Submitted by Delia Have you heard? Reading Harry Potter turns you into a devil-worshipper! JK Rowling’s young adult series Harry Potter is the most challenged book of the 21st century, and is one of the top ten most frequently banned books of all time. Parents are concerned about the positive portrayal of the occult in the series and cry that the book is indoctrinating their children into Satan-worship. But they are ignoring the real threat … Continue reading Harry Potter (the series) by J.K. Rowling →
Whenever I think of this book, I’m reminded of a story reading expert Jim Trelease tells in his presentations to parents. He once read his son the first page of this book, which ends with the following paragraph: “Then, one day, James’ mother and father went to London to do some shopping, and there a terrible thing happened. Both of them suddenly got eaten up (in full daylight, mind you, and on a crowded street) … Continue reading James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl →
Submitted by Heidi I first read this book at least 10 years ago, and there is a funny story that starts it made so even more by the fact that it’s on this list. My 84-year old aunt read this book and then lost it. Could NOT find it. Was DESPERATE to find it again because she enjoyed it so. We searched for it for a year or two, and then after hearing her wax … Continue reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett →
Submitted by <a data-cke-saved-href=”http://chris-book-a-rama.blogspot.com/ target=” href=”http://chris-book-a-rama.blogspot.com/ target=” _blank”=””>Christine The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood has been challenged for the sexual content (some of it creepy) and references to suicide (who would want to live in this world?) It is a dystopian novel set in Gilead, the former USA. Congress has been murdered, the constitution thrown out, by religious zealots. Women no longer have any rights, even reading is forbidden. The current government has divided women … Continue reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood →
Submitted by Elyssa Forget Jerry Springer. With family issues, cross-dressing, and a touch of homoeroticism, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an engaging, first person point-of-view set during the Civil War-era. Considered a “Great American Novel” and one of the first to use common-day vernacular, Huck Finn has been highly contested novel, resulting in its current #4 slot on the Banned Books List. Huck Finn is our narrator, the typical misunderstood bad boy, living with … Continue reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain →
Submitted by Danielle (aka GaiaGrrl) Bio: Danielle (aka GaiaGrrl) is a High School teacher in the city of Boston. She has taught English for 7 years, during which she has encouraged her students to read as many banned books as possible, and to think independently. She prides herself on having taught over 20 books on the banned book list. She is also a mom-to-be, and looks forward to similarly corrupting the future youth of our … Continue reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood →
Submitted by Iffygenia Bio: Call me Iffygenia. Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – having few books left on my pile, and nothing particular to interest me at work, I thought I would surf about a little and dip my toe into the deep waters of the blogs.†– Moby-Dick Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World: A feminist-intellectualist-romanticist-historicist-deconstructivist-takingthepiss reading After the brainwashing, we knew our purpose; we were docile, compliant, content in our … Continue reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley →
Submitted by Naomi Libicki Recently, my husband and I bought a giant pile of used children’s books for our one-year-old son – the books we remembered most fondly from our childhoods. One of the books I picked out was In the Night Kitchen. When our copy arrived, I found the following stamp inside the front cover: Windham Public Library: WITHDRAWN. “What huh?” I thought. And then, “Oh yeah . . . the penis.” In the … Continue reading In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak →
Submitted by Sarah When I first bought this book, sometime in middle school, I honestly thought it was about drugs. The back blurb on my particular edition said something like, “Even straight kids will enjoy this love story” – I thought it meant “straight” as in straight-edge. At the time, I was a studious nerd who hung out in the school library; in this book, I was looking for a little excitement and maybe a … Continue reading Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden →
Submitted by Carrie Lofty Respected Canadian poet and novelist Margaret Atwood departed from the style and tone of her previous works to present a fable of the near future. In the Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, far-right extremists have instituted a monotheocratic government, a feminist’s nightmare. Women are strictly controlled, prevented from holding jobs, and are assigned to classes: the housekeeping Marthas, the reproductive Handmaids, and the morally fit Wives. The tale is … Continue reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood →
Submitted by Katie Dickson Jean Auel’s first novel in the series, Clan of the Cave Bear, was recommended to me by my uncle when I was just starting high school. He gave it to me with a warning. “Um,†he said, “I started to read the rest of the books, but they got kind of romance-novel-ish.†He was clearly embarrassed. “The sequels are kind of smutty.†Telling a young lady that the book she is … Continue reading Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel →
