Banned Books: The World's Most Controversial Books, Past and Present
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- Create Date：2022-11-05 06:53:19
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- Author：D.K. Publishing
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Summary
Discover the stories behind the most shocking and infamous books ever published。
Censorship of one form or another has existed almost as long as the written word， while definitions of what is "acceptable" in published works have shifted over the centuries， and from culture to culture。
Banned Books explores why some of the world's most important literary classics and seminal non-fiction titles were once deemed too controversial for the public to read--whether for challenging racial or sexual norms， satirizing public figures， or simply being deemed unfit for young readers。 From the banning of All Quiet on the Western Front and the repeated suppression of On the Origin of Species， to the uproar provoked by Lady Chatterley's Lover， entries offer a fascinating chronological account of censorship， and the astonishing role that some banned books have played in changing history。
Packed with eye-opening insights into the history of the written word， and the political and social climate during the period of suppression or censorship， this is a must-read for anyone interested in literature， creative writing， politics， history， or law。
Censorship of one form or another has existed almost as long as the written word， while definitions of what is "acceptable" in published works have shifted over the centuries， and from culture to culture。
Banned Books explores why some of the world's most important literary classics and seminal non-fiction titles were once deemed too controversial for the public to read--whether for challenging racial or sexual norms， satirizing public figures， or simply being deemed unfit for young readers。 From the banning of All Quiet on the Western Front and the repeated suppression of On the Origin of Species， to the uproar provoked by Lady Chatterley's Lover， entries offer a fascinating chronological account of censorship， and the astonishing role that some banned books have played in changing history。
Packed with eye-opening insights into the history of the written word， and the political and social climate during the period of suppression or censorship， this is a must-read for anyone interested in literature， creative writing， politics， history， or law。
Reviews
patrick Lorelli
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I found this to be an interesting topic since I have read of so many schools and libraries around the country banning books over the last few years。 I have come to find out that this has really been going on since books or writing has been in existence。 Some for a political reason others for different opinions in either the area or maybe country， or a dictator。 All in all sad that there were books on the list that I read in the sixties and seventies that were considered classics that are now ban I found this to be an interesting topic since I have read of so many schools and libraries around the country banning books over the last few years。 I have come to find out that this has really been going on since books or writing has been in existence。 Some for a political reason others for different opinions in either the area or maybe country， or a dictator。 All in all sad that there were books on the list that I read in the sixties and seventies that were considered classics that are now banned for whatever reason。 Grateful to have kept the books from my mother who was a teacher from the fifties and my father who wanted us to also learn and have an open mind they both believed you could start by reading。 Overall a good book。 I received this book from Netgalley。com 。。。more
Cris
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I’m not sure how to rate this yet。 I thought it was going to be a novel about banned books instead it’s a list of banned books。 They discuss very briefly why the book was banned。 Sadly， I see our society banning more and more books because it doesn’t meet their agenda。 In my opinion， it’s ok if books don’t meet everyone’s expectations。 It’s even better if the book makes you stop and think。 Any book that allows you to start conversation is a good book。 So I guess I will give this one 3 stars。
Scott Martin
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（Audiobook） （3。5 stars） A good listing of books that many have tried to ban。 Some good background as to why they were banned。 For many， if I haven’t read them， may need to try。 Some， you can understand why。 Still， better they are out there than banned/burned。 That is just not good， for the book or the banner。
Beth Casey
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Brief overviews of banned books- why， where and when they were banned。 Proud to say I have read many of them。
Elizabeth Chadsey
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Truly a list of well-known books and the history of literary censorship。
M
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An excellent summary of major banned books， 1370-2021。 It offered the reasons for bans or removal from all perspectives without casting judgment on particular views。 I added quite a few books to my reading list from this！ My one complaint is that some books had a mere sentence explaining the content of the book， where some had 2-3 pages with seemingly no reason。 I wish it had gone into more detail， in general。
Ella
