Yuppie Reports: Banned Books Week

Tomorrow marks the end of Banned Books Week, a yearly celebration that started back in 1982 to counter calls for censorship. There have been several challenges to written works for any number of reasons like anti-ethnicism, sexual content, different political and religious viewpoints, violence, offensive language, and inappropriateness for the age group the book was released for, among others.

Imagine that.

According to the Banned Books Week website, the ten most challenged books last year were:

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, is all about Roy and Silo, two penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo, who became a couple and successfully hatched and cared for an egg. Did I mention that Roy and Silo are both male? Hence the problem with critics.

His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass), by Philip Pullman, is in the list because of its “negative portrayal of organized religion.” Hmm, when you embark on a quest to kill God, there is bound to be some flak coming your way.

TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle. I don’t even know what TTFN and L8R, G8R mean – a quick internet search yields “Ta Ta For Now” and “Later Gator.” (I know, the mind reels). Moving on.

Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz, is a collection of folklore and urban legends. As you can probably tell, it’s a series of children’s books. The reason for its inclusion in the American Library Association’s 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000? Satanism. Among other things.

Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, was first published in 1972. It centers around themes like the occult (the titular character Ultima is a curandera, a folk healer) and has been attacked for said themes.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, is a collection of letters written by the character Charlie to an unknown person. The author, Chbosky cited J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye as inspiration for his book. The Catcher in the Rye is also a member of the Most Challenged Books Ever Club.

Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar. I have little idea what Gossip Girl is all about (I don’t have any intention of finding out more), though I do like the idea of the omniscient blogger. Anyway, the series is challenged mainly for being unsuited for young adults, being sexually explicit and having offensive language within its pages.

Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen, is relatively unknown; it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. For fun-fact lovers out there, Uncle Bobby is getting married to a guy, hence the reeling of various sectors. Also, it’s a children’s book. I have a lot to say about the issue, but most of it is beautifully explained here.

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a book I’ve been trying to find myself. It sports coming of age themes, war, and jealousy, alongside sexually explicit content and offensive language. Fun fact: The Kite Runner also has a film adaptation.

I have no idea why Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper, is on the list. Are they opposed to teenage angst now? Well, apparently, it was the sexually explicit content again – along with unsuitability to age group. How can a book about a teenage girl dealing with teenage angst, among other teenage issues be unsuitable for teenagers?

So there. That’s the list for last year. The above books join the ranks of other banned/censored/challenged books like Censorship in Modern Times (ironic, yes?), Candide, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (I think Twain wanted to see how many times he could write “nigger” before the politically correct police pop a vein.), Brave New World, 1984, The Catcher in the Rye, Lolita, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Anarchist Cookbook, The Satanic Verses, and the Harry Potter Series.