Apparently September 26th - October 3rd is national Banned Books week. In honor of the naughty novels, here is a list of censored texts:
His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman are young adult novesl with "subversive political and religious viewpoint and violence." There's even an anti Philip Pullman website and here are some favorite quotes:
The idea hovered and shimmered delicately, like a soap bubble, and she dared not even look at it directly in case it burst. But she was familiar with the way of ideas, and she let it shimmer, looking away, thinking about something else.
and how about this one...
The Christian religion s a very powerful and convincing mistake, that's all.
Gutsy!
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was banned in the province of Hunan, China (1931) for the portrayal of anthropomorphized animals acting on the same level as humans.
The Diary of Anne Frank was banned in Lebanon for "portray[ing] Jews, Israel or Zionism favorably." Yikes.
James Joyce's novel was challenged and temporarily banned in the US for its sexual content. The ban was overturned in United States v. One Book Called Ulysses. In 1999, the Modern Library ranked Ulysses first on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
And now the grand finale:
Yes, it's true. The Gossip Girl series topped the list of the most banned books in 2006. Why? Well it depends on the year:
2007
Banned for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, being unsuited to age group and offensive language. ---- EGAD!
2009
Banned or challenged for being sexually explicit, being unsuited to age group, and offensive language. ---- All true, but damn it's good. I mean check this quote out:
Gossip Girl: "Here's an inside tip, Little J. The faster you rise, the harder you fall. Hope that Hello Kitty sleeping bag doubles as a parachute."
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