Do Something Good

 

Y'all know I love to read.

We are nearing the end of

Banned Book Week
No, you won't find mainstream authors like King, Grisham, Patterson, Piccoult, or the like on the list. The American Library Association (ALA) provides the following:

Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021. Of the 1597 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:

1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images
2. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
3. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
4. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda
6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term
7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
   Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women
8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit
9. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
   Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.
10. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
    Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit. 

Fellow blogger Sixpence posted these very telling graphs on his blog the other day that focus on the school year.

I purposely waited until today to give you all weekend to support one (or more) of the above books (or authors). Do something good this weekend, something that will make a difference.

Even if you don't read them, head to your local bookstore and buy one (or more).

Or head to your local library and borrow them.

Speaking of bans, the Blogger Police are at it again.

Sixpence ((Lo) Imprescindible) has had one of his posts taken down. But, unlike Gabriel, they at least sent a notice and removed the post instead of the entire blog. As if that makes us feel any better to be censored by unknown complainants.