banned books essay title

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Banned Books: Protect Your Freedom to Read

• Protect Your Freedom to Read
• The Banned Book Collection in Morris

Banned Books Week is celebrated annually, with sponsorship from the American Library Association (ALA), the National Association of College Stores, and many other organizations. According to the ALA, "Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States."

A Worrisome Trend

ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Censors targeted a record 2,571 unique titles in 2022 , a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community or by and about Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.

• Censorship by the Numbers Resources documenting the number and locations of censorship attempts against libraries and materials compiled by ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom.
• Book Ban Data, ALA Latest numbers from ALA about book bans and challenges in the United States, including preliminary data from the first half of 2023. TL;DR: They're up. A lot.
• Banned and Challenged Books ALA's page devoted to censorship attempts and the annual Banned Books Week celebration.
• Book Bans, PEN America Resources and commentary related to book bans in the U.S., including a comprehensive list of successful school bans, assembled by a national writer's association.
• Ralph E. McCoy Collection of the Freedom of the Press Housed in the Special Collections Research Center on the first floor of Morris Library, the McCoy Collection offers the opportunity to explore issues of censorship and freedom of expression from a historical perspective. It is one of the world's best collections of rare books highlighting the history of First Amendment freedoms. It includes examples of many books that have been banned in the United States and Europe over the centuries. Many of the books listed below part of this collection. more... less... used in Overview of African American history collections in SCRC on Resources for the Study of African American History in Southern Illinois: Overview of Special Collections
• Beacon for Freedom of Expression The Beacon for Freedom project maintains an extensive database of censored publications and publications about censorship.

Banned Books Club and Books Unbanned

The Banned Books Club is a collaboration between libraries and sponsors to make banned books available online and at libraries for free. The University of Chicago and the Digital Public Library of America are offering free access to all Illinois residents through the Palace app.

• Banned Book Club Program to provide free access to electronic copies of banned books. Follow the steps to "Access Banned Books" to get your free card and start reading.
• Banned Books Club at the Palace Project Jump straight to the app the Banned Book Club uses to provide access to available titles.

A number of public libraries nationwide have joined the Books Unbanned initiative, offering free access to commonly challenged or banned titles in eBook form to readers age 13-26. If you fall in that age bracket, sign up for a free temporary library card and read banned books!

• Boston Public Library Books Unbanned Program
• Brooklyn Public Library Books Unbanned Program
• Seattle Public Library Books Unbanned Program

Top Ten Challenged Books from the Last Five Years

Banned in 2021 - 2022

According to PEN America, 1,636 different books were banned—not only challenged, but actually removed from shelves—in classrooms, schools, or libraries in the U.S. for at least a portion of the time between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. The following is a list of these banned titles available through Morris Library.

• Next: The Banned Book Collection in Morris >>
• Last Updated: Feb 22, 2024 11:55 AM
• URL: https://libguides.lib.siu.edu/bannedbooks

A Case for Reading - Examining Challenged and Banned Books

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Any work is potentially open to attack by someone, somewhere, sometime, for some reason. This lesson introduces students to censorship and how challenges to books occur. They are then invited to read challenged or banned books from the American Library Association's list of the most frequently challenged books . Students decide for themselves what should be done with these books at their school by writing a persuasive essay explaining their perspectives. Students share their pieces with the rest of the class, and as an extension activity, can share their essays with teachers, librarians, and others in their school.

Featured Resources

T-Chart Printout : This printable sheet allows students to keep notes on parts of books that they believe might be challenged, as well as supporting reasons. Persuasive Writing Rubric : Use this rubric to evaluate the organization, conventions, goal, delivery, and mechanics of students' persuasive writing. The rubric can be adapted for any persuasive essay. Persuasion Map : Use this online tool to map out and print your persuasive argument. Included are spaces to map out your thesis, three reasons, and supporting details.

From Theory to Practice

There are times that the books that are part of our curriculum are found to be questionable or offensive by other groups. Should teachers stop using those texts? Should the books be banned from schools? No! "Censorship leaves students with an inadequate and distorted picture of the ideals, values, and problems of their culture. Partly because of censorship or the fear of censorship, many writers are ignored or inadequately represented in the public schools, and many are represented in anthologies not by their best work but by their ‘safest' or ‘least offensive' work," as stated in the NCTE Guideline. What then should the English teacher do? "Freedom of inquiry is essential to education in a democracy. To establish conditions essential for freedom, teachers and administrators need to work together. The community that entrusts students to the care of an English teacher should also trust that teacher to exercise professional judgment in selecting or recommending books. The English teacher can be free to teach literature, and students can be free to read whatever they wish only if informed and vigilant groups, within the profession and without, unite in resisting unfair pressures." This is the Students' Right to Read. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Selected books as examples (from the most frequently challenged books list)
• Example Family Letter
• Persuasion Map
• Book Challenge Investigation Bookmarks
• Persuasive Writing Rubric

Preparation

• Because this lesson requires that students read a book from the ALA Challenged Book list, it’s a good idea to notify families prior to starting the assignment. See the example family letter for ideas on how to notify families.
• Bookmark the websites listed as resources to refer to throughout the lesson.
• Compile grade-appropriate books for students to explore using the Challenged Children's Books list .  Talk to your librarian or school media specialist about creating a resource collection for students to use in your classroom or in the library.
• Copy T-Charts and/or bookmarks for students to document passages as they read.
• Test the Persuasion Map on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool.

Student Objectives

Students will:

• be exposed to the issues of censorship, challenged, or banned books.
• examine issues of censorship as it relates to a specific literature title.
• critically evaluate books based on relevancy, biases, and errors.
• develop and support a position on a particular book by writing a persuasive essay about their chosen title.

Session One

• Display a selection of banned or challenged books in a prominent place in your classroom. Include in this selection books meant for children and any included in the school curriculum. Ask students to speculate on what these books have in common.
• Explain to the students that these books have been "censored."  Ask students to brainstorm a definition of censorship and record the students' ideas on the board or chart paper. When you have come up with a definition the group agrees on, have students record the definition.
• Brainstorm ways in which things are censored for them already and who controls what is censored and how. Examples include Internet filtering, ratings on movies, video games, music, and self-censoring (choosing to watch only 1 news show or choosing not to read a certain type of book).  Discuss circumstances in which censorship would be necessary, if any, with the students.
• Provide the students’ definitions for challenged books as well as banned books. (Share these American Library Association definitions: “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.”)
• After the students have seen the ALA definition, have the students “grow” in their own definitions. Ask them to revisit their definition and align it with the one presented by the American Library Association.
• Invite the students to brainstorm any books that they have heard of that have been challenged or banned from schools or libraries. Ask them if they know why those books were found to be controversial.
• Students should then brainstorm titles of other books that they feel could possibly be challenged or banned from their school collection.  Allow time for students to share these titles with their classmates and offer an explanation of why they think these titles could possibly be challenged or banned.
• Share with the students a list of banned books .
• Did they find them to be entertaining, informative, beneficial or objectionable?
• Can they suggest reasons why someone would object to elementary, middle school or high school students reading these books?
• If desired, complete the session by allowing students to learn more about Banned Books Week , additional challenged/banned books, and cases involving First Amendment Rights.

