miércoles, 1 de mayo de 2013

The most complained about books of 2012

Every year the American Library Association  (ALA) publishes a list of the most challenged books, that is, those that have received formal, written complaints to a library or school requesting that they be restricted or removed due to their content (offensive language, explicit sex, etc.). As it could be expected, Fifty Shades of Grey is in the 2012 list, but perhaps surprisingly at number 4. So, what's the top offender? Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants series of children's books, because of their toilet humour and irreverent attitude. It's a repeat offender, too, as it made the list in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Other highly regarded books in the top ten are Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison's Beloved, winner of the Pulitzer prize (sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence) and Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner (homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit).

Read the list here.
Read this article in The Guardian.



ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in communities across the country. In 2012, OIF received 464 reports on attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves. This is an increase from 2011 totals, which stood at 326 attempts.

2012 was the 30th anniversary of ALA's Banned Books Week, an annual event to celebrate the right of the freedom to read. The following timeline of significant banned and challenged books was part of the commemoration.

Timeline: 30 years of liberating literature


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