why are all these books "banned"? some of them are classic literature and are required to read in middle and highschool. i don't understand.

ana | September 30, 2003 2:07 PM

These books and/or authors have all been banned at one time or another in one place or another. The whole event is there to highlight (in a nicely snide way) the futility and misguidedness (some, like Ray Bradbury, would term it evil) of censorship.

The phrase "banned in Boston," for example, was (and to some degree still is) an indicator of how successful a controversial book is likely to be.

Rich | September 30, 2003 7:43 PM

Why all of those books are banned or challenged is exactly the question. PABBIS, a parents' pro-banning group, actually believes that those against censorship are actively going out putting sexually explicit material in the hands of children.

marydell | September 30, 2003 8:57 PM

perhaps what i don't understand is: what is meant by banned?
are they literally banned?

ana | September 30, 2003 11:23 PM

These books and/or authors have all been banned at one time or another in one place or another.

Not quite, Rich. The ALA compiles a list of "The Most Frequently Challenged Authors of 2002," and that "most frequently" is key. It's not just a list of books or authors that have, as you write, "been" challenged "at one time or another," but the ones that show up repeatedly as targets.

I challenge your characterization of that because it's so serious; I think if we saw a list of every book that's been challenged or banned anywhere in the US "at one time or another," it would be colossal and even more appalling.

Andy | October 1, 2003 9:36 AM

Ana, that's a good question. In some communities, I believe books are literally banned from libraries -- e.g., removed from circulation. I don't think it becomes illegal to read the book or even to sell it at, say, Barnes and Noble, but the libraries remove it.

I think the reason the ALA now uses the word "challenged" is because the efforts to get a book removed are generally less successful than they used to be. But I'm not sure what, exactly, would compel a library to remove a book. Any librarians among us?

Andy | October 1, 2003 9:44 AM

that's pretty difficult to believe. i thought this was a free country. i may not necessarily like every book or novel out there, but it's preposterous to ban a book. no one forces anyone to read anything.

thanx to all of you for helping me understand what banned books means.

ana | October 1, 2003 3:42 PM

Sigh. 'S what I get for not going and reading the fine print. Why call it "banned" books week then? Oh well.

But yes, a full list of every book that's been challenged or banned at any time would be nearly comprehensive. Can you think of a book that's incapable of enraging anyone?

Rich | October 2, 2003 2:57 PM

mmm...what about...Le Petit Prince...? ha, nevermind, now that i think of it...some people might be against finding life on other planets ;)

ana | October 2, 2003 4:04 PM

Freedom means different things to different people.

I used to teach English to seventh and eighth graders. Before beginning a unit on a novel that had any "questionable" material in it, i.e. hints at sexuality, religious points of view, we had to send a letter home to the parents and request that they fill out a permission slip for their child to read the book. If they didn't want their child to read the book, then we had to provide them with an alternative book to read. These people feel they should have the freedom to protect their children from certain matters. They don’t feel children should be granted the same degree of freedom as adults because they lack the experience and knowledge that will help them handle those issues appropriately. (I’m NOT saying this is my point of view.)

I also used to teach in a rural school system where it was the school’s policy to remove pages dealing with birth control from the health textbook. Some parents felt providing young adults with that type of information was just an invitation for them to go out and have sex.

So, you see, certain types of “banning” and “censorship” DO occur in communities throughout the U.S.

Amy | October 3, 2003 12:20 PM