About This Site/FAQ

The books listed on my site were all challenged on some grounds by groups who wished to impose restrictions on them. Some were removed from reading lists, some were removed from school or public libraries, some were burned in bonfires. I do not claim that all of the books in my list are for the same age group, nor do I believe they are all equally suitable for academic reading lists. I merely report documented challenges to books, and in some cases poke fun at the rationale used by those who object to the works mentioned.

I put the website together because I did not find any of the specific rationale for challenging the works I list compelling in any way. In fact, many of the reasons were quite humorous. I believe that books, and children, are individuals, and none deserve to be labelled.

Just the FAQs, Ma'am:

Q. What's the difference between "banned" and "challenged"?

A. "Banned" means that the book was successfully removed. "Challenged" means that the book was objected to, and may or may not have been removed.

Q. You don't actually think kids should be reading all of the stuff on your list, do you?

A. It really depends on the child. I believe that what a child reads is an issue best left to a child and his or her parents. When parents challenge the presence of a particular book used in school, they are taking matters too far. Parents do not have the right to impose their views on other parents regarding what is "suitable" reading material for children. They do have the right to request that their child be allowed to read something else, but trampling on the rights of all of the other students is wrong.

Some of the books I list have what is considered to be "bad" language and adult content. However, mature readers and certainly students in high school do not need to be "protected" from the written word.

I read Clan of the Cave Bear in junior high without any serious detriment to my moral fiber, and personally, I believe that any middle school student who freely chooses to read a novel like The Stand (weighing in at 1137 pages) is probably mature enough to handle the content. Very young children are unlikely to pick up such hefty works, and are usually happy enough with The Lorax and Harry Potter.

Q. Is every instance of a book being banned on your list?

A. This is by no means a complete list. I started by going through the 1998 ALA Banned Books Week guide and listing descriptions that were either of books I have read and loved, or descriptions that were just too funy not to mention (e.g., Zen Buddhism). As the Harry Potter books came under fire, I added some news stories about them, as well. I am open to adding more information, as long as I can document an instance of the work in question being banned or challenged.

Q. Why isn't [insert book title here] on your list?

A. It was either not mentioned in the resource guide I based my initial page on, or it was in the guide, but I didn't know enough about it to say whether I personally liked it or not.

Q. I'm doing a report for school...can you give me information on why a specific book/author was censored?

A. This is a sticky subject. As a university librarian, my impulse is to teach people how to find the answers, not to provide them freely. I have been known to dig up info if I can find it in free sources.

You can usually get this information in your local library. It's faster than waiting for a stranger's email, and the librarian on duty will be happy to help you.

Q. I have what looks like an old book...how much is my book worth?

A. I'm always a little surprised to get this question. I am not an expert in the relative value of books. I'm inclined to say "it's priceless" and leave it at that.

For people wondering about the value of any book you have, I recommend contacting rare and used book dealers in your area. Keep in mind that just because a book is old or has a leather cover, does not mean it has any value as a collector's item. If you are sure your old book really is worth something, get a second opinion--you may run up against the one "bad seed" who will tell you your Gutenberg bible is a fake and offer to take it off your hands for twenty bucks...

You can also check online auction sites, or online out-of-print book services like alibris.com.

In any case, just because my site is an Amazon Associate does not mean that I actually sell books myself. I am a librarian. We let people borrow things for free. :)

Q. Your font is too small/dark/difficult to read. Your website colors are stupid. Black backgrounds are bad. Your site sucks.

A. I realize that my font sizes have had severe issues in the past, particularly for people using Macintoshes or computers with very high screen resolution. What's a little embarrassing about that is that I use a Mac at home, too. I hadn't realized there was a problem since I routinely crank up my browser font sizes to 16 (at least) since many sites display microscopically small fonts on my home computer. I have been working on fixing this problem, and hope I have arrived at something of a solution. I will keep testing the problem, however.

As far as the website colors go, I do acknowledge that black is not the most friendly or practical color for a background. I chose my colors a while ago, before reading Web Pages That Suck, by Vincent Flanders & Michael Willis, or Son of Web Pages that Suck, by Vincent Flanders. Were I to design the site now, I'd choose some other color. However, it's a personal site, not a corporate money-maker, and I am somewhat nostalgically fond of the air of menace the darkness imparts.

I chose font colors that do not offend or harm my retinas, and that will actually print. Working in a library, I often see people trying to print pages sporting white text on a dark background, who are perplexed and angry when their pages come out empty. I do plan on creating CSS specifically for printing, so that the background/foreground issues are resolved. The cream colored font doesn't seem to give people trouble; it's the brown that causes problems. I've tried other colors besides the brown, but none seems satisfactory. I'm open to suggestions, if you'd like to offer any.