Week of September 23, 2013

In the News: Banned Books Week

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO READ THESE BOOKS!
Well actually, you are, here at FAU, once this exhibit is over, but these are all books which have been banned in various places at various times.  Some are still banned, usually for their sexual or heretical content, or their language.  Most books which have been banned upon first publication for their sexual content, like Lady Chatterley’s Lover, are considered pretty tame today, but there are always new titles to take their place.  Much of the focus on challenged books today revolves around children’s books which touch on the topic of homosexuality, in one way or another, such as the book And Tango Makes Three, about two male penguins who raise a chick.  It is common for governments to ban books which exhibit an uncomfortable political perspective (like Cat’s Cradle), and for governments in countries where there is no separation of church and state to ban books (like The Satanic Verses) which espouse unwelcome religious sentiments.

Dr. William Miller
Dean of University Libraries

And Tango Makes Three
By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Simon & Schuster, 2005
Call Number: PZ10.3 .R414 Tan 2005

As I Lay Dying
By William Faulkner. Random House, 1957
Call Number: PS3511 .A86 A8 1957

Beloved: A Novel
By Toni Morrison. Random House, 1987
Call Number: PS3563 .O8749 B4 2004 Continue reading