Banned Books Week Hop 2015

I want to give a big shout out to the hosting blogs of this awesome hop, I Am A Reader and Bookhounds. Libraries and books have been a huge part of my life, my entire life. Growing up, I was a regular at our small town library and as an adult, I have worked in libraries for over 23 years now.

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. The 2015 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 27 - October 3.

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 ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in communities across the country. They compile lists of challenged books in order to inform the public about censorship efforts that affect libraries and schools.

The top ten most frequently challenged

books of 2014 include:

(click on the book covers for more information about each book)

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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: “depictions of bullying”

2. Persepolis,

by Marjane Satrapi

Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions”

3. And Tango Makes Three 

by 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 

by Toni Morrison

Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”

5. It’s Perfectly Normal 

by Robie Harris

Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”

6. Saga 

by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Reasons: Anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

7. The Kite Runner 

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 

by Jaycee Dugard

Reasons: drugs / alcohol / smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

10. Drama 

by Raina Telgemeier

Reasons: sexually explicit.

Source: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks

The fine print:

The Book Bag's giveaway will be any book (up to $20) from the top 10 list of challenged books from 2014, so one of the 10 books above. This giveaway is open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to you. I reserve the right to select the edition to be sent to the winner. If the challenged book is part of a series, the winner can select any one of the books in the series. The winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond or another name will be drawn.

Good luck!

Now start hopping!

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