Top Five Wednesday 9/30/15

Today's Top Five Wednesday topic is Banned Books I've Read. This is Banned Books Week where we celebrate our freedom to read books others think we shouldn't. Here are five of the most banned books in the last two years that I have read.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie - What cracks me up is one of the reasons this book was banned was for cultural insensitivity. So that means some white person got their knickers in a twist over it and threw a fit. Really!?

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - The reasons cited for this book are "offensive language, unsuited to age group, and violence". Which, depending on the age group, I get. But my stance on this is, don't let your kid read it, but don't tell me what my kid can read.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - This book is about a kid dealing with his past and his burgeoning homosexuality. This might be important for some kid out there to read. Most of the stuff in the book would not be new ideas for most kids in the 21st century. They've heard cuss words before. I promise.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier - The reason for this one is "sexually explicit". Mmm. Maybe. It was set in a middle school. I have a middle schooler. None of the things in that book would terribly shock her. It might some of her Christian School classmates, but the school has it in their library, so...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - The excuse for this one is "religious viewpoint". I don't get it. I feel like you would have to be really looking for something to come up with that one. Unless your religion is reality TV, then I could see how you would be offended.

There are tons more. These are just from the most recent lists. Banning books just pisses me off.