Session Two

• From a teacher-selected list of grade-appropriate books from the Challenged Children's Books list , have groups of students select one of the books to read in literature circles, traditional reading groups, or through read-alouds.
• As the students read, ask them to pay particular attention to the features in the books that may have made them controversial. As students find quotes/parts of the book that they find to be controversial, they should add them to their T-Chart , along with an explanation of why they think that this area could be controversial.  On the left side of their T-Chart , they will list the quote or section of the book (with page numbers); on the right side of the T-Chart , they will write their thoughts on why this area could be seen as controversial.
• You may also choose to invite the students to use bookmarks (in addition to or instead of the T-Chart ) , so they can record page numbers and passages as they read.

Session Three

• After the students have completed the reading of their book, have a group or class discussion on the students' findings that they recorded on their bookmarks or T-Chart .
• Next, explain to students that they will be writing a persuasive piece stating what they believe should be done with the book that has been challenged. If students read the book in groups, they could write a team response.
• Share the  Persuasive Writing Rubric to explore the requirements of the assignment in more detail and allow for students' questions about the assignment.
• Demonstrate the Persuasion Map and work through a sample book challenge to show students how to use the tool to structure their essays.
• Provide students with access to computers, and allow students the remainder of class to work with the Persuasion Map as a brainstorming tool and to guide them through work on their papers.  If computer access is a problem, you may provide students with print copies of the Persuasion Map Printout .
• Encourage students to share their thoughts and opinions with the class as they work on their drafts.  Students should print out their work at the end of the session.

Session Four

• Invite students to share their persuasive pieces with the rest of the class. It is their job to persuade teachers, librarians, or administrators to keep the book in their collection, remove the book from their collection, or add the book to their collection.
• For an authentic sharing session, invite parents in for a panel discussion while the children present their thoughts and opinions on the matter of challenged and banned books.
• Students can discuss the books after each presentation to draw conclusions about each title and about censorship and challenges overall.

Concerned Parent The concerned parent is interested in how controversial materials affect school children. The concerned parent wants to maintain a healthy learning environment for students.   Classroom Teacher The Classroom Teacher needs to select books that will both match the interests of the students and also meet the requirements of the curriculum. The Classroom Teacher needs to listen to the parents, and also follow the rules of the school.   School Library Media Specialist The School Library Media Specialist selects library materials based on the curriculum and reading interests the students in the school.   School Lawyer The School Lawyer is concerned about how the students’ civil liberties would be affected if the School Board decided to ban books.

• Students can elicit responses and reactions from peers, teachers, administrators, librarians, the author, and parents in regards to the particular book they are researching. Ask students to focus on the appropriateness of the book in reference to an elementary school collection.  
• Discuss Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico and how after the decision from that court case public school districts around the country developed policies concerning book challenges in elementary, middle, and high school libraries.
• Students can play the role of the librarian and decide where a challenged/banned book should be shelved. For example, the challenged book may be a picture book, but the “librarian” might decide that the book should instead be shelved in the Teacher Resource Section of the library. An alternative for Sessions Three and Four for this lesson plan is to ask students to write persuasive essays explaining where the book should be shelved and why it should be shelved there.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• As students discuss censorship and challenged/banned books, and as they read their selected text, listen for comments that indicate they are identifying specific examples from the story that connect to the information they have learned (you should also check for evidence of this on their bookmarks or T-Chart ). The connections that they make between the details in the novel and the details they choose as their supporting reasons for their persuasive piece will reveal their understanding and engagement with the books.
• Monitor student interaction and progress during any group work to assess social skills and assist any students having problems.
• Respond to the content and quality of students’ thoughts in their final reflections on the project. Look for indications that the student provides supporting evidence for the reflections, thus applying the lessons learned from the work with the Persuasion Map .
• Assess students’ persuasive writing piece using the rubric .
• Calendar Activities
• Professional Library
• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans

Students brainstorm reasons why certain books might have been banned and discuss common reasons why books are challenged.

Students adapt a Roald Dahl story to picture book format and share their books and add them to the classroom library. Additionally, they compare a book version and film version of one of Dahl's works.

Bring the celebration of reading and literacy into your classroom, library, school, and home all year long.

The current edition of The Students' Right to Read is an adaptation and updating of the original Council statement, including "Citizen's Request for Reconsideration of a Work."

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

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Censorship by the Numbers

ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed with its Office for Intellectual Freedom by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States. Because many book challenges are not reported to the ALA or covered by the press, the 2023 data compiled by ALA represents only a snapshot of book censorship throughout the year. A challenge to a book may be resolved in favor of retaining the book in the collection, or it can result in a book being restricted or withdrawn from the library.

ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books and resources in 2023 . The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by OIF in more than 20 years of tracking: 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for removal from schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship. Titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals made up 47% of those targeted in censorship attempts.

Groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often dozens or hundreds at a time, drove this surge in 2023. Attempts to censor more than 100 titles occurred in 17 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Get digital assets for Censoship by the Numbers in our Free Downloads , and find additional social media assets on the Book Ban Data page.

Books and Beyond

Books are not the sole target of attacks orchestrated by conservative parent groups and right-wing media. Both school and public librarians are increasingly in the crosshairs of conservative groups during book challenges and subject to defamatory name-calling, online harassment, social media attacks, and doxxing, as well as direct threats to their safety, their employment, and their very liberty.

Who Initiates Challenges?

Prior to 2020, the vast majority of challenges to library books and resources were brought by a single parent who sought to remove or restrict access to a book their child was reading. Recent censorship data are evidence of a growing, well-organized, conservative political movement, the goals of which include removing books about race, history, gender identity, sexuality, and reproductive health from America's public and school libraries that do not meet their approval. Using social media and other channels, these groups distribute book lists to their local chapters and individual adherents, who then utilize the lists to initiate a mass challenge that can empty the shelves of a library.

Where Do Challenges Take Place?

Pressure groups in 2023 focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year; school libraries saw an 11% increase.

