For as long as I'm a writer and reader, I'll always support the FREADOM to read. And I've never hidden the fact I believe that what I read, is my own decision - and not that of someone else.
So I'm proud to yet again support Banned Books Week by participating in the 2nd Annual Banned Books Week giveaway hop, hosted by the lovely ladies over at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I Read Banned Books.
As posted on the American Library Association website, Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. This is something the ALA has been supporting for years - in fact, this year marks their 30th anniversary of supporting the freedom to read!
Which is a good thing, because unfortunately the list of banned books is long - and grows longer every year. And we all know some of the classics that have been included on this list:
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Harper Lee, 1960: Harper Lee’s great American tome stands as proof positive that the censorious impulse is alive and well in our country, even today. For some educators, the Pulitzer-prize winning book is one of the greatest texts teens can study in an American literature class. Others have called it a degrading, profane and racist work that “promotes white supremacy.”
THE SCARLET LETTER, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850: According to many critics, Hawthorne should have been less friendly toward his main character, Hester Prynne (in fairness, so should have minister Arthur Dimmesdale). One isn’t surprised by the moralist outrage the book caused in 1852. But when, one hundred and forty years later, the book is still being banned because it is sinful and conflicts with community values, you have to raise your eyebrows. Parents in one school district called the book “pornographic and obscene” in 1977. Clearly this was before the days of the World Wide Web.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by the late, great, Maurice Sendak, 1963: Sendak’s work is beloved by children in the generations since its publication and has captured the collective imagination. Many parents and librarians, however, did much hand-wringing over the dark and disturbing nature of the story. They also wrung their hands over the baby’s penis drawn in In the Night Kitchen.
And as posted on the BannedBooksWeek.org website, according to the ALA, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011 - and many more have gone unreported. And the 10 most challenged titles of 2011 were:
- TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- THE COLOR OF EARTH (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
- MY MOM'S HAVING A BABY! A KID'S MONTH-BY-MONTH GUIDE TO PREGNANCY, by Dori Hillestad Butler
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- ALICE (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint
- BRAVE NEW WORLD, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
- WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit
- GOSSIP GIRL (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language; racism
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So to celebrate this great week, what's up for grabs you might ask?
TWO lucky winners will each receive ONE banned or challenged book (value up to $20 USD) of their choice, from the banned or challenged list. You can find some of the titles here and here.
The giveaway will run from Friday, September 28th - Saturday, October 6th and I'll be announcing my winners on Sunday, October 7th.
A few housekeeping rules:
PLEASE be honest with your entries. If you commit to leaving a comment - then do so! I review all entries for accuracy and honesty and reserve the right to remove any invalid entries.
- Giveaway is International. Note: Giveaway is open to anywhere The Book Depository ships. It is your responsibility to make sure The Book Depository ships to your country. All entries for non valid ship-to countries will be void. You can confirm if The Book Depository ships to your country by going here.
- Winners must be 13 years or older.
- Winners must choose a banned or challenged book from off the lists I've provided above.
- Leave a comment? That's worth +1 entry.
- Only requirement: you need to follow me on Twitter (@erinlschneider1) to qualify. Worth +2 entries.
- Tweet about my giveaway? Let me know and that's worth +3 more entries!
- Total possible entries = 6.
- +6 entries possible per person - please do not use alternative email addresses to enter again.
- You must fill out the Rafflecopter form below, to be officially entered.
- Winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter on Sunday, October 7, 2012 and announced here on my blog.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Remember to stop on over at I Read Banned Books and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer to check out all of the other great participants in this blog hop!
Thanks so much for stopping by and thank you even more, for supporting Banned Books Week!