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is （the way I see it） a book in a series of little books with the highlights of information on several different topics。 Making it an easy read and easy access for anyone who would like to know the basics of several things like banned books or great loves，。。。The problem with this book is that it made my "to be read" list a whole lot longer。。。It did surprise me though that there are or where a lot of children's books （like Philip Pullman's "His dark materials"， J。K。 Rowling's "Harry Potter" This is （the way I see it） a book in a series of little books with the highlights of information on several different topics。 Making it an easy read and easy access for anyone who would like to know the basics of several things like banned books or great loves，。。。The problem with this book is that it made my "to be read" list a whole lot longer。。。It did surprise me though that there are or where a lot of children's books （like Philip Pullman's "His dark materials"， J。K。 Rowling's "Harry Potter" or Angie Thomas's "The hate you give"） on the list of banned books。"The words themselves are clean， so are the things to wich they apply， but the mind drags in a filthy association。 Well， then， cleanse the mind， that is the real job。"- D。H。 LawrenceI do understand that some books where/are band although I must say that banning a book is never the solution， by doing so it only makes it more attractive。 Instead of banning a book I understand the restriction of one。 Make certain books unavailable for children or young minds or underdeveloped emotional minds。 Some of the books talk about very sensitive subjects and are not suitable for evey stomach others are just an interpretation of one individual and I don't think that we as human beings have the right to tell another how they are supposed to feel/think or see the world。Most books are/where banned because they "hurt" anothers view of life/love/beliefs wich is just ridiculous。 Others are/where banned because some of us where or still are very closed minded。 "If you start reading a book and you don't like it you always have the option of shutting it。 At this point it loses its capacity to offend you。"- Salman RushdieBooks are portals to other worlds。 Some tell about history or magic others about religion or love， some stories really happend or are a way to tell ones own truth others are just fantasy。 They are a way to escape the horrors in ones life， to bring joy and tears。 They should never be banned。But that is just my opinion。 。。。more
Becca Teears
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It’s a book about books。 I found this one particularly interesting as most of the books that were banned in America were because of violence portrayed within these books， which makes sense as no one wants their child to experience violence。 However， they are still allowing their children to go to school frightened as to whether there could be a school shooting that day。
Tracy
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3。5I acknowledge this book isn’t designed to go into much depth about each book but I feel like there was definitely room for most entries to be expanded。 Some entries ended rather abruptly， too。
Gert De Bie
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Heerlijk leesvoer。 Heel veel （oude） bekenden maar ook wel wat nieuws in de selectie。
Michael
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A very quick read of books that got people worked up enough to object。 D。K。 Publishing is always light on text and big on pictures so reading on eBook loses some of the charm。
Jeanine
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This book covers the top banned books。 It gives the context of why the books are banned and lists them chronologically 。Surprised by the fact that Hitler liked Gone with the Wind but had the book banned during Nazi rule。 Since Mitchell portrays the downtrodden Southerners during the Civil War， he did not want the defeated Europeans having access to it。
Chad
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Great list of banned books。 I would have liked a little more details， but it's well worth reading。 Great list of banned books。 I would have liked a little more details， but it's well worth reading。 。。。more
Jim
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It is amazing the number of books that have been banned in the past。 This shot read provides short snippets of many of the most banned books in history with a brief discussion on why they were banned in the first place。 Worth the time investment to read。
Hannah Nagle
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Felt like the Wikipedia page on banned/controversial books was published in print format。 Didn't learn anything new。 Felt like the Wikipedia page on banned/controversial books was published in print format。 Didn't learn anything new。 。。。more
anny ♡
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very informative！ i tabbed the books i was interested in and now i have 46 more books i want to read so maybe a little too informative （my tbr is already so large please help）
Nicole
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Banned Books is the ultimate reference guide to challenged books throughout history。 Broken down by time， such as pre-1900， dating back as far as 1370s， to modern day 2021， each chapter reveals titles that have caused controversy。 It reveals backstories of the authors， explains what the books （or articles） are about， and where/why they are banned。 Readers will learn about the Index of Prohibited Books， as well as the many laws protecting and punishing Freedom of Speech。 Some of these authors hav Banned Books is the ultimate reference guide to challenged books throughout history。 Broken down by time， such as pre-1900， dating back as far as 1370s， to modern day 2021， each chapter reveals titles that have caused controversy。 It reveals backstories of the authors， explains what the books （or articles） are about， and where/why they are banned。 Readers will learn about the Index of Prohibited Books， as well as the many laws protecting and punishing Freedom of Speech。 