Before they’re forever banned…

Have you been celebrating Banned Books Week?  I’ve never understood how censorship could be viewed as a positive thing.  If we prohibit the ideas which offend how can we ever have a discourse which leads to common ground?

Are you curious what the most-banned books are?  Since 1990, these books have consistently made it into the top 25 according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom:

1. Daddy’s Roommate – Michael Willhoite (published 1991)
2. And Tango Makes Three – Peter Parnell & Justin Richardson (published 2005)
3. The Chocolate War – Robert Cormier (published 1974)
4. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – Alvin Schwartz (published 1981-1991)
5. His Dark Materials  – Philip Pullman (published 1995-2000)
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou (published 1969)
7. Heather Has Two Mommies – Leslea Newman (published 1989)
8. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck (published 1937)
9. Captain Underpants  – Dav Pilkney (published 1997-2015)
10. Alice – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (published 1985-2012)
11. Sex – Madonna (published 1992)
12. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain (published 1884)
13. Earth’s Children  – Jean M. Auel (published 1980-2011)
14. King & King – Linda De Haas & Stern Njiland (published 2002)
15. The Witches – Ronald Dahl (published 1983)
16. Gossip Girl  – Cecily von Ziegesar (published 2002-2011)
17. Forever… – Judy Blume (published 1975)
18. The New Joy of Gay Sex – Charles Silverstein, Edmund White & Felice Picano (published 1993)
19. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger (published 1951)
20. Final Exit – Derek Humphrey (published 1991)
21. Arming America – Michael A. Bellesiles (published 2000)
22. The Goats – Brock Cole (published 1987)
23. Annie on My Mind – nancy garden (published 1982)
24. What My Mother Doesn’t Know – Sonya Sones (published 2001)
25. Halloween ABC – Eve Merriam (published 1987)

Some of the reasons for banning these books include racial stereotypes, violence, nudity, assisted suicide, drugs, religious or political viewpoints, sexism, misogyny, and disobedience – all topics as relevant now as when these books were first published.  I am proud of the banned books I’ve read and will continue to seek out anything deemed offensive simply so I can judge for myself. Just saying…

*Blowing in the Wind – Joan Baez & Bob Dylan