2nd Annual Banned Books Week Giveaway (International)
Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 10:00PM 
For as long as I'm a writer and reader, I'll always support the FREADOM to read. And I've never hidden the fact I believe that what I read, is my own decision - and not that of someone else.
So I'm proud to yet again support Banned Books Week by participating in the 2nd Annual Banned Books Week giveaway hop, hosted by the lovely ladies over at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I Read Banned Books.
As posted on the American Library Association website, Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. This is something the ALA has been supporting for years - in fact, this year marks their 30th anniversary of supporting the freedom to read!
Which is a good thing, because unfortunately the list of banned books is long - and grows longer every year. And we all know some of the classics that have been included on this list:
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Harper Lee, 1960: Harper Lee’s great American tome stands as proof positive that the censorious impulse is alive and well in our country, even today. For some educators, the Pulitzer-prize winning book is one of the greatest texts teens can study in an American literature class. Others have called it a degrading, profane and racist work that “promotes white supremacy.”
THE SCARLET LETTER, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850: According to many critics, Hawthorne should have been less friendly toward his main character, Hester Prynne (in fairness, so should have minister Arthur Dimmesdale). One isn’t surprised by the moralist outrage the book caused in 1852. But when, one hundred and forty years later, the book is still being banned because it is sinful and conflicts with community values, you have to raise your eyebrows. Parents in one school district called the book “pornographic and obscene” in 1977. Clearly this was before the days of the World Wide Web.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by the late, great, Maurice Sendak, 1963: Sendak’s work is beloved by children in the generations since its publication and has captured the collective imagination. Many parents and librarians, however, did much hand-wringing over the dark and disturbing nature of the story. They also wrung their hands over the baby’s penis drawn in In the Night Kitchen.
And as posted on the BannedBooksWeek.org website, according to the ALA, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011 - and many more have gone unreported. And the 10 most challenged titles of 2011 were:
- TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group - THE COLOR OF EARTH (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group - THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence - MY MOM'S HAVING A BABY! A KID'S MONTH-BY-MONTH GUIDE TO PREGNANCY, by Dori Hillestad Butler
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group - THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group - ALICE (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint - BRAVE NEW WORLD, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit - WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit - GOSSIP GIRL (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit - TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language; racism
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So to celebrate this great week, what's up for grabs you might ask?
TWO lucky winners will each receive ONE banned or challenged book (value up to $20 USD) of their choice, from the banned or challenged list. You can find some of the titles here and here.
The giveaway will run from Friday, September 28th - Saturday, October 6th and I'll be announcing my winners on Sunday, October 7th.
A few housekeeping rules:
PLEASE be honest with your entries. If you commit to leaving a comment - then do so! I review all entries for accuracy and honesty and reserve the right to remove any invalid entries.
- Giveaway is International. Note: Giveaway is open to anywhere The Book Depository ships. It is your responsibility to make sure The Book Depository ships to your country. All entries for non valid ship-to countries will be void. You can confirm if The Book Depository ships to your country by going here.
- Winners must be 13 years or older.
- Winners must choose a banned or challenged book from off the lists I've provided above.
- Leave a comment? That's worth +1 entry.
- Only requirement: you need to follow me on Twitter (@erinlschneider1) to qualify. Worth +2 entries.
- Tweet about my giveaway? Let me know and that's worth +3 more entries!
- Total possible entries = 6.
- +6 entries possible per person - please do not use alternative email addresses to enter again.
- You must fill out the Rafflecopter form below, to be officially entered.
- Winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter on Sunday, October 7, 2012 and announced here on my blog.
Remember to stop on over at I Read Banned Books and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer to check out all of the other great participants in this blog hop!
Reader Comments (56)
Banning books is just plain wrong. Everyone has a right to read what they choose.
I believe in being able to think for yourselves. Not all books are for everyone.
Whenever I see the reasons people complained about a book, I always wonder if we read the same one - satanic references in The Hunger Games??? What?
banning books is egocentric and childish. "i don't like this book, i don't want you to be able to read it too" - totally stupid. just don't READ it for crying out loud! and don't interfere into MY business. if i want to read somehing i will read it. and i want to make my own opinions, not agree to your blind one without doubt. i hate it when people infringe on my choices. and banning books IS taking away my choice. actually i read those books then even more. i want to see what the books are saying that is SO thought-provoking, that those stupid people have kittens. it has to be good.
