Banned Books

It's Banned Books Week! And I actually remembered to mention it before it was (completely) over! Yay me.

Which banned books are you reading to celebrate? 

Confession: I haven't been reading any banned books this week at all. Isn't that sad? I'm still trying to get through my list of half finished books that I started all at once. I did finish two of them yesterday, so at least I've accomplished some tiny little thing this week. 

It's all about looking on the bright side, right? Now if I can just get through my library books before they're due...

Since I did manage to remember it was happening, even if I didn't actually get as far as reading any for myself, I took a few minutes to look up a few banned books. (See? I was totally planning to read one... Ah, well. The best laid plans, you know...) Here's a short sample of some of my favorite banned books.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Go the F*ck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

and many more, it turns out.

Here's a link to one of the articles I found. 

I'm a little surprised at some of the titles on these lists I've looked at. For a lot of the books on the list, it's easy to figure out why some obnoxious people decided to whine about them. Anything that deals with sex education is apparently challenged/banned instantly. Heaven forbid kids learn any basic human biology, right? Any reference to LBGT themes, sex of any kind, or anything someone deems profane is also an instant tantrum.

But I cannot figure out what line of reasoning people used on some of these books. If any. Take the aforementioned Drama. One list I found claims it to be sexually explicit. Obviously, I need to reread this book. I think I missed something the first time. I don't remember any sex happening anywhere. 

I'm also seriously amused by the fact that anyone actually thought Go the F*ck to Sleep was a picture book meant for kids. I can't think of any other reason anyone would complain about that book. It's very obvious to me that whoever filed that complaint cannot possibly be a parent. Parents of small children feel that book deep in their souls and it was very clearly intended for that specific audience. Some people really do not have any sense of humor at all. Or the need to know that others have experienced that very specific torture only toddlers and preschoolers can dole out. (Infants can also be very talented in that area, as well, actually.)

I have to go cram some kids into their beds, so goodbye for now. Happy reading!