Apparently today is the beginning of banned books week. I always wanted to start a banned book the week of, but I always forget or I never remember when it starts and by the time it gets here, I’ve done nothing for it at all. I especially forgot this year because we had my husband’s birthday bonfire party last night and I was busy getting the house and yard ready. Who knew that a little party would be so tiring? It was fun, but it was a lot of work to get ready.
So, instead of telling you which book I’m planning to read from the banned books list, I’m going to list books that I’ve already read that have been frequently challenged or banned from certain places. For reference, I’m looking at the Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books 2010-2019 from the American Library Association found here.- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni
- Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
- Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
- The Things they Carried by Tim O’Brien
- A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- The Bible (at least, I’ve read parts of it)
- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
- The Giver by Lois Lowery
- Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
- Go the F– to Sleep by Adam Mansbach (at least, I feel like I’ve at least looked at it when I was at my old job…this was super popular with adults back in the day.)
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (according to my Goodreads, I’ve read this, but I don’t remember a lot of it–just that the ending was weird.)
What banned/challenged books have you read?
Ashley French 