Banned books are something I feel REALLY strongly about. I post every year about it on Facebook, I talk about in bookstores and I'm going to be a librarian (er...hopefully..if I get into grad school) to help kids find their ways to ALL kinds of books, not just the kinds someone else has deemed appropriate for them.
I understand that many parents may feel that certain books are inappropriate for children of a certain age and I absolutely understand the urge to protect their children. However, I do not feel that any parent has the right to dictate what MY child should or should not read. Banning books takes those choices away from everyone. The problem with making those kinds of judgment calls is - who is qualified to be the morality police and decide for everyone what is and is not appropriate? Just because one parent thinks that their child is too young to deal with the themes discussed in books like Harry Potter does not mean that the next parent will feel the same. The answer is to improve parent/child relationships so they make good choices, not remove those choices altogether. Also, many of these books are an opportunity to open a dialog about some difficult subjects, but subjects that are very relevant to children and a younger and younger age every year.
I think the idea of banned books is not a good one. As a parent I should be in charge of what my kids read. A lot of the books on that list I read in school and enjoyed. Great discussions and lessons came from those books. No one should have the right to ban books.
I love BBW! Support intellectual freedom!
I don't think any books should be banned or censored. There are so many books on the banned lists that are great and thought provoking stories! I love to see the lists though so I can read the books for myself to see what the fuss is about! Thanks for this amazing giveaway - I would love to win!
I don't think anybody has the right to decide what is ok and what is not ok for others to read. As a parent, monitoring your child's reading material is one thing. A parent should be aware of what their child is reading, and should have the right to decide whether or not a book's subject matter is appropriate for their child's age and maturity level. (and a parent should have read the book for themselves FIRST before coming to such a decision.) But they don't have the right to take books they deem inappropriate away from all. Some of these books that have "controversial" subjects are often relatable to those who read them. They can enlighten, educate, and even save lives.
(Nikki Marie on rafflecopter)
There are only certain circumstances where I think it's OK to ban a book, like giving away military secrets. It should never be for a religious reason or just because someone doesn't think it's appropriate. Put an age rating on it if you have to, it works for the movies.
I don't think books should be banned. While I am conservative in my book tastes, I don't feel it right to impose my views on others. I feel like as a parent, it's my responsibility to monitor what my children read, and that I should allow other parents that same right. My parents didn't monitor my reading as a teen, and I appreciate that I was exposed to many banned classics that were inspiring to me.
I could only dream to be on that banned books list some day. I know, some would say, "Are you crazy?!" No, and yes. But, honestly, I think labeling it as a banned book brings more attention to it.
I disagree with the banning of books. If you don't like the book, don't read it...simple as that. Don't discourage others from reading. Many of the banned books were required to be read in school. Angie Adair
I don't think a book should be banned. Everyone should have the freedom to read anything they want. if you don't like a book, then don't read it.
I think banning books is stupid. So a few people were offended...who cares? We can't walk around on egg shells our entire lives hoping we don't offend every person we ever come in contact with. It's not possible. Freedom of speech.
I don't believe in banning books. If you don't want to read a book then don't read it, but people have no right to tell someone else what they can or can not read (or think).
The little aside about Arthur Dimmesdale being "less friendly" to Hester Prynne - cracks me up.
I think everyone should be able to read whatever they want.. I don't think banning a book is right.
Thank you for the giveaway :)
I'm surprised that even Where the Wild Thing Are was (is?) banned!
I still don't understand how they pick certain banned books. It is so....unexpected. How about books involving rape and all those non-consensual stuff? I don't get how so many classics have been banned. It's crazy!
I really think people as individuals should have the right to choose what they can and can't read- it's not up to a government.
i don't understand the point of banning books, because in modern world with almost everybody having access to internet, it's quite pointless to ban books. If you really want to read, you can actually get it.
I think that it's not fair that books are banned because people like different t;ypes of book. I'm sure that there are a lot of readers that really love some of the banned or challenged books and I'm one of those readers.
Hi Erin. I actually don't care if they ban certain books or not. As long as these books are available for purchase if I want them, then they can ban all they want. :D LOL. Seriously, I want my freedom. Reading is learning. We should always remember that. Readers should always remember that.