The 100 worst books

[Dreadful Scathe]

not really - i came across this at the "American library Association". 100 most complained about books. the books were "challanged" for various reasons i.e.

* 1,607 were challenges to “sexually explicit” material (up 161 since 1999);
* 1,427 to material considered to use “offensive language”; (up 165 since 1999)
* 1,256 to material considered “unsuited to age group”; (up 89 since 1999)
* 842 to material with an “occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism,”; (up 69 since 1999)
* 737 to material considered to be “violent”; (up 107 since 1999)
* 515 to material with a homosexual theme or “promoting homosexuality,” (up 18 since 1999) and
* 419 to material “promoting a religious viewpoint.” (up 22 since 1999)

Other reasons for challenges included “nudity” (317 challenges, up 20 since 1999), “racism” (267 challenges, up 22 since 1999), “sex education” (224 challenges, up 7 since 1999), and “anti-family” (202 challenges, up 9 since 1999).

but what surprised me was which books were challenged... heres the top 100 - quite a few classics there.

Originally Posted by top 100 challenged books

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

It would be interesting to compare this with a British list if there is such a thing.

[Stuart M]

I'm ashamed to say I've only read 7 of them.

8 if you count seeing Cujo

9 if you count flicking through Madonna's book in a remainder shop (what, there was stuff to read in it?).

Actually, I had thought I'd seen this list before and James Joyce's Ulysses was on it. Maybe that was an older version.

[Sparkles]

If you pick up a book with an 'explicit' title (as some on the list have) and then read it you can hardly complain about it having explicit content!

Also, I think some of those books are in there just because they are widely read. The more people that read something the more people are likely to complain about it - that's just a matter of statistics. Still, each to their own.

[straycat]

I'd be intruiged to know under which of those grounds you could 'challenge' James & the Giant Peach, or To Kill a Mockingbird (how DARE anyone complain about that one? )

Were there any other grounds similar to - oh - 'being seriously cr*p', for example? I'd have a few nominations there

[Beowulf]

I'm shocked what books are on that list. I mean many of those were required reading at my school (No.. not Madonna's Sex )

however it's what I've come to expect from America these days. Get a creationist bible belt president and all of a sudden moral outrage seems to be the norm.

I mean.. look at these websites both detailing a review of the same kids movie (I chose scooby doo as it's so ..well.. harmless )


http://www.christiananswers.net/spot...scoobydoo.html

and

http://www.capalert.com/capreports/scooby-doo2002.htm

now that's scary !!

[under par]

76. Tiger in bed. by Claud Bawls

79. Semen on an a pillow. by Mr Com Pletely

[Cruella]

Originally Posted by under par

76. Tiger in bed. by Claud Bawls

79. Semen on an a pillow. by Mr Com Pletely

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by straycat264

or To Kill a Mockingbird (how DARE anyone complain about that one? )

Oh don't lower yourself to their level, people dare to do the strangest things. I'm surprised at some of the childrens books in there - I assume Harry Potter is in there becuase it is "occult" related, which just goes to show - there are people in America who still hold onto centuries old nonsense superstitions.

I cant understand why classics like Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird are in there either - American literature at its best, and both positive stories .

Ironic that UP makes fun of this serious thread yet complains about frivolity in others

[Stuart M]

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

I cant understand why classics like Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird are in there either - American literature at its best, and both positive stories .

Several of the books on the list - Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, etc. get challenged because they are viewed by some as being "dangerous to race relations", or because they use racist language a lot. The n-word is used in Huckleberry Finn 215 times, for example.

As is typical of people who want to get older books banned, it's down to a) failing to perceive the books in their context, and b) not actually looking at the bigger picture. The only honest, honourable character in Huck Finn is Jim the slave. Mockingbird is one of the most eloquent condemnations of mob rule ever written. And so on. Alongside the homophobes looking to ban books with gay characters from schools, you have to put ignorant PC puritans who would be happy doing Winston Smith's job in 1984. In the middle of this page there's a good list of books banned or challenged in US schools and public libraries, and the reasons why.

As to an equivalent British list, public library and school text control is very decentralised, so I doubt that consistently comparable challenge and/or banning mechanisms exist. I've tried to find such a thing but you generally only hear of isolated incidents, like this one, again another example of PCI, or Politically Correct Ignorance.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by Stuart M

The only honest, honourable character in Huck Finn is Jim the slave.

Hmm not sure I'd agree with that. Theres a lot of depth to Huck Finn. Huck himself is a great character, highly intelligent, he treats people as they deserve to be treated. Tom Sawyer is very immature compared to Huck due to his more enclosed upbringing but theres hope for them both, and of course Jims "owner" "frees" him in her will. and...what about the relatives of Tom Sawyer that take in Huck - the family in the village who gets conned - the woman who realises Huck is not a girl - all fairly honest and decent. The only surprising thing is that Jim is as strong a character as he is, considering when this book was written (and Im sure that was complaiend about at the time as well as the vernacular used) To complain about, and try to censor this book because of the use of the word "nigger" is daft - as back then it was not the serious insult it is now anymore than "chav" is (a whole different set of connotations too, I realise and I am not making a direct comparison - but it is apart of history we should not forget)

[Barry Shnikov]

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

there are people in America who still hold onto centuries old nonsense superstitions.

This from someone defending books about wizards who fly on broomsticks and turn people into frogs...

[Dreadful Scathe]

ill defend fantasy any day but....frogs..? haven't you read Harry Potter ?

[Warwick]

I was somewhat disgusted to see Dalton Trumbo's 'Johnny got his gun' in the list of frequently banned books. I'd put it in the 'required reading' pile. It must be one of the most powerful anti-war novels ever written.

I'm fairly sure it got there because Metallica based their song 'One' on that story.

If a heavy metal band makes a song about it it *must* be bad.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by Warwick

I was somewhat disgusted to see Dalton Trumbo's 'Johnny got his gun' in the list of frequently banned books. I'd put it in the 'required reading' pile. It must be one of the most powerful anti-war novels ever written.

I'm fairly sure it got there because Metallica based their song 'One' on that story.

If a heavy metal band makes a song about it it *must* be bad.

ooh i think ill read that - sound interesting