Banned Books Week 2008

I've known about Banned Books Week for a while and with the week for 2008 around the corner, I was curious as to its background.

If you read the Wiki page on it, you'll see that Banned Books Week (celebrated in the last week of September since 1982) is largely focused in United States. In fact, it was an awareness movement sponsored by "...sponsored annually by the American Library Association (ALA), the American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American Publishers, National Association of College Stores, and endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in an attempt to protect freedom of speech by celebrating banned and challenged books."


It's interesting that a major first world country, a western world nation to boot, seems to have a tendency to favor censorship and banning of books.

By the way, if you are looking for more information on banned books, check out the ALA website.

According to Banned Books Week, the most challenged books of 2007 are;

1. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
2. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
3. Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes
4. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
7. TTYL by Lauren Myracle
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
9. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I can't believe people consistently put Mark Twain and Alice Walker's classic books on that list!

Wonder what books Sarah Palin wanted to ban.

I am curious to read the books on that list (cept for 4-6 which I have read & honestly see no problem with). *runs to nearest library*