Banned Books Week is coming up soon. What’s your favorite banned book, & why?
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I honestly am not sure…is TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD banned?
If so, that’s mine. 
I read it in high school along with a lot of other books that I am sure are now banned.
How about THE SCARLET LETTER? Banned? High school read.
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@Elizabeth Yup, To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a “banned book.” According to Google’s AI: “Reasons for bans and challenges include the use of racial slurs, descriptions of rape and violence, and allegations that the book contains racist or sexually explicit material.”
Same for *The Scarlet Letter: “*primarily for its portrayal of adultery and perceived sexual content.”
We’re such a nation of prudes! I’d venture to say that the #1 reason books get banned has to do with sex of some sort.
Edit: I just asked the AI and it said that #1 reason a book gets banned in the good ol’ USA is “for its portrayal of adultery and perceived sexual content.”
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I think mine is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I kind of like the irony of a book about censorship being censored itself. I didn’t read this book until I was perhaps in my 40s or 50s (which was still a long time ago!) and there were a number of things about it that rang true even then.
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To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) & A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
It is tragic that To Kill a Mockingbird was banned: thankfully times have changed. PBS has a documentary The Great American Read. I only saw the first episode but To Kill a Mockingbird was voted one of the top 100 best American novels
I want to share an amusing story about the 1958 book Candy by Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenburg that in 1960”s was considered a sexual deviant book and was banned in many areas including Virginia where I attended high school in the late 60’s. Many of my male classmates while attending class were reading Robert Kennedy: The Brother Within published in 1962 - which was the cover but inside was the novel Candy. 
Difficult question. Anymore, it seems like every book has been banned or censored by some person or entity who has had their sensibilities offended by the book. One of the most ironic, to me, is Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. A war to preserve our Union was fought because of the stain of slavery, yet this book is frequently banned because of subject matter. I tried to read it a couple of times and quit, but when I listened to the audiobook it came alive.
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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I am in a Banned Bookclub at my library so I read a lot of banned books. This month we are reading Nineteen Eighty-Four. I read it years ago in high school. I also read it about 5 years ago. Rereading it and we will discuss it Oct 10. I believe it is a book everyone should read. Also everyone should read The Handmaid’s Tale. As far as my favorite banned book I must say To Kill a Mockingbird as it is really my favorite book, banned or not!! I read it every other year.
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Very timely! The theme this year is “Censorship is so 1984!”
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1984 is probably my favorite. It was written over 75 years ago, and it still seems relevant.
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The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, published in 1974 and adapted into a movie in 1988. The themes were about conformity and bullying in a Catholic high school setting. Great YA book, even if it was written 50 years ago it’s very relevant.
While working in the IT Department of a large, rural North Carolina Public School System in 2001, I was on the school board panel that reviewed a formal challenge from parents in a certain Protestant Church that had a warped agenda.
The panel always included a student from each of the two high schools. They were 110% prepared with questions, answers and especially their statement. So proud that they “schooled” the parents (who hadn’t even read the book) better than any librarian in North Carolina! At the end of that school year, the score was Challenged Accepted 0 and Challenged Denied 77.
The Kite Runner is one that stands out for me. I assume a particular event in the story was the reason for it being banned. And I did find that scene upsetting. But that’s why we should read these books. I’m sure my level of empathy for those who have been abused was elevated because I read it. The book also transported me to a place and culture that we all (especially Americans) could benefit from understanding better.
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This book is an absolute classic. People must learn to read books with appreciation of time, place & context. Rather than ban the book because of offensive language, teach it as Twain’s commentary on race relations and the relationship developed between Huck & Jim.
Next: 1984 & Animal Farm by George Orwell. Censorship is the first step towards totalitarianism.