Some of these authors have mysteriously disappeared， one who had passed had his body dug up， burned， and tossed in a river。 It talks about the punished people that read the books and tried to sell/share these titles。Some books/authors are easily recognized， from Chaucer to Darwin， from Lee to Malcolm X。 Some however will be new to readers， for instance， I had never heard of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz or Etheridge Knight。 There are pictures of books and authors， as well as quotes from the titles or those criticizing the work。 I look forward to using this book as a reading challenge and see how many I can find in print。This book can easily be devoured in one-sitting， or cherished overtime。 It belongs on every bookcase in homes， schools， libraries， and bookstores。Notes:I signed up to honestly review an egalley from DK Publishing， through Netgalley。This review was originally published on the Ariesgrl Book Reviews website。 。。。more
yarrow | atlas 🖤
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Short book about， you guessed it， banned books。 I enjoyed how it went back WAY farther than the modern era or the last two centuries。 I did wish it covered America’s current banned book crisis in the 21st century chapter but you can’t have everything。
Barbara Arnett
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It is physically a small book （6x 8” about 200 pages） arranged chronologically （the first book was banned in 1564， the last entry is 2021。） It covers titles that were deemed offensive （language and/or subject） and others based on content; sexual， religious， political， gender orientation， race， etc。 Most are related to books that were inappropriate for children and advocates wanted them removed from libraries or school required reading lists。 Some are expected such as Hitler’s Mein Kampf and Henr It is physically a small book （6x 8” about 200 pages） arranged chronologically （the first book was banned in 1564， the last entry is 2021。） It covers titles that were deemed offensive （language and/or subject） and others based on content; sexual， religious， political， gender orientation， race， etc。 Most are related to books that were inappropriate for children and advocates wanted them removed from libraries or school required reading lists。 Some are expected such as Hitler’s Mein Kampf and Henry Miller’s The Tropic of Capricorn others are unexpected like the Harry Potter books （because they deal with witchcraft。） Some books you have read or were perhaps required to read as a student like J。D。 Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye。 Other titles you may not even recognize。 Each entry is only a page or two with a description of the content of the book and why it was banned。 Interesting reading that may provide insight into books you have never read or never wanted to read as well as titles you may now want to read。 。。。more
J。 d'Merricksson
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Banned Books looks at controversial classics and modern books alike。 This little tome is more important than ever， what with all the crazy conservatives trying to ban all manner of literature from schools。 From classics like The Great Gatsby to modern authors like Phillip Pullman and JK Rowling， banning books isn't a new thing。 Some did surprise me， as did the reasoning behind some books。 Some reasons seem silly to me today （Catcher in the Rye… *uugghhh*）。 Others I may choose not to teach， but c Banned Books looks at controversial classics and modern books alike。 This little tome is more important than ever， what with all the crazy conservatives trying to ban all manner of literature from schools。 From classics like The Great Gatsby to modern authors like Phillip Pullman and JK Rowling， banning books isn't a new thing。 Some did surprise me， as did the reasoning behind some books。 Some reasons seem silly to me today （Catcher in the Rye… *uugghhh*）。 Others I may choose not to teach， but certainly wouldn't strive for banning， or making a big deal about someone choosing to read for pleasure， even if I wouldn't。 The Harry Potter books have sadly fallen into this category for me due to the author's stances on certain things。 Books for high school age kids really shouldn't be banned for reasons such as *gasp* LGBTQ+ representation， or mild sexual situations。 Or even more extreme if it's necessary to the story （The Kite Runner）。 This aren't young kids。 They know about sex。 And banning books with positive depictions of LGBTQ+ characters denigrates and dismisses an entire subset of the population。****Many thanks to Netgalley and DK for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review。 。。。more
s。penkevich
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Buckle up， I’m going on a rant！ This week （Sept 18 - 24， 2022） is the American Library Association's annual awareness week about censorship in the United States and a reminder to protect intellectual freedom。 It seems all the more dire this year with the ALA reporting that in 2021 there were 791 challenges against 1，597 books， which was almost four times higher than ever seen since they began tracking book challenges in 2000 （273 in 2020 and 377 in 2019 for comparison）。 Even more alarming is tha Buckle up， I’m going on a rant！ This week （Sept 18 - 24， 2022） is the American Library Association's annual awareness week about censorship in the United States and a reminder to protect intellectual freedom。 It seems all the more dire this year with the ALA reporting that in 2021 there were 791 challenges against 1，597 books， which was almost four times higher than ever seen since they began tracking book challenges in 2000 （273 in 2020 and 377 in 2019 for comparison）。 Even more alarming is that in just the first half of 2022 there already have been 681 attempts to ban 1，651 different titles in public or school libraries。 