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Top 10 Books Prudes Don't Want Us To Read
By Brian FairbanksApril 15th, 2010, 12:26 pmComments (71)
It's that time again: the ALA is out with its list of the most attacked, banned, burned, castrated, censored and altogether buried books of the past year... and you'll be mighty surprised (maybe) at which one makes the Top 5.
The American Library Association named "Rhymes With Witches" one of its best books for teens 2005, but maybe that title caught the attention of the crusading prudes, who have subsequently tried to suppress her "Internet [or IM] Girls" series.
But it isn't the #1 choice that is causing all the press attention... it's #5.
1. ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs
2. "And Tango Makes Three" by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: Homosexuality
3. "The Perks of Being A Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide
4. "To Kill A Mockingbird," by Harper Lee
Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group
6. "Catcher in the Rye," by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
7. "My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence
8. "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things," by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
9. "The Color Purple," Alice Walker
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
10. "The Chocolate War," by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group
Look, we hate the "T"-word series (we can't even bring ourselves to say it), but should it be banned? No. Should anything? Probably not.
Via.
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Commentarium (71 Comments)
#8 deserves to be on this list for the title alone.
Why not just burn down all of your libraries instead? It would make for better news.
To Kill a Mockingbird? Damn, if that book is on the list then the Bible should be too. That book has homosexuality, incest, murder, devil worship, gambling, etc. The even use the "h" word from time to time. Scandalous!!
Oh yeah, the Bible also has tons of discrimination and slavery.
Don't need to burn down the libraries, they'll all be shut down soon anyway.
These are the books I'm going to MAKE my kids read (well, I'll spare them some pain and tell them it's ok if they don't want to read Twilight).
The earth my butt and other big round things was a book I enjoyed in highschool. The title is a little strang but it's not that bad...
Finally. Someone agrees that Twilight is bad :P
I love how scifi things like vampires and in other cases avatars' aliens who worship their alien planet falls under religious viewpoints. makebelive is now a religious viewpoint
The idea of banning books is arcaic and this list shows they haven't done much reading compared to what's out there. Or is it that the books that are really bad (porn and real life horror) are ok to just ignore??!!
Srsly. You don't want them - don't buy them. Leave the rest of the literate world to it's own.
To kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye being on a list is patently absurd. I 'd bet these folks that want to ban these books buy tabloid magazines every time they go to the super market. They are literally scared of books. Ridiculous.
The Tale of Scrottie McBoogerballs didn't make the cut?
steved, I'm pretty sure the "religious viewpoint" they're referring to in reference to Twilight is because of the Mormon undertones.
James Bacque and David Irving didn't make the list? More no fiction books are banned than fiction books by a huge margin.
religion and makebelieve have always been the same thing
KitinNY - haha well said
“religious viewpoint” ...translation... "religious viewpoint different from ours"
The War on Twilight has begun!!!
Libraries are government run and therefore they are going to push their socialist agenda right?
/s
Religion is make believe as well. Lets just ban religion and live in a better world!
Wow, To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye have been in the top 10 for almost half a century, I would have thought they would have faded into the top 20-40 by now. Amazing.
Books have nudity...? I mean yeah they can, but is it really the same?
Understand that the folks who are attacking these books are the same folks who feel that kids shouldn't be reading anything that might make them think. Instead, let's simply indoctrinate the kids into our way of thinking, and leave things like questions about racism, religion and sexuality out of the picture. [cynical mode off]
More people need God and this world would be a better place to live. Jesus is real and one people will see, when its to late for them. Read what you want but the Bible has it all.
totally read "The Chocolate War" in high school...I think it was cause our student teacher wanted to be "different" from the other teachers in the small town I grew up in....
Actually, the bible lacks the kind of hot sex that I like in a good book. So no, it falls a little short of having it all.
I totally disagree with the potential censorship but seriously guys, intolerance is a two way street. Sure, they refuse to even see the viewpoint that censorship is bad, people can make their own decisions, etc. but you do realize that most of the people in this comments section are equally intolerant. You refuse to even comprehend as to why they might wish for more control. I can guarantee you that most of them don't want it for any reason besides they actually care. They don't mean to be evil they just are because you disagree with them in the same way that you are evil because they disagree with you.
tl;dr Moral relativism is the spice of life and they and you all are horrible people for not realizing it.
This only makes these books more popular. People need to discover for themselves why they're banned, why there's controversy.
Also, when is there nudity and sexual content in The Chocolate War? I just read it last year, but I don't recall.
Wasn't there some lady in Arkansas or Tennessee who crusaded against the Harry Potter books when they first came out? She got a lot of attention til the movies stole her 15 minutes. Anyone got her name?
Really? No Chuck Palahniuk or Kurt Vonnegut books? Read either of these authors (the latter considered to be a revolutionary literary figure) and then reconsider this list. Clearly the judges of book censorship haven't ventured beyond J.D. Salinger in a couple decades except to denounce whatever graces the cover of Esquire.
@ steved: aren't all religions make-believe?
