usmcsis's Diaryland Diary
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banned books are cool
i took this from dvlshkitten, who took it from lealoo, who took it from someone else.
this is a list of the top 100 most commonly banned/challenged books between 1990 and 2000 according to the american library association. books that are bolded are ones that i have read.
1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy�s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It�s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine (i also read all of stine's pre-goosebumps books, back in the 80's, most of them were banned at some point or another as well.)
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth�s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L�Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (i read this book so many times that the pages literally fell out of it. i just stapled them back together and kept reading it. my mom bought it for me. however, i loaned it to friends who had to hide it from their parents so they didn't get in trouble.)
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak (most of sendak's books have been banned at one time or another. sad.)
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid�s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What�s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (this is one of my favorite books of all time. i read it repeatedly, every few years or so. i never get tired of this story. if you haven't read it, shame on you.)
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (my mother gave me this book to read when i was in sixth grade. it is one of her favorite books of all time.)
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (i tried to do a book report on this book in the sixth grade but my teacher made me choose another book. granted, it's a little advanced for most sixth graders, but i read it anyway.)
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (oh my friggin god, you bet i've read these books. you gotta love good 'ol' dirty fairy tale porn.)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What�s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It�s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney (i had totally forgotten about this book until i saw it on the list. i loved this book when i was younger. i think i'm going to have to get it from the library and read it again sometime soon.)
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (another of my favorites)
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women�s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King (i am actually currently reading this book. i don't know how a king novel slipped by me without being read but it did, so i picked it up cheap at a used bookstore the other week.)
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where�s Waldo? by Martin Hanford (wtf is offensive about waldo?)
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (i practically had this book memorized when i was a kid.)
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
with the exception of the kid's sex education books, almost every book on this list that i have not already read is on my "list of books to read before i die." oh yeah, and sex by madonnna is not on the list. and the gay men's one too.
it's a shame that most of judy blume, lois lowery, ronald dahl, katherine paterson, and zilpha keatley snyder's books have been banned at one time or another in my lifetime. these are the books i grew up on, banned or not. i thank god that my mother and father passed on their love of reading and their respect of books and literature to me. and i thank them for never being close-minded when it came to buying me books or checking books out of the library for me.
they trusted that i knew right from wrong and that i knew the difference between real and make-believe. and they could trust in that because they taught me to be that way. they also taught me to think for myself, to form my own opinions and to have my own mind, not to just follow the crowd and stand in line with the popular opinion. for that i will thank them always and i will teach my children the same lessons.
banned books are cool.
toodles
10:52 pm - 15 Oct 2004
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