In honor of Banned Books Week, which ends today, every Staff Pick of the Week this month has featured Banned Books. This is the last one, we promise.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books that people have attempted to ban, but we believe you should choose what you read – not someone else. Young Adult books seem to be the highest targeted, but there is attempted censorship in every genre.
Here we list some absolutely wonderful Fiction & Classic books that are on ‘popular banned lists’ that are not also listed on the month’s new Staff Pick Banned Books Classics or Adult Fiction Bookmarks (there are 2 of each type).
Find out more at Banned Books Week’s official page.
Banned books are books that have been removed from the shelves of a library, bookstore, or classroom due to controversial content. A book may be challenged (an attempt to ban) or banned on political, religious, sexual, or social grounds. The acts of banning or challenging a book are a serious matter, because these are forms of censorship which strike at our freedom to read.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Animal Farm by George Orwell (1984 is also a banned book)
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsburg
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Carrie by Stephen King (a number of his works have been banned or challenged, you can see a good list here)
Please note we have some of these as audiobooks as well.
