Comments on: You got your controversy in my reading!

By: Mannyac

Mannyac — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:34:02 +0000

Books that were REquired reading when I was in school: 5,6,13,41,43,47,52,69,70
Books I read just because: 7,23,34,37,55,77,83

By: tara

tara — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:46:24 +0000

My favorite book on that list is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It’s a dystopian story about what might happen if Christian fundamentalists took over. So yeah, the crazies who are up in arms against sex education and Harry Potter’s demonic influences are not impressed. Hehe :)

By: Relmstein

Relmstein — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:09:38 +0000

Willo Davis Roberts had another great book that ends up on the Banned list every once and awhile, The Girl With the Silver Eyes. Its funny how often some great young adult authors like Judy Blume and Roald Dhal end up on this list so often.

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:01:45 +0000

I’ve only read 9. I recognize many of the others as being on Language Arts reading lists for kids and quite highly recommended by reading teachers from middle school through high school. I’m glad I read the books I did from this list. I do recognize some objectionable content in them . . . personally I’ve thought that content was a great catalyst for some in depth discussions about standards, where they come from and why we have them. The kind of conversations parents should be having with their kids.

Or they can just try to hide their kids from it. I guess.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

By: ech

ech — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:35:34 +0000

Huck Finn is frequently challenged because of the language used to describe blacks, and use of one word in particular. The fact that many consider it the finest novel ever written by an American is of no import to the banners, nor is the fact that it is a strong plea for respecting the dignity of all humans. The use of certain words, appropriate to the time and place of the novel, makes it anathema to some.

I’ve read about 10-12 of the books. Most are teen books that were published after I was in college. Many are already irrelevant (Madonna’s “Sex”). Of the list, maybe 5 are important books that will be read and discussed 50 years from now: Twain and Steinbeck for sure and possibly the Potter books, Morrison, and Vonnegut. Potter is kid lit and that rarely ages well, though it could end up like Pooh and Peter Rabbit and pass into the English language canon. Vonnegut is pretty well tied to the post-WW II culture of the 60s and we now know that Dresden was as valid a target as any in Germany for the bombing campaign. Morrison I’ve not read, but she seems to be popular. I thought the film of “The Color Purple” to be OK, and a scathing indictment of rural racism and sexism, but how relevant will that be 50 years from now? Hard to say.

By: The Wild One

The Wild One — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:51:40 +0000

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
19. Sex by Madonna
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
77. Carrie by Stephen King
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

I’ve read all these. Frankly, I don’t see why many of tem would have been banned, or even challenged.

I mean, ‘Where’s Waldo?’ COME ON.

‘The Anarchist Cookbook’ I could understand, though. My buddies and I damn near blew ourselves up making homegrown “stuff”, and there’s STILL a crater where our first test took place. (It was quite spectacularly successful.)

By: Saresa

Saresa — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 23:27:25 +0000

Glad to see that someone else believes The Great Gatsby is shallow (I hated that book when I had to study it in high school). As for the concept of banned books, I truly believe that almost no book should be banned. When I look at the list, I have to wonder if most of them were put on there as a sneaky attempt to make kids read them without having to look at them in the classroom.

By: Stealthfire

Stealthfire — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 23:05:18 +0000

I’m amazed how many of those books are required reading in school. Of those in the list, I’ve read Of Mice and Men, Bridge to Terabithia, My Brother Sam is Dead, The Catcher in the Rye, The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Outsiders, Flowers for Algernon, Brave New World, and Lord of the Flies sometime during elementary/middle/high school, and I will be reading Huck Finn sometime this year (junior in high school).

Flowers for Algernon…I haven’t thought of that story in while. I believe I read it in 7th grade, and it’s probably my favorite short story from school (Harrison Bergeron is close). I loved the way it was written, and the ending was heartbreaking.

It’s funny, a lot of the novels that I read in school I’m generally sort of indifferent to. Yet pretty much all of the ones I liked are on this list xD. Why doesn’t anyone want to ban Billy Budd?

Hmm…you’re making me want to go back and reread all of those books from middle school. I remember liking them, but I think I’d understand them better now.

I’m kinda surprised that 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 aren’t on there.

I’m gonna go back to sneezing my head off now. Aren’t colds fun?

By: Stupid Mage

Stupid Mage — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:08:43 +0000

I can’t believe Judy Blume is on that list.

So what if she named a penis Frank?

By: Nonprophet

Nonprophet — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:21:30 +0000

Wow that is Crazy BBB. I was spidering through wikipedia today and saw a link to this list. 2 minutes later I go to check your update and it’s the very same list. Are you watching me?