From Shelf Awareness:
Yesterday, the American Library Association released its list of the top 10 list most frequently challenged books of 2010. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins made the list this time in "what's become a virtual rite of passage for young adult sensations," the Associated Press (via theWashington Post) reported.
"I've read in passing that people were concerned about the level of violence in the books," Collins said. "That's not unreasonable. They are violent. It's a war trilogy."
This year's top 10 are:
- And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson Reasons
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Crank by Ellen Hopkins
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Lush by Natasha Friend
- What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
- Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
- Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
"It almost makes me happy to hear books still have that kind of power," Alexie said. "And there's nothing in my book that even compares to what kids can find on the Internet."
The ALA reported 348 challenges to books in 2010 and at least 53 outright bans. According to Barbara M. Jones, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, some books on the list "reflect current trends and changes in technology, includingHunger Games, inspired in part by reality television; Aldous Huxley's classic Brave New World, which anticipates antidepressants and artificial fertilization; and a work of nonfiction: Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich's despairing account of trying to get by as a waitress, maid and Walmart worker," the AP noted.
"The closer books come to things that are really happening in a lot of lives, the more they become a reminder of what people don't like to think about," Jones said, adding that Ehrenreich's book "really hits hard what it's like to have a low paying job."
I've only read 4 of these, in red, how about you?
What are you reading?
I've read the Twilight series and loved it. There are books that I won't read but I don't try to impose my standards upon others. When I write my reviews I caution readers if there is content that may be unsuitable. I appreciate that in others so I offer it on all my reviews, if applicable. I think it's best to know up front and then one can determine if they want to go there.
ReplyDeleteTo Kill a Mockingbird was a banned book years ago but today it is noted for challenging the society as it was then and teaches tolerance for others too. Times are changing and it is the parents' rights to do what they deem necessary to protect their children but I don't necessarily agree that banning books is the answer. It's best to teach our children good moral values and standards so they can determine the best for themselves when choices are put before them.