I think this is an important topic to pay attention to （remember， 82-97% of challanges go unreported） and have been following different challenges across the country for over a year， plus as a bookseller， library employee and just general lover of books， this is a topic that very much concerns and involves me。 For the sake of this piece I am only going to be discussing challenges/bannings that occur in the United States， though this is an issue worldwide I would be happy to discuss at any time， and I would also just like to dive into the issue because I feel that the general understanding of it or reporting on it is stilted and often unhelpful。 For starters， I feel the term Banned Books Week is problematic framing whereas Freedom to Read Week is more productive and a better rallying cry to defend intellectual freedoms。 Otherwise it leads into a rather romanticized look at it which often becomes rather unhelpful and self-serving。 On that note the frquent use of prison imagery—such as books “locked up” for displays—is unhelpful unless it is being used to call attention to the fact that prisons have the largest book bans in the United States， something that goes rather under the radar。 So let’s take a look at what is happening， why it is happening and， most importantly， what can you do about it。First， for sake of clarity， when we talk about a book being challenged， this means that there is an attempt to remove or restrict access to a book。 70% of all challenges involve multiple books。 If a book is banned， this means a removal of the material from the shelf。 It doesn’t often occur， and in a public library setting you can usually still have access to these books through interlibrary loan， the thing I do all day at work。 Now， in the present the overwhelming majority of titles facing challenges are works that center people of color or LGBTQ+ voices。 You’ll frequently see social media lists that focus on historically banned books like 1984 or Ulysses， but in the present it is very much targeting queer or Black voices。 Here is the list of the 10 most banned or challenged books from 2021:1。 Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe2。 Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison3。 All Boys Aren't Blue by George M。 Johnson4。 Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez5。 The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas6。 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie7。 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jessie Andres8。 The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison9。 This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson10。 Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan KuklinThis makes for a pretty great reading list， honestly。 Which is a great thing to do， especially if you request them through your local library to give them circulation numbers that can be used when defending not removing。 On the topic of that， the ALA states that only a librarian can remove a book， so the legislations that have been popping up trying to allow city officials to review and remove books is a gross misunderstanding of how collection development works， and in the case of one Texas city， officials were sued for doing so and admitted in court it was entirely for political reasons。 Having a book in a library or as part of a school curriculum legitimizes a book， and much of what these challenges are doing is trying to delegitimize a book even contrary to collection development policies that assess a need for a book within their community （taking into account ILL access in library collectives） and efforts for a balanced collection。 It is all about access， which we’ll get into shortly。Let's look at some of the data released in PEN America's recent report on book bans in school or public libraries from July 2021 to June 2022。 41% of banned titles have LGBTQ+ themes or characters， and 40% because they contain a prominent character of color with 20% of the titles being books that deal with issues of racism。 21% have what is deemed to be sexual content。 Of the books that have been banned， 75% are fiction titles with 49% being YA and 19% picture books。 And below is the prevalence of bans by state: Book banning has made a lot of headlines recently， such as a Tennessee school board banning the holocaust graphic novel The Complete Maus， pastor Greg Locke holding a literal book burning in Tennessee， the Proud Boys protesting books at a Chicago board meeting and threatening students with violence， or the library right next door to me facing doxxing of employees and threats that led to the library losing a milage vote and fearing closure due to a small group claiming having queer books was grooming children （this occured even after the books were placed in restricted access）。 Book banning is not a popular stance， with 71% of voters opposing it from public libraries and 67% in school libraries， yet it keeps happening。 Furthermore less than 1% of all challenges are initiated by students， the people most affected by the bans。 So who are initiating these challenges？ They are small but very vocal groups across the US with connection to right wing politics and political funding such as the public-institution group Mom’s for Liberty or the conservative advocacy organization No Left Turn。 Both groups frequently post lists and ask people to take them to schools and libraries to demand their removal， often leading to awkward situations where the books were never on the shelf to begin with or the challenger quickly revealing that they cannot cite specifics about why the book should be removed （no challenge will or should ever be taken seriously if you haven’t actually read the book）。 Of the 50 groups PEN America tracked banning books， 73% were created within the past year and exist almost entirely on social media。 