BANNED BOOK WEEK.

I can remember there being some blog talk about Banned Book Week (BBW) last year but, to be honest, had not thought about it since until I saw this comment left by Heather (BURIED IN BOOKS) on Pen and Paper:-

"We are celebrating Banned Book Weeks over here in the States- celebrating our right to freedom of speech and freedom of the books that didn't get banned, such as Harry Potter series objection-witchcraft, Twilight Series-religion, sex, many of Roald Dahl's books etc.

"Just wondering since we're talking PC, do you have a lot of do gooders trying to ban books and do your libraries have a celebration for winning out over the objectors?"

Hmm! Interesting.

Firstly, for those of you unaware of what BBW is all about, it's

 "an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September*, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States."

So what sort of books are on the list? Well, according to the Guardian newspaper the top10 banned books 2010 include:-

+ At number 01 - And Tango Makes Three - Justin Richardson (Anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group)

+ At number 02 - His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman (Political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, violence)

+At number 09 - The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group)

+At number 10 - Flashcards Of My Life - Charise Merigle Harper (Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group)

Click HERE for full article)

Which brings me to ALISON CAN READ, who along with HEATHER, is currently taking part in a Banned Books Challenge and has recently reviewed The Giver by Lois Lowry (click HERE for her review.)

Oh and while I'm on the subject, why not go visit BANNED BOOKS in which various bloggers including Sheila (Book Journey) who takes a look at TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD (what you didn't know this was on the list) - get to review banned books.

But not only about the banning of books, during BBW, AMNESTY INTERNATIONALdirects attention to the plight of individuals who are persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read - PEOPLE LIKE ........(click on link to view.)

Not aware of any such week here in England, I thought I had better do some research.

According to that font of all knowledge Wikipedia:-

"Almost every country places some restrictions on what may be published, although the emphasis and the degree of control differ from country to country and at different periods." 

Unable to find any list(s), I put my thinking cap on and remembered, that whilst they had not actually been banned, there were several books that had caused a certain amount of controversy here in England in recent years - books such as Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses and, indeed, as mentioned above,  And Tango Makes Three which has been banned by some (mostly catholic) schools. And then of course, going back through history, we had the Bible, many versions of which were prohibited/destroyed at one time or another largely depending on whether there was a Catholic or Protestant Monarch on the throne at that time.

But do you know what I found even more hateful, even more disturbing, than BBW? A church in America was actually organising a Burn A Koran Day which was thankfully (and rightfully) cancelled at the last minute.Is it just me or does this have awful parallels with the burning of certain religious texts during the Second World War?

*This year BBW takes place between the 25th of September and the 2nd of October.

So what are your opinions, do you believe books should be censored? Have you read any books that have been banned and if so do you agree/disagree with the ban?