Saturday marked the start of Banned Books Week for 2008.

"Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read" is observed during the last week of September each year. This year's celebration (September 27 through October 4) marks the 27th anniversary of the event, and I want you to celebrate it with me.

Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. People challenge books that they say are too anything. Objections to profanity, slang, offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups, and even positive (or simply not negative) portrayals of homosexuals are the most common reason for a book to be challenged. Targets range from books that explore the latest problems, to books on natural animal behavior, simple fictional novels, and even the most classic and beloved works of American literature.

See, a challenge occurs when a formal, written complaint is filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. Challenges can be filed by individuals or groups, and it is estimated that for every challenge issued, about four others go unreported. A challenge is an attempt to ban or restrict materials, based upon someone's personal opinions. Successful challenges result in books being restricted, or even banned.

Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose and express one’s opinion even if it may be unorthodox or unpopular in the prevailing culture. Stressing the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to explore them ensures intellectual freedom for all. In times like these, freedom of thought is a sacred right, to be celebrated and embraced, not taken lightly.

“If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.” ~ Noam Chomsky

There are many events scheduled throughout the country to celebrate Banned Books Week. To see if your area has an event or display scheduled, visit the event listing at http://bannedbooksweek.org/events.php.>

If there are no book stores or libraries in your area listed on the event calendar as celebrating Banned Books Week, invite everyone in your community to come together some day this week at a public venue and read banned books. Pick a book to read quietly, or simply gather to discuss censorship. Just make it happen, and let's all support one another in standing up for the First Amendment right to free speech! It's no trouble at all to have a "book club" meeting at a local coffee house, park, or library, and it requires very little planning, so there's still plenty of time to get your event moving! Let's exercise our rights, and deny censorship, while expressing and encouraging community solidarity.

I've invited my town to a local park during a well-known nearby art event to have a read-in. It took me about 30 minutes to write the invitation, and another 10 minutes to send out the links to it via email. By the time the event rolls around, the word will be spread about the non-organized, non-event in our city's downtown area. See, I told you it would be easy. smile

“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” ~ Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.

Below is the list of the most challenged individual titles and authors last year, as well as a link to the some of the best books in history that people have challenged, or actually succeeded in banning.

For a list of the banned or challenged books from the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century visit at http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/reasonsbanned.cfm. Stop by your local library and check one out today in celebration of your freedom to read what you want!

You can also find Banned Books Week on Facebook & MySpace!

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2007” reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
7) "TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
8) "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
10) "The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky

The most frequently challenged authors of 2007

1) Robert Cormier
2) Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
3) Mark Twain
4) Toni Morrison
5) Philip Pullman
6) Kevin Henkes
7) Lois Lowry
8) Chris Crutcher
9) Lauren Myracle
10) Joann Sfar

Banned Books Week ~ Because freedom of speech isn't just for those who share our opinions, it's for everyone!

• Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. Banned Books Week is also endorsed by the Center for the Book of the Library of Congress.