I'll be happy to throw religion out the door as long as we can also throw that morality thing out with it too. It baffles me how, when we see how vast this universe is, there are still people that believe we are THE universal superpower. The idea that we could have been created by something more powerful than us is all just superstition and make believe? Ya know, maybe it is make believe but then so is the concept of morality. Do animals have "morals?" If we're just animals then it's about time we start acting like it. Perhaps I should start by killing off all the people I think are inferior to me? If I die in the process it just means I was inferior to someone else but in the long run that means the fit survive and the human race becomes stronger, right? Heck, it'd probably be better for the planet and our oh-so-important carbon footprints too. That's fine, believe what you want, some parts of this world are free enough for that. Sadly they all have moral values of some kind. I guess nobody will be happy until morality is defined along THEIR definition of what it should be.
I'm a proud prude (A.K.A. "parent")! But I couldn't care less what you all read. I only care about what MY kids read. When they are adults, they can do whatever they want.
HUCK FINN?
If "Too kill a mockingbird" is banned, then why don't they ban the movie too?
@ me: anyone who has spent a few minutes looking at religion should know that it is NOT a basis for morality... morality comes from our want and need to cooperate, cohabitate and survive (peacefully) with other members of our species... remember that it is not religion that has informed the moral zeitgeist in past, but rather it has been playing catch-up with society for centuries! Never mind pedophile priests, money scams and terrorism, look at how bigoted your x-tian next-door neighbour is, you'll know what I mean...
So as far as your whining about everybody becoming some rage-driven animal without a god to spank you if don't do as your told, maybe people like you need religion... the rest of us seem to get along just fine without.
Peace!
only 10?
"the Bible also has tons of discrimination and slavery." LOL! I've never read "thou shalt own a slave" or "thou shalt pimp slap your wife" in the Bible. Where do you guys get this information from anyway? Turn off the TV for a while and read some books.
I read four of the ten books on this list in high school English. (Thank God not Twilight.) I went to high school in a nice sleepy suburb in PA where like 95% of the students go off to get four year degrees after. I don't really see them as harmful and the lesson I learned in them taught me a lot. I read more violent books like, "Fallen Angels" which I have to say taught me nothing in high school too.
I think the term "banned book" isn't really what it once was. If anything I ask why aren't classic books like "The Prince", "Utopia", and "Paradise Lost" in schools. They teach very good information. Concepts of control, power, society, good and evil. However, most high school kids don't even know who wrote "The Prince" or even what it is about. Mostly because they are banned in a different way. It is wrong in today's society to call a classic "banned", they simply find a different excuse to remove them.
There has always been a class of "banned" lit and there will always be banned lit. I am just thank for that we still live in a country were any person can still find these "banned" book at any local book store and make the choice themself. (Plus, lets look at it this way. Publicity is always good so I rather have the world label my book banned and sell million vs having the work say it is fine and never be heard of again.)
Morality only can happen through religion?? Maybe some of us nonreligious people are moral because it seems right and that's how we want to be. Or maybe all you who are moral only because God might otherwise smite them really would otherwise be raping, stealing and murdering evil little snits who respond only to threats?
wow... stupidest list ive seen in a week... of all the books this is what you come up with! i could be on crack for 3 days straight and still come up with a better list. I can't believe you think you have something interesting to say. YOU DONT. Stop wasting our lives with your dribble.
billiam, who are you talking to? Me, the guy who is just republishing someone else's list... the ALA, which compiled the list based on research, reports and other factors, as clearly started on the website I linked to... or the morons who "come up" with ideas for books to ban in the first place?
Religious morality, really. Like raping little kids, covering up the crimes and moving the criminals to other locations to continue raping more kids. And of course all the followers making up excuses. That's the morality you are talking about right?
For the record. I found it interesting. We will always have those who like to tell us what to think. Thank you Brian for enlightening us.
OMG How stupid is this! Banning Books!!!!?. Just because they don't like them doesn't mean other people do!. And yeah I am not into Twilight saga its kinda lame but Hundreds of people do like it!, I am not about to scream at someone for liking it!.
Migzilla, one of many.
"When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be punished; for the slave is his money."
—Exodus 21:20-21 (RSV)
To Kill a Mockingbird? Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?! Whoever bans that books needs to be arrested for obstruction of justice. Yeah, I know that doesn't make sense but IT'S TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD! It's a cornerstone of American literature! You don't have to like it but I should be allowed to punch someone in the face for banning it.
Catcher in the Rye sucks but shouldn't be banned. If they're still selling books like Mein Kampf and movies like Birth of a Nation, they better have a goddamned good reason for taking Perks of Being a Wallflower off the shelves. Anti-Family? What the fuck is that?!
You know what, they should just get it over with and put their kids in a fucking bubble. Do not expose them to any human suffering. And when they turn out like the fucking Jersey Shore kids, they better shut the fuck up.
The hell, man. Where can I direct a letter informing people who ban books (based on their fucked up "moral" code) to eat a dick? Seriously.
Oh fuck off, all of you who blame religion for the stupid people that follow it. I'm agnostic, but I attended a Christian private school. The Bible only tells the people who follow Christianity to love their enemy and respect themselves and others. Find me one passage that encourages murder, molestation or even hate toward anyone.
