BETWEEN THE LINES

Book Talk by Joe Neri


Get Ready for Banned Books Week!

The week of September 24 - 30 is Banned Books Week, sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association and others.

No, it's not a week devoted to banning books that we don't like. Rather, it is a celebration of our First Amendment and Freedom of the Press rights, which have successfully withstood countless assaults by small-minded and intolerant people, by calling attention to books that have actually been banned in various parts of our modern United States.

Unfortunately, book banning is alive and well in many schools and libraries throughout our great country. In no particular order, here are just a few of the most widely banned books today:

o To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
o The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
o Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
o The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
o The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
o Harry Potter (the series) by J.K. Rowling
o I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
o The Giver by Lois Lowry
o The Color Purple by Alice Walker
o A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
o The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
o Beloved by Toni Morrison
o Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
o Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
o Lord of the Flies by William Golding
o The House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende

Clearly, we could fill this entire issue of Kudos with all the books that have been challenged and/or banned by various schools and libraries. And, I'm certain that if the above list doesn't contain some of your favorite books, the complete list would.

Michael Gorman, speaking as president of the American Library Association, said, “The truth is, we're not living in an age that is markedly more enlightened than it was 30-40 years ago….Banned Books Week is about upholding a fundamental American value. We don't believe in suppressing other peoples' right to read.”

So, fight back against the small minds and intolerant people - read a book, any book. You don't even have to wait until Banned Books Week to do so. Do it now. And while you're enjoying it, give thanks for our First Amendment.