Spring Break
Celebrate freedom to read
John Bailey
Issue date: 9/26/08 Section: Focus
What do "The Golden Compass," "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" and "The Color Purple" all have in common?
They could all be the stars of Banned Books Week, which begins this coming Saturday, Sept. 27, and will run through Oct. 4.
The week, which was launched in 1982 as a response to the widespread challenging of books in schools, bookstores and libraries, celebrates free literary expression - especially the literature that might raise a few hackles.
The UConn Co-op will be celebrating those titles throughout the week.
"We strongly support the First Amendment and the freedom to read," said Suzy Staubach, manager of the General Books division at the Co-op. "We are planning displays of books that have been challenged."
The list of top 10 most-challenged books ranges from classics of American literature to contemporary novels, and is perhaps the only literary list to include both Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" and Lauren Myracle's "TTYL" - a recent young adult novel written entirely in instant messages.
The reasons any particular book might be banned or challenged are diverse.
Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" was challenged for being sexually explicit, while "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris was challenged for being "sex education," according to the American Literary Association's Web site.
"Huckleberry Finn," ironically, was challenged for being racist.
"People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent," says the Web site bannedbooksweek.org, maintained by the American Booksellers Foundation for Freedom of Expression. "They object to profanity and slang, and protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups - or positive portrayals of homosexuals."
They could all be the stars of Banned Books Week, which begins this coming Saturday, Sept. 27, and will run through Oct. 4.
The week, which was launched in 1982 as a response to the widespread challenging of books in schools, bookstores and libraries, celebrates free literary expression - especially the literature that might raise a few hackles.
The UConn Co-op will be celebrating those titles throughout the week.
"We strongly support the First Amendment and the freedom to read," said Suzy Staubach, manager of the General Books division at the Co-op. "We are planning displays of books that have been challenged."
The list of top 10 most-challenged books ranges from classics of American literature to contemporary novels, and is perhaps the only literary list to include both Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" and Lauren Myracle's "TTYL" - a recent young adult novel written entirely in instant messages.
The reasons any particular book might be banned or challenged are diverse.
Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" was challenged for being sexually explicit, while "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris was challenged for being "sex education," according to the American Literary Association's Web site.
"Huckleberry Finn," ironically, was challenged for being racist.
"People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent," says the Web site bannedbooksweek.org, maintained by the American Booksellers Foundation for Freedom of Expression. "They object to profanity and slang, and protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups - or positive portrayals of homosexuals."
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Stephanie Diminski
posted 9/28/08 @ 5:14 PM EST
I am a devout and faithful member of the Catholic faith, and I would HIGHLY recommend His Dark Materials to anyone who is interested in reading a book that could very well impact their lives. (Continued…)
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