Join the Rebel Alliance!

Be a rebel and read a banned book. Did you know it's Banned Books Week? Well, I know Three Under Two knows!

Ronnica over at the Book Nook posted a link to a list of the most commonly banned books, and listed the ones she's read. I thought it was interesting, so I'm playing along, too. Here's a link to the list of the Top 100 most challenged books from 1990 to 2000. And here's what I've read, along with some brief comments:

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz (I remember reading one of these books when I was in Elementary school. I think I thought it was pretty silly, if I remember correctly.)

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Loved it!)

7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (Really enjoyed these.)

8. Forever by Judy Blume (Really liked this book, and surprise, surprise, it didn't make me run out and have sex, which I assume is the normal reason for this to be banned. I do, however, remember when all of us gals were reading it in middle school and talking about it quite a bit!)

9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (What a wonderful and sad book. I must have read it a thousand times when I was in 4th and 5th grade.)

13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Okay, don't really get what all the hoopla is about this book.)

14. The Giver by Lois Lowry (Absolutely loved this book!)

16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine (I read a few of these when I was working with kids, and they just weren't good books. While I'd never ban a book for being poorly written, I'd be hard-pressed to actually recommend these to anyone. Maybe people I didn't like :)

22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Glorious book. So interesting, and one of the books that instilled a love of sci-fi in me.)

26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard (Read some of these in one of my children's lit classes. Didn't really enjoy them.)

37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (One of my all-time favorite books.)

39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Great book. I actually read this on my honeymoon, if you care to hear a random fact about me.)

41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Okay, but didn't really capture me.)

42. Beloved by Toni Morrison (Good.)

43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Loved, loved, loved this book. I used to be able to quote from it I'd read it so many times. In fact, I still bust out with a "nothing gold can stay" from time to time. Okay, technically that's Robert Frost, but it so embodied the book for me. Now I want to reread this!)

47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (Another terrific book.)

51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (Loved this as a kid, now I have it for my kids.)

52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Another one of my favorite books.)

53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (I'm kind of embarrassed I've read these. Hey, I'm an Anne Rice fan, what can I say? My problem with these books isn't that it's erotica, but that it's kind of boring, poorly written erotica.)

55. Cujo by Stephen King (Not one of his better novels, although I do have a ridiculous fear of rabies to this very day).

56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (Good, but not one of my favorite kid's books.)

62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (I was addicted to Judy Blume books as a 5th grader.)

69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (As stated in my post over at The Book Nook, this is one of my favorite novels by one of my favorite authors).

70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Okay. One of those read it for English class books that was okay but nothing really exciting.)

77. Carrie by Stephen King (Is there really anyone who *hasn't* read this book? Once again, good, but not his best.)

83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King (I liked this one better than Cujo or Carrie, but it still doesn't top my list of Stephen King books.)

84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Good, although I like Huck Finn better.)

85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (Good.)

87. Private Parts by Howard Stern (Boy, this one is a little embarrassing to admit!)

88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford (I remember searching for Waldo, and I didn't even know there was a topless lady to be found!)


Wow, only 31 of the top 100. So, what do you think? Any of the "banned" books that you've read and enjoyed? Or hated? Or want to ban? If you're feeling up to it, blog your own "banned books" list!

Speaking of reading, I'm trapped in The Memory Keeper's Daughter. It's just not capturing my attention, and I don't find myself wanting to read. Has anyone read this? Does it get better? I'm about 1/3 of the way through it...

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B-man wasn't feeling well today. Or, techincally, he hardly slept at all last night as his asthma/coughing kept waking him up. Since he was falling asleep at breakfast, and had a temperature of 100.2, we kept him home from preschool. N-man went to preschool. It was weird, having one and not the other. I think they both missed each other. B-man kept talking about N-man this morning.

B-man slept in my arms for an hour, and has been much better since then. Hopefully he'll be breathing easier tonight and will sleep well as I am TIRED from being up with him last night.

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Replies to comments on People Really Are Reading!:

Gio: No, I'm not a famous blogger by a long shot! I'd guess we have very similar readerships. I'd guess we have most of the same readers in fact :)

LauraC: It actually doesn't bother me if people don't comment, though I love the comments. Yes, I agree, sometimes I post and don't get a lot of comments and then start second guessing my post. Ah well...

Ronnica: I'm lucky to have a lot of real life friends who do comment. Hi all you real life friends!

Melodie: I agree, it's a little weird to get used to a rectangular screen. One day I'll be telling the grandkids, "Back in my day, our TVs were square, and we liked 'em that way!"

Daav: Oh, don't get me going about the ridiculous apartment-sized wall oven in our house. I wish we had the money to redo the oven as well as the counter-top stove!

Nancy: Psst! I read your blog, too!