How many of the "Most Banned Books of 22-23" have you read?

[Josie]

Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor - PEN America

In the 2022–23 school year, PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of book bans in US public school classrooms and libraries.

pen.org

I have read:

Looking for Alaska: No idea why this one is on the list, really. It's very mild compared to another on the list (see below).

A Court of Mist and Fury: This is from the very popular ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas. It is going to be made into a streaming series as well. It's probably my favorite fantasy series I've ever read and I will definitely reread it sometime. This is very sexually explicit, but another one in the series is even more explicit (A Court of Silver Flames). This series should only be in high school libraries, IMO, and never in a middle school library. I think many people would say it shouldn't even be in high schools if they would actually read it.

Sold: I enjoyed this book. It's not sexually explicit at all, but the content is definitely serious and mature. This should only be in high school libraries.

Empire of the Storms: Ah, another Sarah J. Maas book. This was an excellent series as well if you love female-centered fantasy. I do recall some sexiness in this book, but not nearly as much as the ACOTAR series. This is just fine for high school libraries, IMO.

 

[Lethargic Aptitude]

I read mostly hard science fiction, so none really. Though I admit some (of what I read personally) shouldn't really be in schools.

I think that there is a stark difference between right wing authoritarians dictating what books it should ban because they think they have the power to dictate to parents (Since they want to end public schools) and rules and regulations for reading material in schools.

 

[LostInSeattle]

Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor - PEN America

In the 2022–23 school year, PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of book bans in US public school classrooms and libraries.

pen.org

View attachment 67471098

I have read:

Looking for Alaska: No idea why this one is on the list, really. It's very mild compared to another on the list (see below).

A Court of Mist and Fury: This is from the very popular ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas. It is going to be made into a streaming series as well. It's probably my favorite fantasy series I've ever read and I will definitely reread it sometime. This is very sexually explicit, but another one in the series is even more explicit (A Court of Silver Flames). This series should only be in high school libraries, IMO, and never in a middle school library. I think many people would say it shouldn't even be in high schools if they would actually read it.

First off, great thread topic and OP. My question: What would you find objectionable about sexually explicit fiction? I mean, we're not talking Penthouse Forum here, but sexually explicit passages in a novel, right?

Sold: I enjoyed this book. It's not sexually explicit at all, but the content is definitely serious and mature. This should only be in high school libraries.

Empire of the Storms: Ah, another Sarah J. Maas book. This was an excellent series as well if you love female-centered fantasy. I do recall some sexiness in this book, but not nearly as much as the ACOTAR series. This is just fine for high school libraries, IMO.

 

[Josie]

First off, great thread topic and OP. My question: What would you find objectionable about sexually explicit fiction? I mean, we're not talking Penthouse Forum here, but sexually explicit passages in a novel, right?

I find it objectionable for sexually explicit material to be provided to middle schoolers. And some of them (books with romantic sexual relationships between adults/minors, romantic incestuous relationships) shouldn't be provided to high schoolers. What say you?

 

[Captain Adverse]

Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor - PEN America

In the 2022–23 school year, PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of book bans in US public school classrooms and libraries.

pen.org

View attachment 67471098

I have read:

Looking for Alaska: No idea why this one is on the list, really. It's very mild compared to another on the list (see below).

A Court of Mist and Fury: This is from the very popular ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas. It is going to be made into a streaming series as well. It's probably my favorite fantasy series I've ever read and I will definitely reread it sometime. This is very sexually explicit, but another one in the series is even more explicit (A Court of Silver Flames). This series should only be in high school libraries, IMO, and never in a middle school library. I think many people would say it shouldn't even be in high schools if they would actually read it.

Sold: I enjoyed this book. It's not sexually explicit at all, but the content is definitely serious and mature. This should only be in high school libraries.

Empire of the Storms: Ah, another Sarah J. Maas book. This was an excellent series as well if you love female-centered fantasy. I do recall some sexiness in this book, but not nearly as much as the ACOTAR series. This is just fine for high school libraries, IMO.

None.

I saw the movie version of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (2012), and there is a movie called "Crank" (2006) starring Jason Stratham I've watched.

