Banned books week is the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. Banned books week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the american library association. There were 311 challenges reported to the office of intellectual freedom in 2014, and many more go unreported. The 10 most challenged titles of 2014 were: 1 the absolutely true diary of a part time indian.

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By sherman alexie reasons: anti family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: politically, racially, and socially offensive, graphic depictions 3 and tango makes three. Justin richardson and peter parnell reasons: anti family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group.

Additional reasons: promotes the homosexual agenda 4 the bluest eye. Additional reasons: contains controversial issues 5 it’s perfectly normal. By robie harris reasons: nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. By brian vaughan and fiona staples reasons: anti family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. By khaled hosseini reasons: offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence 8 the perks of being a wallflower. By stephen chbosky reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: date rape and masturbation 9 a stolen life.

Jaycee dugard reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group 10 drama. By raina telgemeier more information on banned and challenged books is available on the american library association website. Grab a copy of speak or of catcher in the rye or of any of toni morrison’s books.

With the kickoff of banned books week, it’s high time to talk about these books and what it is that makes them scary and worth banning. The content inside of books scares people and as a reaction and a way to control what it is others have access to and in most cases, it’s their children and their children’s peers they seek out ways to censor or ban them. In every comments section or discussion about book censorship, there’s a variation on the can’t they just get it somewhere else question. In every comments section or discussion about book censorship, there’s a variation from authors or friends of authors who want to see their books censored since it’s a guaranteed way to make some sales. And in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to banned books week, there’s the reminder that it’s time to celebrate. The way we use and apply language is important, and when it comes to talking about the issue of censorship, the way we focus our attention matters significantly.

Celebrating banned books week is a marketing opportunity in many corners of the book world, and not without reason. Talking about these books matters because it’s how we talk about reading, about the sharing of ideas, and about why books and words are tools for growth. But there’s a fine line between celebrating banned books week and marketing books because they’ve been censored. Judith krug pioneered banned books week in 1982, with the goal to to teach the importance of our first amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society. Being sponsored by book advocating organizations including the american library association, the american booksellers association, and others, it’s natural that banned books would be front and center.

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Creating displays, offering events, and opening up discourse about these books and why people fear and seek to ban them is important in advocating for them and it’s important for advocating the most crucial component of krug’s vision: drawing attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on access and availability of information. When we celebrate banned books week, we strip the context of censorship from the equation. When a book is pulled from shelves, it’s not easy for readers to seek the book out. The notion that anyone can hop onto an online retailer and purchase a copy is fraught with privilege and it undermines the implications of what it means when a book is taken away from readers. A book being censored or removed from the hands of readers isn’t about the physical or digital manifestation of the book it’s about the fact a right has been striped from another individual or a community more broadly. Authors or readers who rally behind the idea of wanting a book challenged or censored for the purposes of sales fail to understand the implications for readers, too.

It’s not about your book or your friend’s book or that book you really, really love. It’s about the way the freedom to engage with ideas is taken from people who have the constitutional right to interact with those concepts as they wish. Whenever an author admits to selfishly wanting his or her book challenged or censored, it’s impossible not to see how much s/he misses the point. Celebrating banned books fuels the idea that it’s books we need to be protecting. It also fuels the idea that becoming part of an elite club of banned books is a badge of honor a merit earned because of something done on author’s part or a means of marketing that book. The ability to read any book you wish to off any shelf anywhere is about the freedom to thought. It’s about the freedom not to have to jump through hoops to pick up the book everyone is talking about.

It’s about being able to decide for yourself whether or not you agree with the central premise of the book or the ideas expressed by the author of that book. It’s about your right to read and think, free from other people making those decisions on your behalf. Pull one of your favorite banned books off the shelf, make a display, do a read out and enjoy the fact no one is stopping you from doing so. Read those words out loud, make a video about them, write passionately about those books and what they mean. For the fourth year in a row, the chinook bookshop and the colorado springs independent have teamed up to sponsor the banned books week essay contest.

Junior high school students were asked to write about what 'freedom to read' means to me and high school students addressed the topic what do you think about banning books in a high school library? and once again, the entries were impressive. The essays were screened and judged by a panel including: the chinook staff kathy glassman, president of csea susan rottman, local author and teacher and independent editor kathryn eastburn. Our thanks to the teachers who encouraged their students to participate and to all students who submitted essays. the freedom to read means we shouldn't allow censorship or book banning due to subject matter, language usage or violent situations.