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Banned books

Libra

Active Member
I was going through this list of banned books and the reasons why they were banned at sometime, but this one made me laugh:

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
by William Steig
In 1977, the Illinois Police Association urged librarians to remove the book, which portrays its characters as animals, and presents the police as pigs. The American Library Association reported similar complaints in 11 other states
 
I know people tried to ban Like Water For Chocolate. I always giggled at that one.

And if they're going to ban for the animal reason, why not try to ban Animal Farm? After all, anyone with half a brain can see the symbolism. ;D
 
I have 4 from the list, one being Flowers in the Attic and I was surprised it was more for the sexual content and not the incest.:eek:
 
By telling people "what not to read" are you not making it more interesting? The forbidden fruit and all that. How silly to try and censor books. I have read many of those selections, some I enjoyed, some not at all but I made up my own mind.
 
I heard Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was banned in the USA because it showed The American Dream as a false ideology...

I studied it for GCSE a couple of years ago.
 
I heard Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was banned in the USA because it showed The American Dream as a false ideology...

I studied it for GCSE a couple of years ago.

Marshall University Libraries - Banned Book - John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

And from the wiki:

The novella has been banned from various American public and school libraries or curricula for allegedly "promoting euthanasia", being "anti-business", containing profanity, racial slurs, and generally containing "vulgar" and "offensive language". Many of the bans and restrictions have been lifted and it remains required reading in many other American, Australian, British, New Zealand and Canadian high schools. As a result of being a frequent target of censors, Of Mice and Men appears on the American Library Association's list of the Most Challenged Books of 21st Century (number 4).
 
By telling people "what not to read" are you not making it more interesting? The forbidden fruit and all that.

Exactly. It does the authors a favor. Either by getting them more money or ensuring their names are remembered, and remembered favorably for writing something that was unpopular at the time.
 
Aside from the Necronomicon, is there ever really, truly a good reason for banning a book?

As good a book as any...


I've seen dozens of lists of banned books and it alway makes me wonder how someone would be so full of themselves that they feel that they can walk on the First Amendment and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Is it any different from a black man filling a lawsuit because an online dictionary had the 'N' word in it?
 
I meant the real Necronomicon. We don't need some high school Emo kid summoning Cthulhu to impress a girl.
 
I'm surprised Mein Kampf wasn't on that list.

That's actually banned here in Holland, it's only available in some libraries where it may be used for research purposes by students and/or scholars. Can't take it home with you from the library though.
 
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