September 25 to October 2 is Banned Books Week, an event sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association(ALA), the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Association of College Stores.
In honor of the week I thought I’d re-post – or relink, rather – a previously published review I did on Tropic of Cancer – a book that historically has been one of the most banned books in history. I also posted this review on Amazon, and the comments there have been interesting & engaging as well.Check them out & add to them if you like.
Let me say for the record, despite my final comment in this review, I am not in favor of banning books. I do think that there is a time and a place for everything, and I believe in responsible, age-appropriate literature. I think my mom took the right approach to what I read in that I don’t ever remember being told I ‘couldn’t’ read something. There were a few books – My Darling, My Hamburger comes to mind specifically – that if I wanted to read them, my mom also read them we discussed any mature topics.
I remember my first experience with censorship as well. In 6th grade, our Sunday school teacher started a library in our Sunday school room. I (innocently) donated Judy Blume’s Tiger Eyes. I was horrified when I realized she had gone through and inked out all of the bad language.
So, here’s to celebrating the freedom to read! And, what about you? Where have you encountered censorship? Where have you been proud of its absence?
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