That's it.

 

[j brown's body]

I have read none of the books, but it's pretty easy to research them. Most of them receive high marks from reviewers. A survey shows that most kids don't give it much thought and they aren't negatively affected by them if they have had a healthy, honest sex education.

I suspect it's not that big a deal to them compared to what they can see on their phones. I could see how the gay books could be very helpful to gay kids who feel crushingly isolated. Other kids are free to ignore them.

Beyond that, when you allow the state to ban them, you open a pandora's box as it's all very subjective.

 

[venice_ca]

I’ve read Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.

Due to the themes in the novel, I imagine that this book would only be available in high schools. It’s an examination of the effects of racism, so necessarily grim, and no happy ending.

I looked for a few examples of banning Morrison’s novel. Although it was published in 1970, the earliest articles reporting banning go back two to three years. So from 1970-2020 there wasn’t much controversy regarding The Bluest Eye?

Edited to add: In the PEN article mention is also made of Margaret Atwood appearing among the authors with banned works. Perhaps for the Handmaid’s Tale? I skimmed but didn’t see a specific title.

 

[Josie]

I’ve read Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.

Due to the themes in the novel, I imagine that this book would only be available in high schools. It’s an examination of the effects of racism, so necessarily grim, and no happy ending.

I looked for a few examples of banning Morrison’s novel. Although it was published in 1970, the earliest articles reporting banning go back two to three years. So from 1970-2020 there wasn’t much controversy regarding The Bluest Eye?

Edited to add: In the PEN article mention is also made of Margaret Atwood appearing among the authors with banned works. Perhaps for the Handmaid’s Tale? I skimmed but didn’t see a specific title.

I'm sure. It's on several lists.

I've borrowed The Bluest Eye through the Libby app so I'll be reading it in the next couple of weeks.

 

[venice_ca]

I'm sure. It's on several lists.

I've borrowed The Bluest Eye through the Libby app so I'll be reading it in the next couple of weeks.

I continue to wonder why the current push against this novel. Ms. Morrison won the Nobel Prize 30 years ago. I would think that the Nobel win prompted an interest in her early works, but we’re decades beyond that.

Again, why now?

 

[Josie]

I continue to wonder why the current push against this novel. Ms. Morrison won the Nobel Prize 30 years ago. I would think that the Nobel win prompted an interest in her early works, but we’re decades beyond that.

Again, why now?

I'd say the newer books being published that are getting pushback from parents spurred a look at other books too. A lot of people don't read novels or much at all, really.

 

[LostInSeattle]

I find it objectionable for sexually explicit material to be provided to middle schoolers. And some of them (books with romantic sexual relationships between adults/minors, romantic incestuous relationships) shouldn't be provided to high schoolers. What say you?

i think it's all about context. The novel "Push" has a teen heroine who was raped by her father, and two children by him. (It's the book the award winning movie Precious was based on.) It was banned in 2022 by a school district in Utah. But it is sadly the reality that too many teens face in this country; sexual abuse is rampant. Something like 1 in 9 girls under 18 is the victim of sexual abuse or assault. Not talking about it doesn't do anyone any good. The problem isn't sexual narrative in fiction, it's sexual miscreance in society. I would rather focus my attention on education, prevention and prosecution of sexual assault of teens than on trying to shield them from content in books that they're already experiencing in their lives.

That's what I say.

 

[Josie]

i think it's all about context. The novel "Push" has a teen heroine who was raped by her father, and two children by him. (It's the book the award winning movie Precious was based on.) It was banned in 2022 by a school district in Utah. But it is sadly the reality that too many teens face in this country; sexual abuse is rampant. Something like 1 in 9 girls under 18 is the victim of sexual abuse or assault. Not talking about it doesn't do anyone any good. The problem isn't sexual narrative in fiction, it's sexual miscreance in society. I would rather focus my attention on education, prevention and prosecution of sexual assault of teens than on trying to shield them from content in books that they're already experiencing in their lives.

That's what I say.

Most middle schoolers (11 - 13 year olds) aren't having sex, though, which is why I say the sexually explicit books (like the ones I mentioned) should only be in high school libraries.