Right wing organizations have released toolkits for how to challenge books， including The Federalist that once posted an article urging people to ban books but got nearly every detail about library activity， collection development and Banned Book Week hilariously wrong。 Many of these groups are well connected with donors， notably those connected with anti-public school groups like orgs tied to Betsy Devos。 Most often the banning is a wedge issue that has a larger aim against public institutions and have discovered that these sort of challenges get them a lot of attention。 Which is tricky， because we should raise awareness but not feed them the attention and the way we talk about things and the use of responsible rhetoric is key as well as promoting informational and digital literacy。Which leads to the biggest thing here: the books themselves are mostly props in a larger goal to try and shake confidence in public institutions and defund public libraries and schools。 Lets look at a lot of the claims around these challenges， because they don’t hold up under any scrutiny。 First is the claim that book challenges are to protect kids。 However， it is a specific type of voices （PoC and Queer） that are being targeted and if Othering， silencing and removing access to books about/for one type of kid is how you “protect” another， than you are claiming only certain type of kids deserve protection。 Similarly with the whole “not with my taxes” argument， as Queer， Trans and PoC also pay taxes into public institutions and deserve to be represented as well。 The biggest tell is that these book removals are targeting libraries and for the most part have left bookstore and publishers alone， and if they truly thought these books were evil they would be at least pretending to stop them at the source。 These challenges are and should always be referred to as anti-public education efforts and a coordinated attack on queer children。 Which is the saddest thing， because many of the books that are being targeted are ones I wished existed when I was a teenager。 These are people who already are struggling with sense of self and feeling Othered in a very cis， hetero pandering world and books like these can be a lifeline。 It is also a reminder that their voice matters too， so silencing voices like these feels like a personal attack saying everyone gets a voice except you。 Furthermore， the claim that queer books are grooming children is absurd and inappropriate as well as intentionally missing the point on how sexuality works。 Nobody reads these books and decides to be queer， that’s just not how anything works。 Sure， I’ve found power in books like this that helped me come to terms with myself， but those thoughts already existed and giving them a chance to be considered was a great thing， and everyone deserves that。 Everyone deserves to feel seen and find access to their communities。 Access is key。 When removing a book you are restricting access。 The irony that people saying they don’t want their taxes going to a book on the shelf is that they already did and removing it is costing more and also now whenever someone wants a copy of that book they are pushing the work off onto another library to retrieve it and send it， while still having their local library perform the labor of placing it on a hold shelf。 While well-intentioned people come up with ideas of donating books or making banned books little libraries， this is actually not that helpful。 The point is unrestricted access for ALL， not just those in your neighborhood， and collection development teams are already overworked trying to get books on the shelves。 Donated books rarely make it to the shelf anyways。 If you want to help， take the money you would have used buying a stack of banned books to donate and send it to groups fighting against book challenges such as PEN America or Bookstoprisoners。net that help get books to those in the most restricted places: prisons。 But returning to access， part of the larger goal of dissolving public institutions is to replace them with similar privatized version that can and certainly will restrict access at will， picking and choosing who gets education， books they want， etc。 and almost certainly spending a lot of effort on gatekeeping。 A cursory glance at history will tell you all you need to know about who gets in and who doesn’t。 Moms for Liberty， who is also partnering with Ron DeSantis and Betsy DeVos to place members on school boards in Florida， recently said book bans aren’t bad because you can still buy the book。 The logic is that information access should have price barriers and not be available to the public at will。What else can you do？ Well， a lot。 First， pay attention to local elections and vote for people who don’t have a goal to defund public libraries or schools。 Show up to board meetings and defend intellectual freedom， these are rarely well attended and just a small vocal minority can do a lot of damage when unopposed。 Write to your local paper about the importance of intellectual freedom。 Most importantly， use and support your local library。 Request queer books to show there is a need in the community or donate time and money to help。 Review and recommend banned books on social media， like this very website here。 Books are for everyone， and a small group of people should not be removing access to books from people who need them。 If you don’t like a book， don’t check it out， but don’t stop others from doing so。 Thank you for your time。 。。。more
Holly Ekblad
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This is more of a coffee table book。 I’m generally curious about why books are banned and if it even does anything beneficial for society。 Interesting read - I didn’t even realize that many of the books I was required to read in high school were banned at one time。
Dallas Reads
