read the top 50 censored books

The best songs and the best books are banned, so I want to read anl listen to them all.

as to why some of these books are considered “challenged.”
http://title.forbiddenlibrary.com/

Everything I need to know, I’ve learned from reading banned books.

I’ve just seen a local teacher get into hot water from having a book on puberty show up in her classroom. It wasn’t even her book! It was Peter Mayle’s intelligent and cleverly written book called What’s Happening to Me?
What is this world coming to when an excellent teacher and innocent book are faulted for ridiculously crafted reasons in a narrow-minded, backward and puritanic district.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Giver by Lois Lowry
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Carrie by Stephen King
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

So heres the list.

COMPLETED:

Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite —-READ
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou—-READ
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier—-READ
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain—-READ
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck—-READ
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling—-READ
Forever by Judy Blume—-READ
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson—-READ
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman—-READ
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger—-READ
The Giver by Lois Lowry—-READ<3
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine—-READ
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck—-READ
The Color Purple by Alice Walker—-READ
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle—-READ
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous—-READ
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers—-READ
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Witches by Roald Dahl—-READ
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane—-READ
Blubber by Judy Blume—-READ
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan—-READ
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee—-READ
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton—-READ
The Pigman by Paul Zindel—-READ
Deenie by Judy Blume—-READ
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden—-READ

NOT EFFING YET:

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
Sex by Madonna
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras

So I’ve done about half now. (GO!ME)

I just dont know which book to move to next. Annie on my mind was such a quick/lame read (and a really poor excuse for lesbian teen fiction), so I want something with a little more flavor. Hmmm

I finished Fallen Angels. This was a good book for me to read. I have generally avoided war stories whether they are movies or books. I saw Saving Private Ryan and almost could not handle the first 5 minutes. Although I loved MASH and China Beach it’s not the same.

The book offered me great insight into post traumatic stress disorders and why they happen. I believe it is most likely an accurate account of life in Viet Nam for soldiers of color. By the end of the book, I was picturing/imagining the right races. I guess I just had to get to know the characters a little better.

To say the book moved me would be an understatement. It’s not the kind of moving that makes you weep, but it touched me deeply in a very human way. Understanding the horror of war, the difference between ally and enemy being such a fine line when you are trying to survive.

I can appreciate why it was banned. There are some horrible images many would like to keep from our children. But I do think it’s appropriate for a junior high school reader. It’s about the time in life when you realize life sucks anyway. It’s probably a great book if you want to keep your kid away from the army recruiters.

All in all I highly recommend this book and I’m glad I read it.

But I have begun reading Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Meyers. It’s a fairly easy read. Good for the airplane.

I’ll tell you one thing. It’s about soldiers in the Viet Nam War and I haven’t figured out why it’s banned yet. But perhaps there’s going to be a lot of violence (I really have just started). But It has shown me my racial biases. I am having a tough time picturing the main characters as being black. It is so stupid. Probably because they don’t fit my stereotypes for language or something. I am trying. It’s a good learning experience.

After looking at the list and realizing that I’ve read most of them and I’m just not interested in the rest…I’ve decided to give up because it just seems pointless.

Picked it up yesterday in a pink art studio for 50 cents.