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Banned Books and the First Amendment Essay

How it works

Literature is an important aspect of the human life. The freedom of reading is an issue due to language usage and subject matter. Banning books could either be censoring individuals from the pain of history, or allowing them to expand their intellectual capacity. Evidently, banning books could be both favorable, and a cause for concern. The article “Read the Great Books That Use the Worst Slur,” authored by Tonyn Norman argues the need to protect the eyes and ears of students who are reading about racism through both emotional and logical appeal.

On the other side of the debate, Myesha Braden, Michael Huggins, and Alexander Courtney, in their article “Banning Literature in Prisons Perpetuates System That Ignores Inmate Humanity,” addresses the importance of allowing banned books not just in schools, but in prisons using logical appeal. This argument over banned books ultimately comes down to whether the individual can deal with the involution of American racism.

Historically, the main motives for banning books include: violence, issues with race, and inappropriate topics. Admittedly, disputes over obscenity – how it is elucidated and how that description relates to the First Amendment – have been at the hub of banned book disputations throughout the 20th and 21st century. People such as teachers and parents believed children shouldn’t be taught and exposed to racism, violence, or unfitting topics in schools. Therefore; books started getting banned due to their content and historical reasons (Norman).

Norman supports her pro-banned books claim using an emotional and logical appeal to express that banning books can be advantageous in shielding students from the wicked reality of the world. For example, she states that banned books can help guard “the dignity of students” who might be affected by hearing or reading America’s most omnipresent racial slurs, and states that it is “just hurtful” to use the language that has “oppressed the people for over 200 years” (Norman). 

Additionally, she addresses the novels, “Huck Finn” by Mark Twain, and “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, and how some teachers believe that students in high school do not have the highbrow or moral capacity to deal with America’s dark history with racism (Norman). This suggests that banned books could be overwhelming to students who are presented with racial slurs and racism. Norman implies that books should be limited from students depending on their level of maturity (Norman). However, the article also states that ”such “enlightened” censorship rarely acknowledges the slurs that are most often uttered by the most ignorant characters in a novel” (Norman). This seems like a step back in shielding students from what banned books have to offer until she reveals that racial discrimination in banned books could make students “uncomfortable” (Norman). The schools implications that banned books has according to Norman provides aspiration to many that these books will ultimately benefit students.

In the Supreme Court ruling of 1982, Justice Brennan stated that taking books away from libraries could contravene students’ First Amendment rights. Later on that year, Judith Krug, a library activist, found Banned Books Week. This awareness campaign is celebrated annually for our freedom to read. Alongside Krug, a great deal of people believe reading emboldens empathy and social-emotional growth. Many regularly challenged books guide people to get a finer idea of the world and their spot in it (Braden).

Braden, Huggins, and Courtney support their anti-banned books claim by using logical appeal frequently to convey that even individuals behind bars should have the freedom to read what they want rather than being censored to literature, and isolated from society. For example, they state that banning literature in prison systems have huge effects on the inmates by “reinforcing a prison environment that devalues humanity and protects a troubling status quo – a lack of knowledge and education for inmates struggling to remain out of the system” (Braden). This suggests that we read to grasp and voice ourselves, to clip to humanity, to apprehend the rights of human beings, and assimilate superior ways of fortifying our constitutional freedoms. 

Braden, Huggins, and Courtney implies that giving inmates access to books could aid some with effective reentry and secure those who obtain their freedom are able to retain it (Braden). However, the article states that “pre-Civil War literacy bans perpetuate the institution of slavery, restrictions like those perpetuate mass incarceration and ensure that prisons, jails, and the industries that serve them continue to flourish” (Braden). This seems like a step backwards in increasing inmates capability to get in on the act of “educational, vocational, and work-readiness programs that further decrease recidivism” (Braden). The prison systems implies that banned books have according to Braden, Huggins, and Courtney are not giving inmates their full rights to the first amendment by banning literature.

With the all-embracing argument over banned books may still go unresolved, the importance of whether books and/or literature should be banned revealed in both Norman’s and Braden’s, Huggins’, and Courtney’s arguments make it lucid that our society ought to address the bone of contention now. Norman’s emotional and logical argument both recognizes present-day problems and provides examples of schools and books to rest their case of banned books being a conflict to students intellectual capacity. However, Braden’s, Huggins’, and Courtney’s argument that banning books from the prison system creates dissension with their future. This divulges that our society is solely not ready to take to one’s heart about the banning of books. In spite of everything about Norman’s view that banned books could shield students the pain of America’s horrific history, it is enthralling that most people seem to stand by Braden’s, Huggins’, and Courtney’s view and prolong their stance that preventing students and the prison system from knowing about the world and frail humanity is pie in the sky.

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Banning Books Essay

Book Banning Book

Everyone who has ever read a book has read a book by a banned author. Book banning has been around for hundreds of years. People should be allowed to read whatever they choose. “The ability to read, speak, think, and express ourselves freely is a right, not a privilege” (Celebrate). Standing up for what people believe in is something they’re taught to do at a bright, young age; making sure people are capable of reading the literature they want is one of the biggest controversies. No one should have

Banning Book

Should books be banned? Books are a gateway to a world of imagination, but some schools are trying to shut those gates off by banning them. Books are some of the best teachers left, it's not up to a school to decide what a child should or should not read. Banning books can deprive a child of the opportunity to think. Books should not be banned because of the lessons they can teach, the fact that a school should not even be able to ban them, and it can deprive a child of the opportunity to think

Banning Books

The Reasons to Ban Books Schools are meant to be a safe environment full of books and learning opportunities. If this is impaired by books that should be banned, students may feel displaced or uncomfortable. Even a high schooler is prone to this, if action is not taken. There are hundreds of books full of violence, explicit language, and drug references. Annenberg Classroom says it is “unsuitable for students” (AnnenbergClassroom.org). Students of all ages are strongly suggested to not partake

Banning books is one of many ways that we are killing children's imagination. Taking books away from anyone is something that should never happen. When we take books away we are taking away a safe place for children and we are taking away knowledge of our past. We should be proud to put different books on a shelf and say that we can have our own opinions. Books should never be banned from a public library or school because we disagree with what is on the inside of one. No one should have the right

Books are a way for people to get away from reality and also learn new information they should not be banned. Books shouldn’t be banned from society; however some do have suggestive content or profanity. These types of books should be supervised and have an age limit. By banning books it can eliminate teachings of life lessons for students. Also, going through life without knowing anything besides rainbows and lollipops can set up students for a rude awakening when they really start to learn about

The Irony Of Banning Books In Schools

America, the land of the free- except when it comes to the books they can read. In fact, many schools across America exercise the practice of banning books. Since 1982, libraries, parents, and schools have attempted to ban 11,300 novels, according to the American Library Association. The essentially innoxious books are challenged for an assortment of reasons, including use of malapropos language, graphic or explicit

censorship and banning of books in learning institution has been prevalent mostly due to the explicit content incorporated in them. However, banning of certain books in pretense to conceal content perceived inappropriate to impressionable children is an infringement of their right to access information of their area of choice. While banning some book at times has valid reasons, it is important to endorse and emphasize that every child has the liberty to select, at their discretion, which book to read.

