Banned Books Week 2009 has begun! This annual celebration of the First Amendment and intellectual freedom is being observed this year during the week of September 26 - October 3.
A list of the top 100 novels of the 20th century, with nearly half of them highlighted in bold font to indicate that they have at some point been banned or challenged, can be found on the American Library Association's website here.
The top 10:
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
So, of the top 10 novels of the last century, only The Sound and the Fury has escaped puritan outcries. But, thanks to the First Amendment, they are all available for our reading pleasure.
So head on over to your local library or bookstore, pick up a controversial classic, and celebrate your freedom to read!
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