Welcome to my stop on the Banned Books Week Hop!
2012 is the 30th Anniversary of Banned Books week, an annual event celebrating ALL books, and the rights of authors and readers alike to color outside the lines. I decided to participate in this event because I am a firm believer that people need to get out of their comfort zones, and often the reason a book will be banned is because of a refusal to do just that.
To prepare for this giveaway, I did some research into what books have been banned. Off the top of my head, the only book I could think of was The Catcher in the Rye
by JD Salinger, one of my faves; like most people who read it in highschool, I saw myself as a modern, female Holden Caulfield.What surprised me in reviewing a list of the most frequently challenged books from 1990 - 2001 (see the list) was how many of the books I would have listed as some of my childhood favorites and/or the most influential books I'd read. Before you take a look at the list, make a list of some of your favorite books - you might be surprised how many are on the list!
Some books I would give two (or more if I had them) thumbs up:
- A Light in the Attic Special Edition
- by Shel Silverstein
- How to Eat Fried Worms
- by Thomas Rockwell
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
- by Judy Blume
- The Giver (Giver Quartet)
- by Lois Lowry
There certainly are books that I have no desire to have my thirteen-year-old daughter read, and I can say that after taking a painful course in college on Toni Morrison's writing, I certainly object to me, personally reading any more of her books. However, I certainly don't feel that I have the right to make decisions about anyone else reading them. It is ridiculous to think that one person should make that type of decision for another.
My prize for this hop is either a $10 Amazon.com gift card, which you can use to pick out your own book, as I feel that anyone literate enough to be reading this is capable of picking out their own reading material.
The Rafflecopter will be available starting September 28th, and will accept entries until October 6th. After entering, be sure to check out the rest of the sites hosting their own giveaways in the hop. And check my Giveaways page for more prizes!
by Jean Hegland. 
