Banned Books Week 2024 is September 22nd to 28th!

According to the American Library Association (ALA), Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. By focusing on efforts to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. Typically (but not always) held during the last week of September, the annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.

In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books and resources in 2023. The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) in more than 20 years of tracking: 4,240 unique book titles were targeted for removal from schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship. 

To celebrate intellectual freedom, McCracken County Public Library staff have collected a list of Staff Picks for Banned Books Week. We stand against censorship.

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky  

 

2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood   

 

3. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 

 

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee   

 

5. Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare 

 

6. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell  

 

7. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence 

8. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote  

 

9. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls 

 

10. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway  

 

11. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut  

 

12. The Holy Bible (King James Version)  

 

13. The Color Purple by Alice Walker  

 

14. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling  

 

15. The Giver by Lois Lowry    

 

16. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder   

 

17. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins    

18. The Outsiders by SE Hinton   

 

19. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher    

20. Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro    

 

21. 1984 by George Orwell  

 

22. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini  

 

23. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson