Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Thursday Thirteen 348: Challenged Books I've Read




It's Banned Book Week! Here are some of the challenged books I've read that can be found on my shelves. Some of these were childhood favorites, while others have been read more recently.






01. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (offensive language, occult themes, undermines religious values)

02. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (offensive language, sexual references, Burned in Nazi bonfires in 1933)

03. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (violence, offensive language, drug/alcohol use, unchristian values)

04. Peter Pan by J.M. Barie (racism, promotes homosexuality, drug use, miscreantism)

05. Forever by Judy Blume (offensive language, sexual content, disobedience to parents)

06. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume (offensive language, sexual situations, use of alcohol)

07. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (offensive language, sexual content, irreligious)

08. The Giver by Lois Lowry (violence, sexual references, occult themes, infanticide/euthanasia)

09. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (offensive language, drug/alcohol use, sexual references)

10. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (offensive language, promotes "secular humanism, New Age religion, occultism, and Satanism.")

11. The Chocolate War by Robert Cornmier (offensive language, violence, sexual references)

12. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marques (offensive language, violence, sexual content)

13. The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (excessive violence, negative portrayals of female characters, anti-Semitic references, witchcraft, alcohol)


Have you read any of these books?



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen



14 comments:

Jennifer Leeland said...

"Forever" by Judy Blume was one of the first "banned" books I'd read.

Heather said...

Jennifer: Me too -- that and Tiger Eyes. ☺

My name is Riet said...

I don't think I have but what a great job reading all these books in such a short time. Well done.

colleen said...

Peter Pan was one of the stories that woke up my spirit. It was the movie though and I can't imagine why it would be banned.

Heather said...

Riet: These are books that have been read over the years, some during my school days, and some in the last couple of years.

Heather said...

Colleen: Per my post, the reasons people cite for challenging the book are racism (towards native peoples), drug use (Peter's medicine), homosexuality (all those boys/men living together and few females), and miscreantism (children misbehaving). Only the book has been challenged, not the movie or stage versions -- go figure.

Paige Tyler said...

I've read most of those. Can't believe they're on that list!

*hugs*
Paige

My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com

Heather said...

Paige: Some of the books that have been challenged do surprise one.

Mia Celeste said...

Yep, I read banned books, too. Bridge to Terabithia is one of my favorite.

Good post.

http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2014/09/in-celebration-of-writingthirteen-great.html

Heather said...

Thanks, Mia! ☺

Alice Audrey said...

There are some great books on this list. i hadn't realized the Nazis burned The Sun Also Rises.

Forgetfulone said...

I've read five of those, maybe six. I wonder why anyone would challenge some of those books. It's really ridiculous! I would encourage my kids and my students to read many of those.

Heather said...

Alice: Yup, they burned many works by Hemingway -- not to mention hundreds of other American and European authors.

Heather said...

Forgetfulone: Sad, isn't it, the reasons people cite for challenging a book? As if anything found between these pages could be worse than what they see or hear on TV, in movies or even -- in many cases -- their own homes.