theodore Dreiser
46. Rabbit, Run, by John Updike

Do you think that books should be censored? Have you ever read ‎Fahrenheit 451 (My review of Fahrenheit 451)? In that book, it is illegal to own books, and a firefighter's job is to burn books, isn't that a scary thought if it ever became a reality? Liked this post? Share it on social media and leave a comment as well as subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more! If you’re new to the blog, visit the Start Here page for my pillar posts.

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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