Read it or Weep

An important Monday happening, The Latest Additions, is being preempted today for an even more important happening…  Today we begin celebrating our Freedom to Read Week! (We’re going with “Freedom to Read” instead of “Banned Books” in honor of living in a democratic state that encourages freedom of speech, freedom of ideas, and the freedom to discuss these things in a public setting. Thank you America!)

So, first I’d like to start by mentioning that this isn’t anything new, there’s been a wide variety of books that have been banned over hundreds of years. There’s a weird logic to governments that forbid all religions from being practiced to then forbidding religious works from being read, but that’s a small group in the world of challenged books. (And it doesn’t make it right either, but at least one follows the other.) More notable would be if you look at some of the lists, it’s even more amazing which books were so scandalous in the past that people protested against them and yet they are almost dull by today’s standards. In twenty or thirty years, what will those people think about challenges raised against the Harry Potter books? Will they agree that the magical family Harry finds at Hogwarts has perverted a generation of children? Or will they just be laughing at the crazy choices offered in packages of Bertie Bots Every Flavored Beans?

The book I chose to highlight is The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I love this book! I read it first in high school and I loved it then as much as I love it now. It had -and still has, of course- all the best elements that going into making a unforgettable book: scary stuff, super scary stuff, even morescary stuff, and a scary dramatic ending! In Mr. Golding’s book, school boys are stranded on an island without any adults. They can’t get off the island and they have no idea if they’ll ever be found. (See? Scary!) The longer the boys are on the island, the worse things become as they go into survival mode but the worst part is the breakdown of basic, socially accepted behavior. (Even scarier!) The strong begin to pick on the weak and it murder is done. (Scary dramatic end!) Oh, it’s a good book! It’s discussable and thought-provoking and it’s one of the few books assigned to students that I’m confident won’t leave them confused or bored. It’s been challenged for the same things that make this book so fascinating: the violence, some profanity, and how quickly the boys embrace the idea that might makes right. (Sometimes I think the reality show Survivor has elements of this book, but with no death and a big prize at the end, maybe?) I guess in the end it comes down to this: when people object to the content of a book, they must believe they’re saving all of us from the seditious ideas in a book but I’d like the chance to decide for myself. Wouldn’t you?

May I leave you with some other websites to explore? How about: Online Books Page has an interesting overview of the subject, Censored has great resources for independent exploration, and of course American Library Associationhas a great variety of information! Even better will be the following posts from my co-workers. We’ve all chosen a book to share and they’ll be showing up on our blog every day! I’m excited to read what everyone else is going to write… what an interesting week this will be!

Enjoy your Freedom to Read this week -and every week… read a challenged or banned book today!

—Stacey