Freedom to Read « Books Worth Reading

Freedom to Read

March 2, 2007 at 10:37 am | In Books | 3 Comments
Tags: Banned books

It’s Freedom to Read week in Canada, and while I am not Canadian, I support the freedom to read anywhere in the world. In honor of Freedom to Read week, I am listing all the books in my current collection that have been challenged somewhere by somebody, and encourage you to go out and read them as soon as you can.

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Deliverance, James Dickey
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Carrie, Stephen King
Christine, Stephen King
Cujo, Stephen King
The Dead Zone, Stephen King
Different Seasons, Stephen King
It, Stephen King
The Stand, Stephen King
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

There are many more great books than these that have been challenged. Many of them I read as a child, because of course one of the primary reasons given to challenge a book is to “protect the children.” For even more reading, see the list of most commonly challenged books in the United States and the partial list of banned books. To get involved, start with Fahrenheit 451, a banned books blog.

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I didn’t like The Sun Also Rises. I would add 1984 to the list. It’s a good list. Share it with the Reading & Book Discussion Forum. Thanks!

Comment by Reader Scott — March 2, 2007 #
I’ve read 1984 but do not own it. I only listed books I actually own. The Sun Also Rises is the best Hemingway I’ve read, but generally I also don’t really care for Hemingway. Too macho and blustery.

Comment by shannonoz — March 3, 2007 #
I’m stoked… I own almost everyone of those books!

Comment by P.C. Sweeney — June 12, 2007 #