Banned Books Week 2010

Sept. 25 - Oct. 2 is Banned Book Week. What will you be reading?

I will be reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor which was challenged in schools due to racial bias.

and

Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Most likely I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, though I have Beloved on my Wishlist....

Thanks for the reminder . . . will check the lists and pick something before Saturday!

Unwind is listed as a book banned from schools...I've read that (I really like Neal Shusterman) and may read it again. Maybe I'll re-read 1984 as well :)

I'll be listening to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. I've also checked out Marked by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast, but I'm sure I won't have finished it within the time frame.

I'll be rereading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I never tire of these two books!

I finished The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. What a fantastic book which I wouldn't have read had it not been for the banned book challenge. Rather than being banned it should be required reading for high school kids it's so full of both possibilities and the complete lack of possibilities. I saw a movie of one of his later books and didn't quite understand the reason all his friends were so ambivalent about his success. Now I know. It's like the crabs who keep pulling back the one who tries to climb out of the pot. But he loved his pot, he loved the rez, he just knew he'd die if he stayed there. What an excellent book.

Next for the banned book challenge is Marked. It's a paranormal fantasy so I can't believe it will in any way stand up to the perfection of Sherman Alexie, but I'm going to listen to it in honor of banned books everywhere.

I found an old interview with Sherman Alexie in which he talks about the movie I was referring to The Business of Fancydancing. He talks like he writes:
http://www.identitytheory.com/interviews/alexie_interview.html

I'm currently reading Slaughterhouse Five, and have A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and probably To Kill a Mockingbird lined up for my own Banned Books Week challenge. I wanted to focus on the classics I've not read, as the top 100 has dozens of my TBR/wishlisted books.

I've already got my copy of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian and Slaughterhouse-Five is due for a reread. Those books are currently being banned by high schools in my home state so they're getting bumped :)

On the last day of Banned Books Week I read the delightful little and tango makes three. It amazes me that anyone finds the need to ban such a simple. true, feel good book about families. It certainly makes sense that young people would be committing suicide over the denigration of their sexuality if society conspires to remove any positive comments about any aspect of that sexuality.

You can find the book read on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Ilx_DsZyY

Some readings have better sound, some have better pictures

And Tango Makes Three Sounds like a very apropos title right now, given the horrible rash of suicides among queer teens in the last two weeks. Thanks for the reminder, Citizenjoyce; this is going to the top of my TBR.