50 Banned Books

Here is another list that I have ran across. Its a list of 50 books that have been banned for various reasons. Which ones have you read? Should they be banned? I've read 22 out of the 50 so I have a few to go. I think that we should all be able to make the choice for ourselves whether or not we should read these or any books but that's only my opinion for what its worth.

The first 12 were banned by some schools, because they are considered inappropriate for children...

1.The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger
2.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-Mark Twain
3.Forever-Judy Blume
4.The Golden Compass-Philip Pullman
5.Lord of the Flies-William Golding
6. Harry Potter series-J.K. Rowling
7. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
8. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.
9. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
10.A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
11.The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier.
12.The Giver by Lois Lowery.

Numbers 13 through 22 were banned by religion and politics...

13.The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
14.A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
15.The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
16.Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe.
17.The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.
18.The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.
19.1984 by George Orwell.
20.Animal Farm by George Orwell
21.Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.
22.Candide by Voltaire.

Numbers 23 through 35 were banned, because of sexual content, and the use of profanity...

23.Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence
24.Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
25.Fanny Hill by John Cleland
26.Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
27.The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
28.Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
29.The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
30.Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.
31.The Awakening by Kate Chopin.
32.Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.
33.Rabbit, Run by John Updike
34.Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
35.Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov

Numbers 36 through 41 were banned due to race and gender issues...

36.To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
37.Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
38.The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
39.I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
40.Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
41.Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The last ones were banned for multiple reasons...

42.Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
43.Native Son by Richard Wright.
44.Beloved by Toni Morrison.
45.As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.
46.One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kessey
47.The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
48.In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
49.Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
50.East of Eden by John Steinbeck

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I absolutely loved this book! This was like Lord of the Flies on a much higher level. This story grabs you from the very begining when we are first introduced to the Glade thru the eyes of Thomas as he first arrives there. This group of kids has found themselves without any memory of their past or how they arrived here faced with impossible tasks and trying to survive. You find yourself wanting to know the answers to all these questions. This is a fast fun read that keeps you glued to it from the begining. Its full of mysteries and horrors that keeps you wanting to know whats going to happen next and wanting to know who is behind it all. If you love dystopia and sci fi this is a must read. I am already looking forward to the next book in this series.



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Another Free Ebook

Action, adventure, suspense, and thriller in one story told with a liberal dose of humor.

Tom’s problems are not unique. His business is failing and his wife has to work too many hours to make ends meet. He is under some rather large financial pressures and wants more from his marriage and his life.

He finds his respite in the air as a private pilot. Unfortunately for Tom, he is behind on payments for his plane and is forced to take odd jobs from a local crime boss. Tom is no criminal, but the errands he is running are just slightly on the wrong side of the law and the money is almost good enough to allow him to make his plane payments.

Just as things begin to come under some semblance of control, he meets a woman who just might represent the adventure he seeks. He soon discovers that appearances, and beautiful women, can sometimes be deceiving.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52864

Grave Goods

Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the third book in the Mistress of the Art of Death series. I was generous rounding this up to 4 stars I would actually give it a 3.5 but because I loved the ending I rounded up. This book is much like the other two. Adelia is given an almost impossible task for the time period in speaking with the dead thru forensics. And this time she is dealing with what is believed to be the bones of King Arthur and Guinevere. There are definite mysteries within mysteries and I was certainly kept interested. And there was a few things that were left unsaid but I did love the ending but I won't spoil it. If you have enjoyed the other MotAoD series you will like this one too.



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How Gods Bleed

Free Ebook




Ebook Short Description
The werewolf king Gorgoza is dead leaving the west in turmoil. With the king’s passing it is only a matter of time before someone has claimed the western empire for themselves, leaving the east ripe for invasion. But all hope is not yet lost for Cada Varl the Immortal, the being responsible for the creation of the werewolves may know of a way to destroy them once and for all.

This book is free on Smashwords at the following link. I haven't had a chance to read and review it. Let me know what you think and I shall be reading it soon.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/101158

Clockwork Prince

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I won this book thru Firstreads and am thankful for the opportunity to read and review this book.



This is the second book in the Infernal Devices trilogy. It picks up where the first book Clockwork Angel leaves off. So many questions left from the first book are answered we find out what is really going on with Will and the love triange with him and Tess and Jem develops further. But there is so much more to this book than just teen drama. It draws you in right from the begining and keeps you interested all the way thru. There is alot of underlying discussion about respecting differences in beliefs and how life is precious regardless of race or species. Its also full of humor and great characters that we are familiar with such as Magnus Bane (would love to know more about him). I'm already wishing for the next installment since there was alot of questions still left unanswered. There is still much mystery to be unraveled. If you enjoyed Clockwork Angel this is a must read. Loved it!



