July 12, 2004

The Forbidden Library.
posted by Gyan 20 years ago
  • They don't seem to have The Diviners by Margaret Lawrence, which is the only novel I have semi-personal experience with being banned (My mother remembers her highschool banning it). But then again, it was banned for a small amount of sex, and would make for a boring commentary. I also always have to cackle when C.S. Lewis gets banned for mysticism and basically being unChristian. That Aslan is clearly an allusion to the Devil.
  • Why hasn't anyone banned J. S. Mill's On Liberty? After all, that's the book that says we shouldn't ban ideas. (But then, does anyone think these banning people are intelligent and/ or well-read?)
  • This is another good one -- Gyan, thanks.
  • Very interesting.
  • Banning 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' because it contains the word 'nigger' is a gem.
  • oh, gyan, you totally stole this from mefi. for shame, you took gyan's post and... oh, wait. sorry. my bad. no really there are quite a few bans in place that this list doesn't cover - the american library association keeps a record of other bans, and of the top 100 banned books. (and for all those faced with making a decision on this: banning books is for nazis. you don't want to be a nazi, do you?)
  • Godwined in six comments? Bad Froggy! I did display windows for a bookstore I worked in in my misspent youth. One of my favorite displays every year was the banned books display. It also never ceased to amaze me what books some people found offensive enough to try to ban.
  • Here's a link to the A.L.A. banned books section.