Banning A Book Essay

Book Banning and book challenges has been around just as long as books were invented. Book banning is a way to take away parents rights to decide whether they want their teen to read that book or not. A book challenge however is an attempt to restrict or remove a book from other citizens, especially teens. A way book challenge works, is when a certain district or person doesn’t feel like the book is appropriate for a certain age group. For reasons like; sexual content, violence, offensive

Essay On Banning Books

The idea to ban certain books from schools and libraries is preposterous due to the manner in which the people trying to enforce these bans try to do so in. Banning books doesn’t help with the already present problem that our youth’s intelligence levels are already declining, and neither does allowing the freedom to all books. Banning certain books due to their constant use of inappropriate language, sexually explicit nature, and all around mature content has a respectfully reasonable reason to be

Since 1982, all kinds of books have been banned for the content they hold. Topics like race, sexually explicit content, homosexualaity, religion and more. Books are banned by librarians and teachers because they do not want children or teenagers to read about these topics. Children and teenagers are told they are not supposed to read these books with harsh topics because they are afraid it could influence them. They are afraid that books that talk about suicide, like 13 Reasons Why, will influence

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An Idaho school board banned 23 books. So a local bookstore gave out copies for free

James Dawson

A school board in a Boise suburb banned books and state lawmakers cut state library funding — so a local bookstore raised money to buy banned books to distribute for free.

Copyright © 2022 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Russian Bookstores, Publishing House Ban Books by Prominent Writers Over Anti-War Statements

One of Russia’s leading publishing houses, AST, has suspended the printing and sale of books by Russian poet, journalist and prose writer Dmitry Bykov and Russian-Georgian writer Boris Akunin over their anti-war views, it announced Friday. 

“Public statements made by these writers — which caused a widespread public outcry — require legal assessment. Publication and shipment of [their] books won’t resume until this situation is clarified,” AST’s Director General Pavel Grishkov was quoted as saying on the publisher’s official website. 

Booksellers Chitay Gorod and Bukvoed, as well as e-book library LitRes, also suspended sales of all books by the authors and are currently in the process of removing them from store shelves countrywide. 

“A request was sent to the publishing house and independent lawyers to [conduct] a legal assessment of the situation,” Chitay Gorod announced . 

Neither AST nor the retail outlet Chitay Gorod associated with it specified which statements prompted the decision, though both Akunin and Bykov have repeatedly spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Boris Akunin is best known for his murder mystery series set in Imperial Russia, especially the Fandorin mysteries, as well as his “History of the Russian State.” His books have been translated into many languages and made into television series. He has won several literary awards both in Russia and abroad. He now lives in London.

Bykov is one of contemporary Russia’s most prolific and multi-faceted writers. He has published 12 volumes of poetry, 15 volumes of prose, 10 books of essays and three full-length biographies in addition to working as a print, radio and television journalist. His series of poems “Citizen Poet” performed by actor Mikhail Yefremov came out every week on TV Rain and Ekho Moskvy a decade ago, poking sly fun at President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s changing political course.

“It’s high time to understand that it is impossible to ban a book,” Bykov, who was declared a “foreign agent” last year, told news outlet RBC. 

Bykov added that book royalties have never been his main source of income and also noted that even those living in the Soviet Union continued to read banned books by “forbidden authors” such as Vladimir Nabokov and Vasily Aksyonov. 

“Those who want to read my works will continue reading them as before,” Bykov said. 

… we have a small favor to ask. As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

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Russian Court Sentences Driver Who Struck Poet Lev Rubinstein

Director Michael Lockshin on 'Master and Margarita' and Meaningful Work

Russian Booksellers Remove Potentially Banned Books

War Made Lyudmila Petrushevskaya Put Down Her Pen

Reminder - to report book challenges. We need to quantify this moment in time, and reporting challenges or bans is important. You don't have to work at the school or library to report & it can be anonymous. https://t.co/gcYCMGnB5C — FReadom (@FReadomFighters) August 30, 2022

From 2018 to now, 66 books and series have been challenged in Idaho. Here’s the full list

Ahead of Banned Books Week from Sept. 18-24, the Idaho Statesman obtained a list from the American Library Association of all 66 books or series that have been challenged in Idaho between 2018 through the end of August 2022.

The American Library Association released its annual book report on censorship earlier this year, revealing at that point that it had tracked 729 challenges to 1,597 different books across the U.S. throughout 2021.

You can report a challenged book to the ALA on the organization’s website.

Reminder - to report book challenges. We need to quantify this moment in time, and reporting challenges or bans is important. You don't have to work at the school or library to report & it can be anonymous. https://t.co/gcYCMGnB5C — FReadom (@FReadomFighters) August 30, 2022

The speed and ferocity at which books are being challenged have picked up in recent years, with challenges going from school board meetings and classrooms to statehouses and political races .

The 729 challenges nationally in 2021 are record-setting, far surpassing the 483 books that were challenged in 2018. Last year’s challenge numbers are more than double the year before. People who report books include parents, school administrators and board members, religious community members, librarians, teachers, students and elected officials.

According to the American Library Association , a nonprofit organization that promotes library education, most books that are challenged contain “diverse content,” with the subjects of the books revolving around people of color, the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities.

In 2022 alone, the Nampa school board has voted to permanently remove 23 books from Nampa School District libraries.

The Nampa School District’s decision to permanently remove the books isn’t the first instance of Idaho schools banning books. The West Ada School District pulled John Green’s New York Times bestselling book “Looking for Alaska” from middle school libraries in 2018 after a parent said the book contained profanity and references to smoking and suicide.

Following are the books that have been challenged in Idaho from 2018 through the end of August 2022. The number in parenthesis is how many times the book has been challenged over that time period.

