This is not really about Banned Books Week...
by muffy
Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted.
Every year just to remind myself how precious the freedom to read is, I check out how many of our beloved classics and great literature are on the Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century.
Close to the top of the pile is J.D. Sailnger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951), and probably on every high school reading list.
To appeal to a new generation (or 2) of readers, Anne Trubek, a professor of English at Oberlin College, argues that it's time to update Salinger's coming-of-age tale. Stating that “ …in the days of Columbine, Katrina, Facebook, and YouTube, Salinger's Holden Caulfield may no longer offer a reflecting pool for adolescent angst", she comes up with a more contemporary list, many written in the last 10 years. (Agree? Disagree? You can join the heated online discussions).
For more details, go to the podcast of Moving Beyond 'Catcher' On School Reading Lists on NPR.
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