I don't often recommend books for you to read but when I do it's for a good reason.
Here's my list of good reads.
The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
The Odyssey, by Homer
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
I must admit that I've read most of them over my many years.
But the real reason for that list?
They were all listed on the American Library Association's report on books that were either challenged or banned last year.
I happen to think this could also be a list of exemplary writings.
I'm a liberal when it comes to books; I think you should read widely and without imposing personal prejudices.
But that's just me.
Take my recommendations for whatever you like but be reminded that this is Banned Books Week.
What better time to enjoy a classic.
I've read all but two of these, and I will correct the error soon. This list will be great advertising for the publishers. I can remember my eagerness to get my hands on "Lady Chatterley's Lover" when it was banned in the late 50's. A great read at the time!
ReplyDeleteNever got all the way through Homer's classic, read the other's many times. I'm not at all surprised by the attempt's to ban these books.
ReplyDeleteThere are two books on this list that I have not read: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Invisible Man. If I had a concentration for literature the way I once did, I would read them now. These days I can barely stand to read more than a blog post or op-ed, and even op-eds are getting to be too wordy for me.
ReplyDeleteOnly 2 I haven't read, too! Part Time Indian and Invisible Man. Will put them in my library queue. I thought we had outgrown banning books. Some things never change.
ReplyDeleteWhat a list of great reads. I've read many of them. I agree with your recommendation to read widely. I'm reading two books right now, Michael Wolff's "Landslide" and Ben MacIntyre's "Agent Sonya". And, I need to hurry up, I have four more sitting there waiting for me to pick them up.
ReplyDeleteI've read most of them too. Things are becoming so weird with the politically correctness. I agree that you should read widely.
ReplyDeleteI've read a number of them and intend to continue to enjoy banned books. I also read widely, thanks to Book Club although I've read most of these on my own or for school.
ReplyDeletePeople should read what ever they damn well want to read. I'll bet I could find a book in the library that would teach me how to make a bomb, but Huck Finn...
ReplyDeleteThe people who want to ban such books dismay me.
ReplyDeleteI've only read three of these but I've heard of all of them. And I had no idea that they had banned these looks are that they were Banning books right now like these. Our world is in total chaos glad you posted this
ReplyDeleteGood List, I just started reading !984 by George Orwell, have not read this since high school, but, yeah, it's timely.
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