33 Snowfish - Adam Rapp (1)

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives - Dashka Slater (1)

An ABC of Equality - Chana Ginelle Ewing (1)

A Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (1)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (2)

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas (1)

After a Time - Laurie Salzler (1)

And Tango Makes Three - Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell (1)

Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero - Ellie Royce (1)

Beloved - Toni Morrison (1)

Bless Me, Ultima - Rudolfo Anaya (1)

The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison (3)

Call Us What We Carry: From the Presidential Inaugural Poet - Amanda Gorman (1)

The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier (2)

City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare (1)

Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare (1)

The Color Purple - Alice Walker (1)

Crank - Ellen Hopkins (1)

Daddy’s Roommate - Michael Willhoite (3)

Dear Martin - Nic Stone (1)

Diary of a Drag Queen - Crystal Rasmussen (1)

Drag Teen - Jeffery Self (1)

Drama - Raina Telgemeier (2)

Dreaming in Cuban - Cristina Garcia (1)

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell (1)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (1)

Fallen Angels - Walter Dean Myers (1)

From Archie to Zack - Vincent X Kirsch (1)

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (1)

Gender Queer: A Memoir - Maia Kobabe (4)

Melissa - Alex Gino (1)

The Giver - Lois Lowry (1)

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women (1)

The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (1)

Harry Potter (series) - J.K. Rowling (1)

Heather Has Two Mommies - Leslea Newman (2)

Hey Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction - Jarrett Krosoczka (1)

The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish - Lil Miss Hot Mess (1)

The House of Impossible Beauties - Joseph Cassara (1)

I Am Jazz - Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings (1)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou (1)

It’s Perfectly Normal - Robie H. Harris (4)

Jack (Not Jackie) - Erica Silverman (1)

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (1)

L8r, G8r - Lauren Myracle (1)

Lawn Boy - Jonathan Evison (3)

Leah On the Offbeat - Becky Albertalli (1)

Long Way Down - Jason Reynolds (1)

Looking for Alaska - John Green (2)

My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen - David Clawson (1)

Out of Darkness - Ashley Hope Perez (1)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky (2)

Prince and the Dressmaker - Jen Wang (1)

Prince and Knight - Daniel Haack (1)

The Round House - Louise Erdrich (1)

Sex is a Funny Word - Cory Silverberg (1)

Shout - Laurie Halse Anderson (1)

Sold - Patricia McCormick (1)

Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story - Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard, Jennifer Zivion (1)

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson (1)

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher (1)

This Book is Gay - Juno Dawson (1)

This One Summer - Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki (1)

The Walking Dead (series) - Robert Kirkman (1)

We Are Okay - Nina LaCour (1)

What Are Your Words?: A Book About Pronouns - Katherine Locke (1)

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Censorship — Argumentative Essay Ten Reasons For Banning Books

Argumentative Essay Ten Reasons for Banning Books

• Categories: Censorship Freedom of Speech

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Published: Mar 13, 2024

Words: 1039 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

• American Academy of Pediatrics. (2009). Media violence. Pediatrics, 124(5), 1495-1503.
• Southern Poverty Law Center. (n.d.). Hate and extremist groups.
• National Association of Science Writers. (2010). The science of science writing. Oxford University Press.
• National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2014). Drugs, brains, and behavior: The science of addiction.
• National Council of Teachers of English. (2017). Guidelines for selection of materials in English language arts programs.
• American Psychological Association. (2013). Guidelines for psychological practice with transgender and gender nonconforming people.
• American Library Association. (2014). Library bill of rights.
• World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d.). Copyright law and policy.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2018). Terrorism and extremism.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2001). Universal declaration on cultural diversity.

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Hot 100+ Narrative Essay Topics to Jumpstart Your Next Paper

• Essay Writing Guides

Do you have a pending narrative essay and run out of narrative essay ideas to compose a compelling paper? What do you do when you need to generate quick narrative essay titles without messing up an essay’s overall quality? You don’t need to worry if you need appropriate topics for narrative papers. 

This post shares a list of narrative essay topics to inspire you. Keep reading to get more inspiration for future narrative assignments in 2024.

Tips on How to Choose the Best Topic for a Narrative Essay

Generating the right narrative essay ideas is critical because it can make or break narrative assignments. Choosing an appropriate title will help spark your readers’ attention and arrest their focus. Accurate topic selection also motivates your writing because you are least likely to enjoy researching or writing about a boring topic for a narrative essay . To help you excel in this area, we prepared tips to inspire you.

• Flash Back on Personal Experiences: This method is necessary when handling a personal narrative paper. Here, you must focus on your life’s most impactful moments and how they affected you.
• Determine a Clear Message or Idea: Determine the paper’s central idea based on the insights, lessons, and emotions you want to share with readers.
• Engage Readers: Factor your target readers and what resonates best with them. So, select a topic that arrests their interest and engages them.
• Use Various Perspectives: Incorporate various viewpoints. You can combine personal and external perspectives to make your narrative more engaging.
• Test Ideas: It would be best for you and your readers to test an idea by getting valuable feedback from your trusted friends or classmates. Such assessment makes your selected topic resonate well with readers.
• Maintain Your Voice: Maintain your audience by remaining authentic and letting your unique voice and storytelling style beam throughout an assignment. 

Top Ideas for Narrative Essay for 2024

We promised a long list of narrative essay ideas for future assignments. Here are sample narrative writing topics for consideration under different categories. 

10 Best Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

Do you want the best ideas for a narrative essay ? Here are sample narrative essay titles to consider. 

• My journey to finding my life’s purpose.
• My life-changing foreign study experience.
• How a challenging decision transformed me.
• Transitioning from college to the career world.
• My memorable moment with my mentor.
• How adversity shaped my personal growth and development.
• The most transformative ethical dilemma I have faced in life.
• How college encounters have shaped my worldview.
• How technology shaped my college experience.
• My personal reflection on my professional goals.

10 Top Narrative Essay Topics for University Students

You shouldn’t worry about finding good narrative essay ideas for university assignments when these narrative essay titles can assist. 

• The transformation of my career objectives at university.
• My most memorable internship experience.
• My life-transforming encounter with poverty.
• How I navigate the complexities of balancing my studies and social life. 
• A challenging research project that shaped my academic development. 
• An elaborate account of surmounting an academic challenge.
• The most memorable leadership experience in my study life.
• My journey of selecting university courses.
• How peer relationships and networking have impacted my journey through university. 
• Ways university exposure has shaped my perspective on life.

10 Literacy Narrative Essay Topics

Here are inspiring narrative essay prompts for consideration in future literacy assignments. 

• The best book that made me love reading.
• How a special teacher impacted my reading skills.
• The impact of technology on my reading habits.
• A memorable reflection on my writing journey.
• Tops ways literature shaped my perspective.
• How I overcome writer’s block.
• Ways storytelling has impacted me.
• How literacy helps me change my view of poverty.
• Ways literacy changed my view of gender equality.
• How digital technology shaped my experience of literacy. 

10 Best Descriptive Narrative Essay Topics

No more need to scratch your head to find appropriate topics for narrative essays . Here are evergreen narrative essay ideas . 

