Read-Out this Friday at Thoreau Center

Reminder: Banned Books Week Continues

There are still a few days left in Banned Books Week (September 25 - October 2), the annual celebration of your freedom to write and read what you want. That means that you still have time to write on our Banned Books Wall on the front of the library. Thank you to everybody who has contributed and be sure to check it out to find out what some of the Thoreau Center’s favorite banned or challenged books are.

And on Friday, be sure to stop by from noon to 2:00 pm for our first ever Read-Out: spend a few minutes at lunchtime reading aloud from banned or challenged books and listen to others do the same - it’s like an audiobook but without the iPod and no volume control, and a fun way to speak out against would-be censors. We will also be announcing the winners of the Banned Books Week essay contest we sponsored for our student neighbors just down the road at the Bay School, and hopefully (their class schedule permitting) one or more of them will stop by to read their essays. If you would like to reserve a time slot to do a short reading (5 minutes or so) please contact the library at library@thoreau.org. Otherwise, just stop by - we will have a selection of banned books on hand. Refreshments will be provided.

Not sure what has been banned or challenged? Here is the top ten list for 2009 as assembled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom:

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: drugs, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
2. And Tango Makes Three , by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: homosexuality
3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower , by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
4. To Kill A Mockingbird , by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group
5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
6. Catcher in the Rye , by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
7. My Sister’s Keeper , by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things , by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. The Color Purple , by Alice Walker
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
10. The Chocolate War , by Robert Cormier
Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

And some additional resources to check out:

· Amnesty International commemorates Banned Books Week by highlighting the plights of imprisoned and persecuted writers around the world: Banned Books Week 2010

· No. 1 banned author Lauren Myracle writes about her experiences in Wednesday’s Guardian: Building bridges with the book-banners

· The Office of Intellectual Freedom’s informative blog.

· And, of course, there is a Facebook page.