 

[LostInSeattle]

Most middle schoolers (11 - 13 year olds) aren't having sex, though, which is why I say the sexually explicit books (like the ones I mentioned) should only be in high school libraries.

I am not familiar with any books promoting romantic incestuous relationships between adults and minors. There is Lolita but that doesn't have anything to do with incest. My impression - and it's only that because I haven't dug into this deeply - is that much of the pushback and book banning has to do with issues of sexual identity and not so much sex. Could be wrong though; that might reflect bias in the scattered reporting I've read.

It's just not an issue that concerns me, at least not as far as library content goes. If it's on mandatory reading lists or is otherwise assigned, I would be concerned about introducing material at an emotionally inappropriate age. But if middle schoolers want to seek out sexual content on their own, they don't need the school library to do that. If they don't get it there, they'll get it somewhere else. I would prefer that they find it in an adventure/sci-fi novel than on the internet. Honestly, they can just go pick up a Harlequin romance and get sexually explicity content. Again, the context of the explicit content is key.

 

[Winston]

Surprised James Joyce - Ulysses didn’t make the cut.

 

[venice_ca]

I'd say the newer books being published that are getting pushback from parents spurred a look at other books too. A lot of people don't read novels or much at all, really.

A book that’s been out since 1970? What’s that — over 50 years.

I wonder if the criticism hinges on the gritty portrayal of racism, showing Blacks as victims of whites. Such a portrayal seems to be a sin in certain areas of the country in the last few years.

 

[Josie]

I just started The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Should be a quick read.

 

[Josie]

Surprised James Joyce - Ulysses didn’t make the cut.

Why's that?

 

[Winston]

Why's that?

It’s been awhile since I’ve read it. But, I seem to recall a masturbation passage

 

[Helix]

I read a lot of Stephen King and Richard Bachman as a teenager. I wonder when they'll start banning those books. If they do, my kids can read mine. We have a library of our own and an Audible subscription.

 

[Winston]

I read a lot of Stephen King and Richard Bachman as a teenager. I wonder when they'll start banning those books. If they do, my kids can read mine. We have a library of our own and an Audible subscription.

Very cool you have a library at your house

 

[Josie]

It’s been awhile since I’ve read it. But, I seem to recall a masturbation passage

Hm. I read it in college. Many of the classics have sex, sexual innuendo, etc. but none of them that I have read rise to the level of sexual explicitness that I would restrict. Plus, those books are usually in high schools only because they are more difficult to read.

 

[eman623]

Here's an excerpt from All Boys Aren't Blue (thanks to Sen RFK) which is banned but not in the infographic

"I put some lube and got him on his knees and I began to slide into him from behind. I pulled out of him and kissed him while he masturbated. He asked me to turn over while he slipped a condom on himself. This was my ass! And I was struggling to imagine someone inside of me. he got on top and slowly inserted himself into me. It was the worst pain I think I ever felt in my life. Eventually, I felt a mix of pleasure with the pain."

Here's another from and GenderQueer:

"I got a new strap-on harness today, I can't wait to put it on you. It will fit my favorite dildo perfectly, you're going to look so hot. I can't wait to have your **** in my mouth. I'm going to give you the blowjob of your life then I want you inside of me."

Do these books belong in any school library. In my opinion, no.

I can't speak to the others, but if they have anything in them as bad as these two example, then I would want them out too.

 

[eman623]

I read a lot of Stephen King and Richard Bachman as a teenager. I wonder when they'll start banning those books.

Never.

If they do, my kids can read mine. We have a library of our own and an Audible subscription.

Glad to see you are involved in your child's education.

 

[CaughtInThe]

The Bible

 

[Winston]

Hm. I read it in college. Many of the classics have sex, sexual innuendo, etc. but none of them that I have read rise to the level of sexual explicitness that I would restrict. Plus, those books are usually in high schools only because they are more difficult to read.

Joyce definitely falls into the difficult category. I would expect only AP students would want to read him. Same goes for the other stream of consciousness writers like Proust or Woolf.