• A serene day by the beach. 
• The pain of living in a crime-prone neighborhood. 
• My favorite high school moment. 
• A visit to a haunted house.
• The wedding celebration that never happened. 
• My perfect winter experience.
• My favorite summer hobby.
• A visit to my favorite museum.
• A memorable visit to an art exhibition. 
• The most spectacular soccer match I attended.

10 Short Narrative Essay Topics

Need short narrative essay topic ideas for your next assignment? Look no further than these exciting samples.

• My first flight.
• The first cruise I enjoyed in the ocean.
• My worst memories in high school.
• The most memorable event in my primary school.
• My biggest fear.
• My first international vacation.
• How I survived my worst loss.
• My encounter with racial discrimination. 
• My secret to a balanced life.
• My most valuable people.

10 Funny Narrative Essay Topics

Do you love fun and would love to let it spice up your essays? Here are funny narrative topic ideas for inspiration. 

• Why clever people always fail.
• Why watching soap operas is harmful to your health.
• Dirty secrets your primary teachers never told you about education. 
• You can know what a pet is thinking.
• Why Amazon isn’t my favorite brand.
• Why I love it when my laptop freezes up.
• The customer is not always right.
• The seller is as right as the buyer.
• Why teenagers don’t deserve well-paying jobs.
• Why dressing up never changes people’s attitudes. 

Best 10 Fictional Narrative Essay Topics

Your search for fictional narrative topics ends here with these exciting samples. Read on to get inspired. 

• Life in a city where people never sleep.
• Experiencing life in a remote village where there are no sick people.
• Your experience in a paradise where people never work and earn.
• A school where all students score straight A’s in all subjects.
• A kindergarten boy who hunts and kills lions.
• A super-genius boy who hustles his way to become a billionaire before 12 years.
• A remote village where everyone is a professor.
• A girl who can read a thousand words per minute.
• My visit to a city without poor people.
• A visit to a city with golden streets.

10 Inspiring Cultural Narrative Essay Topics

Your cultural narrative paper can be a breeze if you focus it on one of these topics for narrative writing .

• Narrate how your family’s unique culinary heritage influences your cultural identity.
• Narrate a particular cultural artifact that your family values.
• Discuss the challenges you faced trying to preserve traditional customs without trashing modern societal expectations.
• Describe how a dominant culture has affected your upbringing.
• Recount how your experience as an immigrant has shaped your perspective on cultural assimilation.
• The lessons I learned from participating in interracial exchange programs.
• Describe a unique cultural practice within your community that outsiders don’t understand.
• Reflect on a personal journey of reconnecting with your cultural roots. 
• Describe the role of storytelling in preserving cultural wisdom in your family.
• Recount the day you challenged cultural stereotypes.

10 Controversial Narrative Essay Topics

Don’t let your inspiration for controversial topics run dry when these interesting narrative essay topics can inspire you. Read on to spice up your next paper.

• Describe your feelings about the morality of euthanasia.
• Narrate why you think animal testing is unethical and should be banned.
• Describe how you felt when the death penalty was removed in your country. 
•  Describe why you feel all vaccines should be voluntary. 
• The negative impact of healthcare companies on people’s overall health.
• Space exploration programs are totally misplaced priorities but politically correct. 
• Describe your feelings, given that the climate change debate is more political than environmental.
• Give your feelings on the deficiency of standardized testing. 
• Nuclear energy is not sustainable and safe.
• Sex education should be banned in schools. 

10 Nonfiction Narrative Essay Topics

Do you want good narrative topics to inspire your nonfiction assignments in 2024? Check out how these sample titles can help you.

• Narrate how you conquered the fears that stood between you and your career dreams.
• Describe the inner strengths you discovered about yourself when facing the biggest challenge in life.
• Recount the most creative solution you formulated during your greatest financial difficulty. 
• Recount the day you stood against injustice in society and the lessons you learned.
• Narrate how you survived a life-threatening natural disaster and how it shaped your perspective on life’s brevity. 
• How did your mingling with people of other cultures affect your view of the beauty of human diversity?
• Narrate how unexpected kindness far away from home shaped your view of other people.
• Describe one major decision that changed the direction of your career path.
• What is the most important relationship that has contributed the most to your dreams in life?
• Narrate the most important conversation you had with your most trusted mentor and how it affected you for the better.

Great narrative writing depends on the quality of the topics you choose. Selecting the correct titles makes your paper easier to research and write. It also engages readers more meaningfully. 

However, the selection isn’t always easy, but it’s still possible with a little help from our narrative essay writing service . That’s why we created this post to give you tips on how to select appropriate topics for narrative tasks. Moreover, we created a list of narrative essay topics for various categories to give you a good head start. 

It’s up to you to use these samples to fuel your topic search and choice. Don’t hesitate to contact us for any further assistance with all your academic writing and assignment needs. 

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Do you have a pending narrative essay and run out of narrative essay ideas to compose a compelling paper? What do you do when you need to generate quick narrative essay titles without messing up an essay’s overall quality? You don’t need to worry if you need appropriate topics for narrative papers.  This post shares […]

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As soon as you sit down to compose an academic paper, you may be troubled by how to name your essay so that it reveals the essence of your text and grabs the audience’s attention at first sight. Ideally, that’s what a good title should achieve – informing and engaging.  So, what’s the secret recipe […]

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How Many Of These Commonly Banned Books Have You Read?

Posted: May 21, 2024 | Last updated: May 21, 2024

These are some of the most commonly challenged or banned books in the US, according to the American Library Association (ALA) and other sources who track this kind of information. How many have you read? Do you think these books should be in school libraries?

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

This award-winning novel by Sherman Alexie follows the life of a Native American teenager who leaves his reservation to attend an all-white high school. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as sexual references, profanity, violence, alcohol use, and negative stereotypes of Native Americans .

It won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2007.

The Captain Underpants Series

The Captain Underpants Series, by Dav Pilkey, is a humorous series featuring two fourth-graders who create a comic book superhero named Captain Underpants. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as encouraging disobedience, inappropriate humor, violence, and LGBTQIA+ content.

The series has won numerous awards including Winner of Garden State Children’s Book Awards (Children’s Fiction) in 2000, the Buckeye Children’s Book Award (Grades 3-5) in 2001, and Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award (Grades K-3) in 2000.

Thirteen Reasons Why

This novel written by Jay Asher tells the story of a teenage girl who commits suicide and leaves behind 13 tapes explaining why she did it. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as suicide, sexual assault, drug use, profanity, and graphic descriptions. The book has received many awards, including being a New York Times Bestseller for over three years:

• 2013 – Abraham Lincoln Award winner
• 2010 – South Carolina Young Adult Book Award winner
• 2009 – International Reading Association Young Adults’ Choice list
• 2009 – Writing Conference’s Literature Festival
• 2008 – Best Books for Young Adults YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association)
• 2008 – Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers YALSA
• 2008 – Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults YALSA
• 2008 – California Book Award silver medal – Young Adult

It was also made into a multiple season series for Netflix, and has been nominated for Emmy’s and Golden Globe Awards.

Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska is a novel that follows the experiences of a teenage boy who falls in love with a mysterious girl at a boarding school. Written by John Green, it has been banned or challenged for reasons such as sexual content, profanity, alcohol use, and “inappropriate” themes.

The book has won several awards:

• Winner of the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award
• Los Angeles Times  Book Prize Finalist, 2005
• A 2005 Teens' Top Ten Selection
• An ALA Best Book for Young Adults Top 10
• An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers
• A  Booklist  Editors' Choice
• A  Kirkus  Best Book of 2005
• A  School Library Journal  Best Book of the Year
• A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
• Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis finalist (Germany); Silver Inky Award (Australia)
• Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection
• Borders Original Voices Selection
• One of Common Sense Media's "Essential Books for Kids & Teens"

By Alex Gino, this novel tells the story of a transgender girl who wants to play the role of Charlotte in her school's production of Charlotte's Web. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as LGBTQIA+ content, gender identity, and confusing children.

George won the Stonewall Book Award’s Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award, in 2016.

As of 2021, the author began signing the book as “Melissa’s Story”. They stated "the title of my book made it seem as though it is OK to use an old name for a person when they have provided you with a different name that works better for them. I want to be clear – it isn't," as reported in The Guardian. Copies have now been printed with a different cover.

And Tango Makes Three

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell wrote this children's book based on the real-life story of two male chinstrap penguins who formed a bond and raised a chick together at the Central Park Zoo. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as homosexuality, same-sex parenting, and promoting an agenda.

And Tango Makes Three won multiple awards, including American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Henry Bergh Award (2005), American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book (2006), Bank Street Best Books of the Year, and the Rainbow Project Book List (2008), and been a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award (Magnuson, 2012, p.4). It has also been in American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom‘s  Top Ten Most Challenged Books  eight times since publication in 2005.

The Handmaid's Tale

This dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood depicts a future where women are oppressed and forced to bear children for powerful men in a totalitarian regime. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as sexual content, profanity, violence, anti-Christian themes, and political views.

The book was a #1 worldwide bestseller.

It was a made into a multi-season, award winning television show for Hulu. The first season won eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 13 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series.

It is the first show produced by Hulu to win a major award as well as the first series on a streaming service to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama. Elisabeth Moss was also awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series.

To Kill a Mockingbird

This classic novel by Harper Lee explores the themes of racism, justice, and innocence through the eyes of a young girl in the South during the 1930s. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as racial slurs, profanity, violence, and negative portrayals of African Americans.

It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, spent 88 weeks on the bestseller list and, has sold more than 30 million copies. 

The book received the Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, a group founded in 1927 — renamed in the 1990s as the National Conference for Community and Justice — dedicated to promoting religious, racial, gender and social equity and diversity.

American librarians selected “To Kill a Mockingbird” as the best novel of the 1900s. 

It was made into an Academy Award-winning film. The 1962 movie won for Best Writing of an Adaptation, and Best Art Direction for a black-and-white film, and received additional nominations, including Best Picture.

The Catcher in The Rye

J.D. Salinger wrote this famous novel, which follows the experiences of a rebellious teenager who runs away from his boarding school and wanders around New York City. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as profanity, sexual references, violence, alcohol use, and negative influence on youth.

The book was a 1952 Fiction Finalist for the National Book Award (presented by the National Book Foundation). It has been translated into many languages, and has sold over 65 million copies.

The novel was included on  Time ‘s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, and it was named by  Modern Library   and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, it was listed at number 15 on the BBC’s survey “The Big Read”.

The Color Purple

This novel written by Alice Walker tells the story of a Black woman who struggles with abuse, poverty, racism, and sexism in the South during the early 20th century. It has been banned or challenged for reasons such as sexual content, profanity, violence, homosexuality, and offensive language.

It was made into an Oscar and Golden Globe nominated film, was awarded The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983, and the National Book Award for Fiction the same year.

What You Can Do About Censorship

These are just some examples of books that have been banned or challenged in the US. There are many more books that have faced censorship for various reasons. If you are interested in learning more about banned books, you can visit the ALA website  and check out their list of top 100 most banned and challenged books. You can also find out more about why books are banned and how to fight against censorship  here .

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We scoured the Internet to see what people had to say about gas station food. If you think the only things available are wrinkled hotdogs of indeterminate age, and day-glow slushies, we've got great, tasty news for you. Whether it ends up being part of a regular routine, or your only resource on a long car trip, we have the food info you need. Let's look at 6 gas stations that folks can't get enough of and see what they have for you to eat. Read 6 Gas Station Chains With Food So Good It's Worth Driving Out Of Your Way For

18 of the World's Deadliest Foods: How Many Are You Eating?

Whether you eat to live, or live to eat, let's make sure you live to see another day! These are some of the world's deadliest foods. They can bring on extreme symptoms, ranging from paralysis to seizures, choking and even death, so don't go tucking these into your lunchbox. Click for 18 of the World's Deadliest Foods: How Many Are You Eating?

10 Of The Worst Tasting Drinks People Pretend To Like

Hold onto your taste buds, because we're about to embark on a flavor-filled adventure through the realm of beverages! Sure, we all need water to survive, but let's be real – drinks are so much more than just basic hydration. Recently, the question of which beverages people secretly think taste awful sparked a fiery debate. Boozy elixirs, non-alcoholic refreshments, and everything in between were thrown into the mix. Brace yourself as we unveil the truth behind the drinks we pretend to love. Get ready for a wild ride of taste revelations! Read 10 Of The Worst Tasting Drinks People Pretend To Like

14 Of The Craziest Hacks People Use Mayonnaise For – Even In The Bedroom!

After you click through this slide show you will never look at a jar of mayo the same way again. Trust us. Click for 14 Of The Craziest Hacks People Use Mayonnaise For – Even In The Bedroom!

Take Back Control: How to Identify and Tackle Medical Gaslighting

What is medical gaslighting? Medical gaslighting refers to a situation in which healthcare providers dismiss or diminish the symptoms that an individual is experiencing, attempting to persuade them that the symptoms are attributed to an alternative cause or are mere figments of their imagination. Medical gaslighting can leave you questioning your own experience. And at worse can lead to undiagnosed serious illness.

