Banned Books Week 2022
September 18, 2022 03:31 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Every year at this time, I join with the American Library Association (ALA) in celebrating Banned Books Week. This year, the actual celebration takes place September 18-24, so this post will be right on time for that. I come to the celebration this year, both angered and with a heavy heart, because 2021 (the most recent year for which we have data) has been the worst year for book bans/challenges on record since the ALA started tracking this data. During 2021, book bans/challenges increased exponentially over the previous year. In 2020, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 156 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services, during which 273 books were targeted. In 2021, those number alarmingly jumped to 729 challenges with 1597 books being targeted. That’s a 367% increase in challenges and a 485% increase in books being targeted, which is staggering. And that’s just the ones that are reported. In fact, surveys indicate that 82%-97% of book challenges remain unreported and receive no media attention. All this means that there could be thousands more books being challenged or banned that we don’t even know about, which saddens, angers, and appalls a book-lover like myself.
Banned Books Week 2021
September 25, 2021 03:22 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Every year in September, I join the American Library Association (ALA) in celebrating Banned Books Week. Reading is a very fundamental right that can enrich our lives in many ways. That’s why I think that everyone should have the opportunity to read the types of books that they enjoy, which is why I stand against the censorship of reading materials. I sometimes understand the reasons behind why people are offended by certain books, but at the same time, many of these books, if handled properly, could help to open discussions that just might bring people together instead of pushing them farther apart by trying to take them out of everyone’s hands. In my humble opinion, censorship, or worse yet outright banning books, is a very slippery slope. Once you start challenging books that have viewpoints or content with which you disagree, you’re opening a door for people on the opposite side of the spectrum to challenge books you may love. That’s why I simply choose to leave books which I know or suspect will offend me on the shelf.
Tags: Anne Frank, Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week 2020
September 19, 2020 03:38 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Every year in September, I join the American Library Association (ALA) in celebrating Banned Books Week. Reading is a very fundamental right that can enrich our lives in many ways. That’s why I think that everyone should have the opportunity to read the types of books that they enjoy, which is why I stand against the censorship of reading materials. I sometimes understand the reasons behind why people are offended by certain books. In all honesty, there are a number books that I find offensive, too, but to attempt to censor or outright ban them is a very slippery slope. Once you start challenging books that have viewpoints or content with which you disagree, you’re opening a door for people on the opposite side of the spectrum to challenge books you may love. That’s why I simply choose to leave books which I know or suspect will offend me on the shelf.
Tags: Banned Books Week, Bette Greene
Banned Books Week 2019
September 15, 2019 03:11 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
What do all of these books have in common?
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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The Giver by Lois Lowry
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The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
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Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
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Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
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The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Tags: Banned Books Week, Stephenie Meyer
Banned Books Week 2018
September 14, 2018 04:43 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Welcome to my annual Banned Books Week celebration! If you haven’t been around for my previous ones and you’re wondering what this is all about, every year the American Library Association hosts this celebration to highlight books that have been challenged or banned and to help raise awareness to combat censorship. As a reader, I enjoy reading all books, including ones that have been banned, and as an author, I’m very much opposed to censoring of book content. That’s why I decided to hold my own little Banned Books Week event on my blog each year in which I’ll share some of my thoughts on the topic and give away one of my favorite banned/challenged books.
Tags: Banned Books Week, Bette Greene
Banned Books Week 2017
September 15, 2017 10:51 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Are you a rebel reader? I know I certainly am. I read whatever I choose to read and don’t really care much what others think of my reading choices. Not every book is going to be for every reader. We all have different tastes, interests, and preferences when it comes to reading, so while I will give you my opinions of the books I read via my reviews, I would never presume to tell others what they can – or can’t – read. Yet that’s exactly what happens when a person decides to challenge a book. It’s a form of censorship that’s stating that not only is this book not right for that individual but that they believe it isn’t right for anyone. And that’s just wrong! Every individual should have the opportunity to choose for themselves what books are right for them to read, or in the case of minors, each individual parent should have the right to choose what’s best for their children to read. But it’s my fervent belief that no one should have the right to choose for anyone else or another person’s kids. That’s why, each year, I support the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week, which seeks to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the challenging and in some cases, outright banning, of books.
Banned Books Week 2016
September 10, 2016 02:29 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Since 1982, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has been sponsoring the annual celebration of Banned Books Week during the last week of September. This year it will run from September 25 – October 1. As the ALA’s website states Banned Books Week “celebrates the freedom to read” and “highlights the value of free and open access to information.”
Banned Books Week 2015
September 28, 2015 03:13 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
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Image courtesy: The American Library Association |
As both a reader and a writer, I stand with the American Library Association (ALA) this week in support of banned books. The ALA instituted Banned Books Week in 1982 to celebrate our right to freely choose and access books without censorship. While not every book may be intended for every reader, this celebration reminds us that each reader should have the right to choose for him or herself what to read. The freedom to read is a basic cornerstone of a democratic society that shouldn't be taken for granted. Books contain a wealth of information, which when accessed can expand our minds and hearts beyond our small corner of the world. There is much that can be learned from books if we take the time to read. Thanks to libraries around the world, those books are available at our fingertips, so long as others don't try to take that right away. Even when the efforts to ban or challenge books are well-intentioned, they can be detrimental to our society, because censorship takes away our right as individuals to choose and think for ourselves. That's why I encourage my readers to stand with me this week in support of banned books. |
