Banned Books Week!

Hey everyone,

We're a little late in the game, but it's Banned Books Week for our neighbors down south! Running from September 26 until October 3rd in 2009, it's the only national celebration of the freedom to read in the U.S.

From the website:

"It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. Click here to see a map of book bans and challenges in the US from 2007 to 2009. People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent. They object to profanity and slang, and protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups--or positive portrayals of homosexuals. Their targets range from books that explore the latest problems to classic and beloved works of American literature." http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/info.html

Click here for the American Library Association's top ten most challenged books of 2008. We're proud to say that we've read, and enjoyed, almost all of them - and yes, even Gossip Girl. Shhhh!