It’s Banned Books Week over in the US until 6th October. I like having a look through the lists of what books have been challenged to see which books I’ve read and to find more books to read, because when people get passionate about books those are the books that made them think, that challenged their world view, and that engaged with them. It’s unsurprising then that, according to the Office for Intellectual Freedom, people have attempted to ban at least 46 of the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century.

The American Library Association says that the ten most challenged titles of 2011 included The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I recommend both! Challenged/banned books of 2000-2009 include the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and a bunch of books by Judy Blume. All of which are fantastic. Who hasn’t read a single banned/challenged book? And if you haven’t, you’re missing out :) Head OVER HERE if you’d like to explore lists of frequently challenged books and add to your reading list.

And if you fancy a meme to get you started, of those 46 Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century that people attempted to ban I’ve bolded the ones that I’ve read – all of which were brilliant – and put in italics the ones currently in my to-read pile (I still have a way to go *grins*):

( the 46... )