Banned Books Week starts tomorrow.
Shall we all celebrate by reading a banned or challenged book this week and posting or tweeting or facebooking (or whatever the verb is) a short review? Extra points for reading a banned book that you personally loathe—that’ll confuse the censors.
If you need any ideas, the ALA has some lists you can consult—or, in a pinch, anything mentioning sex,* religion,** politics,*** non-religious magic,^ written in archaic language,^^ or within the reach of children will probably do.
And mustn’t forget the penguins: It looks like the book with the most challenges in 2010 was the one I reviewed for The Rejectionist’s call to arms last year: And Tango Makes Three.
I’m still shaking my head over this one. Apparently love, acceptance, and dedicated parenting aren’t family values.
Who knew?
So buckle up, buttercup, and let’s put our common sense to the test.
Who’s with me?
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* Phil Kirby: “Censorship is the strongest drive in human nature; sex is a weak second.”
** Every time you restrict someone’s right to believe (or not) in the deity of their choosing, God reaches for the whiskey and matches Cthulhu shot for shot. What?
*** Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas: “Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.”
^ News Flash: Harry Potter isn’t satanic—he fights the evil guy who tore apart his own soul on purpose and enjoys killing people. Perhaps you should read books first before you condemn them—though if you don’t, I’ll still defend to the death your right to spout ignorance. Won’t stop calling you on it, though.
^^ True story: I once overheard two University people talking about all the questionable things kids were assigned to read these days, with all the bad language and sex and death. “They should teach the classics, instead—like Shakespeare and Chaucer!” Seriously. I almost turned around to tell them everything I learned from Shakespeare and The Canterbury Tales, which included a large helping of questionable language, sex (also questionable), and death (ditto), but on second thought kept my mouth shut. Why on earth would I want to stop them?
Earful of Cider 