Also, does no one realize that Atheism is just as closed-minded as any other religion? I say "other religion" because Atheism is one, in essence. I'm so sick of condescending, spiteful, "I have all the answers to the universe because I'm an omniscient genius" pricks.
Oh, in case I get flamed, Catcher in the Rye > Twilight. I acknowledge the solid style of Catcher in the Rye, I just hated Holden because he was a whiny bitch. Compared to the other books on the list, I don't even know why Twilight is on there, since I don't think it technically counts as writing.
http://blogs.nerve.com/scanner/2010/04/15/top-10-books-prudes-dont-want-...
What is nudity in a book and wouldn't Sexually Explicit cover that?
this list insults your intelligence. yeah they who ever they are really care about catcher in the rye. maybe 30 years ago or more. How about the anarchist cookbook? get real people.
Far from being banned, 4 and 6 are required reading for grade 10's around here. Every last kid getting through high school reads these books. What better way to keep kids from really reading them? Make them homework!!
this is the stupidest list, Twilight, oh come on, to kill a mocking bird, why not band the internet while we are at it.
Migzilla:
"I’m a proud prude (A.K.A. “parent”)! But I couldn’t care less what you all read. I only care about what MY kids read. When they are adults, they can do whatever they want."
Yeah, but by then, their little minds will have already been destroyed by all the force-fed fairy tales.
You missed a book, Hitman - violence, topics involve how to kill someone
The Twilight series should be banned because it's really shitty.
excellent, I agree with some commmenters, if you want to ban something full of obscenity,the christian Bible deserves a look.
". The Bible only tells the people who follow Christianity to love their enemy and respect themselves and others."
Ethan, you don't know what you're saying. The bible is full of unspeakable, disgusting violence committed by and in the name of god. Perhaps in your naivety you think this does not encourage this sort of behavior. look around you at the atrocities committed every day in the name of god. Wake up.
@ steved: Twilight isn't considered religious because of vampires. It's considered religious because it espouses the teachings of the church of latter day saints (aka mormon). There are hundreds of sources that can be read on the topic.
I'm agnostic and have the same problem with atheism that I do with other religions that smugly proclaim they have the Answer. For all anyone knows, God is a three-headed cat, and I'm going to hell because I give Fluffy the inexpensive dry food instead of the pricey moist food from a can. But I will note that atheists and agnostics are not the ones killing each other in the Middle East, or in Northern Ireland (though that has stopped, thank the three-headed cat God), or flying planes into buildings, or raping children in churches worldwide. If patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, religion is the last refuge of the fascist. Now, if you have a personal belief about the nature of God, and it leads you to love your neighbor, respect others' personal beliefs and to do unto them as you would have them do unto you -- including not forcing your religious beliefs on them -- that's great, and I respect you. But no particular version of God, or indeed, any God at all, is needed to come to the conclusion that those values are a good way to live one's life. But if you've reached that conclusion on values, I'm not going to care what path you take to get there. Peace, All.
I don't understand the "nudity" either.
But considering the U.S. is one of the lowest educated nations in the Western Hemisphere not surprising.
Iceland has recently championed the right of free speech, so at least it's just wounded and not dead.
How can any books still be banned? Amazing! Especially as the ones listed are relatively harmless.
You forgot to include this book. The Tale of Scroty McBoogerballs
You americans are crazy
@books ROCK, Stalin would have loved you. On the other hand, if you go to the Middle East and try to spread that idea than Sunnis, Shi'ites, Jews, and Christians would all be united against you and therefore find some common ground.
This is ridiculous. Catcher in the Rye is a great book. And where does Twilight have religious view points in it? And sexually explicit? They do not say anything in the books. People have way too much time on their hands. If all they have to do is sit around and think about what book they can ban then they need a life.
5. i think mostly its because it sucks
This is always a tricky subject. No books should be banned because a books content is really nothing more than opinion. Should we ban opinions? Of course not. Here's where it gets tricky. School libraries. Parents are responsible for their children until they are 18. Hence parents need to be responsible for what gets into school libraries. A books perspective should not be the criteria but the way that perspective is expounded in the book should be. If it is graphically sexual or violent it need not be in a schools library. The problem is people have different ideas what is graphic which will require active participation of as many parents as possible to hash things out and come to as reasonable an agreement as possible. This ultimately leads us back to the parents paying attention to what their children are reading which is where the responsibility lies.........
What!!??? I don't recall any homosexuality in My Sisters Keeper! Plus what about the Dark Materials books? aren't though usually on the list (i love them by the way). what about Anne Rice Vampires ( they have WAY more sex related themes and religious viewpoints. they have atheism at first and eventual Catholicism views. and plenty of bisexual themes and violent killings. all i'm saying is they should get there two cents. so much better than that crap Meyer calls a book)and Slaughterhouse 5? anyway, AS a high school student, i try to go out of my way to read banned books. no kid should just be exposed to just ONE way of thinking. if they are to ever to really trust or understand something, they have to choose it for themselves, be it atheism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, or being agnostic. or anything really. it's just a intellectual crime to censor things.
oh, and ps my sisters keeper the movie, super sucked!