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I love books like this。 Extremely informative， but also to the point。 There aren’t pages upon pages of information overload regarding each entry， but rather just a handful of paragraphs。 This makes the book a quick and easy read， but also enjoyable。 I learned a lot， and also found quite a few books to add to my TBR。 4。75/5。
Brenda
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I liked the concept of this book and how it went back in history to discuss banned books。 However， I felt like it was a very dry read and felt like a textbook。
Cloak88
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Pretty cool book and informative to！Banned book is about。。。。 Bannend books！ Which books got banned， why it happened and by whom。 Honestly its quite interesting to see both the shift through the ages of why and by whom books got banned。 And then later on rather depressing when you find out that plenty of modern books face similar critique （often unjustified and utterly unnecessary）。 Overall this book gives you the most remarkable banned book per ages in chronological order。 Who wrote them， why th Pretty cool book and informative to！Banned book is about。。。。 Bannend books！ Which books got banned， why it happened and by whom。 Honestly its quite interesting to see both the shift through the ages of why and by whom books got banned。 And then later on rather depressing when you find out that plenty of modern books face similar critique （often unjustified and utterly unnecessary）。 Overall this book gives you the most remarkable banned book per ages in chronological order。 Who wrote them， why the got banned and other notable information。 The descriptions aren't really in depth， but there are a lot of them and themes definitely start to make themselves apparent as you get further in time。A good book for anyone who likes reading books about books。 。。。more
Rebecca
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A brief history of banned books， mostly focuses on banned books in the Western literary canon， would have been nice to see a wider variety besides the usual suspects。
Amanda [Novel Addiction]
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Proud of myself for having read more of these than I expected。 But now my goal is to buy this book （I read it via the library - GO LIBRARIES！！！）， so I can tab all the ones I haven't read yet， and work my way through them。 I appreciate that there is a brief synopsis of each book， as well as talk about why it was banned， challenged， etc。 Proud of myself for having read more of these than I expected。 But now my goal is to buy this book （I read it via the library - GO LIBRARIES！！！）， so I can tab all the ones I haven't read yet， and work my way through them。 I appreciate that there is a brief synopsis of each book， as well as talk about why it was banned， challenged， etc。 。。。more
Maggie Carr
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Can't really rate this one。 Just the perfect resource when looking for the jist of the most banned and challenged books。 I did like the added content to each passage that references the most recent challenge sightings and why。 The perfect book for cramming for Banned Books Week Trivia Night。 May listen to it a few more times leading up to the competition 😆。 Can't really rate this one。 Just the perfect resource when looking for the jist of the most banned and challenged books。 I did like the added content to each passage that references the most recent challenge sightings and why。 The perfect book for cramming for Banned Books Week Trivia Night。 May listen to it a few more times leading up to the competition 😆。 。。。more
Claudia
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From The Decameron to 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows， the editors have collected titles of the books that have managed to be controversial and challenged over the centuries。 Early books were listed on the Vatican's Index Libroum Prohibitorum or List of Prohibited Books。Each book is listed with the author and publication date （era） which includes those published/challenged into 2021。 A brief summary of why it was condemned as well as the where/when it was challenged and results of the challenges。 From The Decameron to 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows， the editors have collected titles of the books that have managed to be controversial and challenged over the centuries。 Early books were listed on the Vatican's Index Libroum Prohibitorum or List of Prohibited Books。Each book is listed with the author and publication date （era） which includes those published/challenged into 2021。 A brief summary of why it was condemned as well as the where/when it was challenged and results of the challenges。 Reasons can range from 'inappropriate' portrayals of religious figures and themes to the frailty of human nature。 Racial and gender portrayals - both positive and negative。 Homoerotic relations。 Death and euthanasia。 Murder， violence and/or rape。 Drug addiction。 Parents feeling that the subject matter is too adult， too 'degenerate'， too morally questionable。Some I've read over the years。 Some I've only heard of and will likely eventually， get around to reading。 Some I will never read - due to content or possible personal impact。 And many， I have never considered as having a reason to ban - - maybe I'm too open-minded？？Then there are the ones I've never heard of - like Emile Zola's The Earth; Kate Chopin's The Awakening; Final Exit by Derek Humphrey - among others。Certainly， reading a book is a personal choice but before someone signs a petition to challenge the inclusion of any book - be it a public library or for a school assignment - I personally feel they should at least， read the book themselves in order to express their reasoning from a stance of actual knowledge rather than rumor and innuendo。2022-198 。。。more
Traci
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