6 or so years ago, I read Truth & Beauty by Anne Pattchet. It was one of my favorite books right away. I loaned it to my mother, who loved it. A little while later I read an article about the book by Anne Pattchet in The Atlantic. I was shocked to discover that it was about how controversial the book had been when a university had assigned it to their students. There had been many protests, mostly by parents, against this book.

Truth & Beauty is a work of non fiction. It is about a close friendship between two women writers. They are friends and nothing more, but some people refused to believe that. That seems to be the core controversy that surrounds the book.

I was shocked but it encouraged me to look up lists of banned and censored books to see how many of my favorite books were on them. I was surprised by the results. Many of my favorite books as a child and as an adult were on the list including: Bless me Ultima, A Wrinkle In Time, Looking for Alaska, The Glass Castle, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, and many others.

Banned Book Week runs from the 21st till the 27th of September. This week celebrates the freedom to read. You can learn more by visiting their website here: http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

We informally polled our readers as part of banned book week and below is a list of some of their favorite banned books, in no particular order.

1. A Wrinkle in Time

2. To Kill a Mockingbird

3. The Bible

4. The Handmaid’s Tale

5. Catch 22