Learn the signs and the ways in which you can take back control if this happens to you. Read: Take Back Control: How to Identify and Tackle Medical Gaslighting

Don't Fall For These 17 Foods That Pretend To Be Healthy

Have you heard the term "Dr. Google"? That's when you turn to search engines and the Internet to provide health and medical information – and unless you know how to vet sources, it is a mine field of faulty information. Here are 17 foods that you might have heard are "healthy", but we have the whole story. PS: the moment a food becomes a trend, research carefully. We're looking at you bulletproof coffee!

Click for Don't Fall For These 17 Foods That Pretend To Be Healthy

17 Of The Most Expensive Foods In The World: Would You Pay This Much To Eat Any Of These?

These days our food budget is not going very far, even for everyday foods. And yet, there are still those who seek out extravagant foods, regardless of price. I guess we can live vicariously through these pictures. Maybe someday someone will bestow a 4-pound white truffle upon us, but until then, this will have to suffice.

Click for 17 Of The Most Expensive Foods In The World: Would You Pay This Much To Eat Any Of These?

19 Of The World's Most Overrated Foods

We have foods we love, and those we won't touch. We all have our own likes and dislikes, but what are the most overrated foods? That was the question posed on this Reddit thread by Even_Cause_3478. There were a lot of opinions. Some made sense to us, and some were things we had never thought of before!

What is the most overrated food in your opinion?

Click for 19 Of The World's Most Overrated Foods

Miracle at 30,000 Feet: What Happens When a Baby is Born During a Flight?

Have you ever wondered  What Happens If You Give Birth On a Plane ? Who delivers the baby? Where do you deliver the baby? What is the child's citizenship, and do they get free trips for life?

Is Cash Still King In Your Life? 13 Reasons People Still Carry Cash

Cash. It never used to be controversial, but these days it appears that there are those on both sides of the coin (so to speak). For those of us of a certain age we can remember our mothers always telling us to keep a $20 bill in our shoe or bra, in case of emergencies. Now many of us struggle to find a coin to put in the meter.

Cash lovers, and those who never carry it. What's the reasoning, either way? A Redditor was thinking the same thing, and asked the question, Do You Still Carry Cash? These are the answers they got. Read Is Cash Still King In Your Life? 13 Reasons People Still Carry Cash

The post How Many Of These Commonly Banned Books Have You Read? appeared first on FODMAP Everyday .

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6 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

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It’s a happy coincidence that we recommend Becca Rothfeld’s essay collection “All Things Are Too Small” — a critic’s manifesto “in praise of excess,” as her subtitle has it — in the same week that we also recommend Justin Taylor’s maximalist new novel “Reboot,” an exuberant satire of modern society that stuffs everything from fandom to TV retreads to the rise of conspiracy culture into its craw. I don’t know if Rothfeld has read Taylor’s novel, but I get the feeling she would approve. Maybe you will too: In the spirit of “more, bigger, louder,” why not pick those up together?

Our other recommendations this week include a queer baseball romance novel, an up-to-the-minute story about a widower running for the presidency of his local labor union, a graphic novelist’s collection of spare visual stories and, in nonfiction, a foreign policy journalist’s sobering look at global politics in the 21st century. Happy reading. — Gregory Cowles

REBOOT Justin Taylor

This satire of modern media and pop culture follows a former child actor who is trying to revive the TV show that made him famous. Taylor delves into the worlds of online fandom while exploring the inner life of a man seeking redemption — and something meaningful to do.

“His book is, in part, a performance of culture, a mirror America complete with its own highly imagined myths, yet one still rooted in the Second Great Awakening and the country’s earliest literature. It’s a performance full of wit and rigor.”

From Joshua Ferris’s review

Pantheon | $28

YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY Cat Sebastian

When a grieving reporter falls for the struggling baseball player he’s been assigned to write about, their romance is like watching a Labrador puppy fall in love with a pampered Persian cat: all eager impulse on one side and arch contrariness on the other.

“People think the ending is what defines a romance, and it does, but that’s not what a romance is for. The end is where you stop, but the journey is why you go. … If you read one romance this spring, make it this one.”

From Olivia Waite’s romance column

Avon | Paperback, $18.99

ALL THINGS ARE TOO SMALL: Essays in Praise of Excess Becca Rothfeld

A striking debut by a young critic who has been heralded as a throwback to an era of livelier discourse. Rothfeld has published widely and works currently as a nonfiction book critic for The Washington Post; her interests range far, but these essays are united by a plea for more excess in all things, especially thought.

“Splendidly immodest in its neo-Romantic agenda — to tear down minimalism and puritanism in its many current varieties. … A carnival of high-low allusion and analysis.”

From David Gates’s review

Metropolitan Books | $27.99

THE RETURN OF GREAT POWERS: Russia, China, and the Next World War Jim Sciutto

Sciutto’s absorbing account of 21st-century brinkmanship takes readers from Ukraine in the days and hours ahead of Russia’s invasion to the waters of the Taiwan Strait where Chinese jets flying overhead raise tensions across the region. It’s a book that should be read by every legislator or presidential nominee sufficiently deluded to think that returning America to its isolationist past or making chummy with Putin is a viable option in today’s world.

“Enough to send those with a front-row view into the old basement bomb shelter. … The stuff of unholy nightmares.”

From Scott Anderson’s review

Dutton | $30

THE SPOILED HEART Sunjeev Sahota

Sahota’s novel is a bracing study of a middle-aged man’s downfall. A grieving widower seems to finally be turning things around for himself as he runs for the top job at his labor union and pursues a love interest. But his election campaign gets entangled in identity politics, and his troubles quickly multiply.

“Sahota has a surgeon’s dexterous hands, and the reader senses his confidence. … A plot-packed, propulsive story.”

From Caoilinn Hughes’s review

Viking | $29

SPIRAL AND OTHER STORIES Aidan Koch

The lush, sparsely worded work of this award-winning graphic novelist less resembles anything recognizably “comic book” than it does a sort of dreamlike oasis of art. Her latest piece of masterful minimalism, constructed from sensuous washes of watercolor, pencil, crayon and collage, pulses with bright pigment and tender melancholy.

“Many of these pages are purely abstract, but when Koch draws details, it’s in startlingly specific and consistent contours that give these stories a breadth of character as well as depiction.”

From Sam Thielman’s graphic novels column

New York Review Comics | $24.95

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An assault led to Chanel Miller’s best seller, “Know My Name,” but she had wanted to write children’s books since the second grade. She’s done that now  with “Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All.”

When Reese Witherspoon is making selections for her book club , she wants books by women, with women at the center of the action who save themselves.

The Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro, who died on May 14 , specialized in exacting short stories that were novelistic in scope , spanning decades with intimacy and precision.

“The Light Eaters,” a new book by Zoë Schlanger, looks at how plants sense the world  and the agency they have in their own lives.

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .