SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Today starts Banned Book Week 2015. Most of the books that are challenged are in school. To have a book challenged, all one has to do is complain to the local school board, that is it. You can rest assured many of the classics we read during our younger days are challenged books.

Banned books are another word for censorship, except those that will ban books would never say that, they are looking out for the safety of our children.

Please take a moment and visit the links below and be glad that you can read what you want.

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/censor...

http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/04/...

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlyc...

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/about

I tip my hat to the ALA for fighting the good fight. You do not think of librarians as anything more than meek individuals that want it quiet in the library. In all actuality, they are shield carrying warriors for intellectual freedom.

Read a banned book and posses knowledge that censors do not want you to have. Better yet, give your children the banned books and teach them to think and they will never be anybody's fool!

Reminds me I really need to read Saga #1.

Got me worried and then I realised it was American

I just read a banned book. Into the River by Ted Dawe. It's a New Zealand book banned in New Zealand. It's also a YA book which uses the c word and has a few quite explicit sex scenes. I don't believe in banning books but maybe the YA category is inappropriate sometimes?

Jim wrote: "Got me worried and then I realised it was American"

???? Now I am lost.

I try to read a book from their list of frequently banned books during Banned Book Week every year in honor of my unrestricted reading freedom.

This year I plan to read Beloved this year.

Even though it's not intentional, I generally end up reading at least one banned book a year. This year I'm delighted to have read a book still in the top 10 banned books The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

Monica, I find that I tend to read books from the list unintentionally, as well.

Valerie wrote: "Monica, I find that I tend to read books from the list unintentionally, as well."

Monica wrote: "Even though it's not intentional, I generally end up reading at least one banned book a year. This year I'm delighted to have read a book still in the top 10 banned books [book:The Bluest Eye|1133..."

The funny part is that it is that many books that are banned/ challenged and that is why you keep stumbling upon the books on the list.

This year I'm going to read something by Jung Chang, as every book she has written has been banned by the People's Republic of China. There is a waiting list at the library for Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China so I checked out Mao: The Unknown Story instead.

I've got Richard Wright's NATIVE SON. I think I'll read that this year. I saw the uncut version of the movie--a surviving copy was found in Argentina where it was shot (c. 1952). The version shown in the US had 30 minutes chopped out of it. I can't imagine it made any sense at all because it's only about 1 hr 30 mins to start with. But it's a powerful movie, and I imagine the book is no less so. Richard Wright himself adapted his novel for the screen and starred as the main character.