Banned Books Week has always been important to me. It bothers me
that anyone would feel the need to try and censor what another person
reads. Yes, parents should take responsibility for what their own
children are reading and monitor the content. But that doesn't mean I
feel that parents should restrict what their kids read either. I
personally don't plan to restrict anything my son reads, but do plan to
be involved with what he reads and to try and read a lot of the same
books so that we can discuss them. However, I have no plans of telling
my son "no, you can't read that book." I feel strongly it is not my
place to tell anyone that they cannot read (or watch) something just
because I don't agree with it. There are plenty of books that I don't
care for and certain topics that I disagree with. So to make my life
easier, I just don't read those books.
Because I work in a library, Banned Books Week sticks out to me each year. I recently worked on a display of children's books that have either been banned or challenged. It is a personal goal of mine to someday have someone challenge a book that I have written. It seems that the best way to publicize your book is to make it into the Top Ten Most Challenged Books Lists. While I don't condone banning books of course, I've read a number of books that I'm surprised haven't made it onto a banned or challenge list. It seems that you haven't really "made it" in the literary world until someone has been offended by your book.I can't wait for the day when a library or bookstore displays a book written by me, because someone doesn't like it.
I'm going to dedicate
time on my blog this week to Banned Books. So many of my all time
favorite books have made it onto this list, so how can I not? I don't
like to get political or preachy (both on my blog and in real life), so
don't expect a lot of that, but feel free to share your opinions too.
Has your favorite book been banned?
Happy Reading!
-Melly
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