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The Spirit of Nora

The Spirit of Nora, A Novel by Lyle Scott Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Stretched across a backdrop of bustling New York, romantic Paris, and rural Russia in the early twentieth century, The Spirit of Nora vividly portrays the emergence of a young Minnesota woman into a fiercely independent spirit. Leaving her home on the farm with her childhood friend Ella for nursing training in New York, Nora enters a changing world. After befriending two doctors on the train east, Nora and Ella spend many evenings with Tristan and Soren. But a terrible tragedy pulls Ella from Nora, who eventually travels farther east, searching for redemption for failing her friend.

Nora becomes wrapped up in the permissive lifestyle of French artists, embracing relationships with the lively Cassandra and talented Auguste. While in France, she is confronted with physical temptations and spiritual uncertainty until she learns of the communal setting established on the estate of the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. The Spirit of Nora needs further nourishment for her wavering faith, and she continues yet farther east to Yasnaya Polyana to work with Tolstoy's translator. Through the following years Nora learns of hardship, love, war, and the difficulties in finding balance between right and wrong. Ultimately, she must come face to face with the legacy of her lost friend.

Expected publication: November 29th 2011 by Tate Publishing

ISBN139781613465899

Review
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, and honestly I really liked it. Nora is a strong woman living in a time when woman are fighting for their rights. As a young woman she travels to New York City seeking her place in the world. After the loss of her friend she travels to Eastern Europe seeking penance for failing her friend. We follow her thru life with love and loss and all the ravages of war in Europe. As a strong Christian woman she find her place thru it all and seeks what God calls her to do. Its an interesting look at this time period in history thru Nora's life while WWI is going on and how Russia changed thru it all. This is a good read for those who enjoy historical fiction.



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Out of Oz

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Synopsis
The stirring, long-awaited conclusion to the extraordinary bestselling series begun with Wicked, Out of Oz is a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises — the hallmarks of the brilliant and unique imagination of Gregory Maguire.(less)


Hardcover, 568 pages

Published November 1st 2011 by William Morrow

ISBN 0060548940 (ISBN13: 9780060548940)

Review

This is a must read for fans of the Wicked series. This last installment finds Oz in the middle of a civil war with the Emerald City against the Munchkinlanders with our favorite main characters, Liir, Candle, Brr the Cowardly Lion and Rain, all caught in the middle. Loose ends are tied up as we learn what has happened to characters in the past like Trism and Lady Glinda. This book is hard to put down as one question is answered you then are led to others. Most, but not all, of the questions that I had about what had happend to whom was answered by the end of this installment. And there were certainly surprises that I didn't see coming. All in all, I loved this one. It grabbed you from the begining and filled in most of the blanks along the way.



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50 Book Challenge

I ran accross this challenge a couple of years ago and thought it might be fun. And since the New Year is fast approaching I thought this would be a good time to share it. I confess, I never finished the challenge, but life isn't over so there is time yet. Maybe in the coming year I shall finish the last few I never got to. In any case, here is the list. How many have you read?

50 Books to Read Before You Die

The Picture of Dorian Gray--Oscar Wilde
The Divine comedy--Alighieri Dante
Memoirs of a Geisha--Arthur Golden
The Count of Monte Cristo--Alexandre Dumas
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest--Ken Kesey
Robinson Crusoe--Daniel Defoe
Huckleberry Finn--Mark Twain
A Christmas Carol--Charles Dickens
Gullivers Travels--Jonathan Swift
Men Without Women--Earnest Hemingway
The War of the Worlds--HG Wells
Frankenstein--Mary Shelly
Life of Pi--Yann Martel
The Color Purple--Alice Walker
The Outsider--Albert Camus
The Way We Live Now--Anthony Trollope
Heart of Darkness--Joseph Conrad
On the Road--Jack Kerouac
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time--Mark Haddon
Rebecca--Daphne du Maurier
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland--Lewis Carroll
Anna Karenina--Leo Tolstoy
His Dark Matirials Trilogy--Philip Pullman
The Wind in the Willows--Kenneth Grahame
Moby Dick--Herman Melville
The Harry Potter series--JK Rowling
Money--Martin Amis
Birdsong--Sabastian Faulks
The Quiet American--Graham Greene
Ulysses--James Joyce
The Canterbury Tales--Geoffrey Chaucer
The Bible
Don Quixote--Micheal De Cervantes
The Diary of Anne Frank--Anne Frank
Brave New World--Aldous Huxley
The Catcher in the Rye--JD Salinger
The Great Gatsby--F Scott Fitzgerald
A Bend in the River--VS Naipaul
Hamlet--William Shakespeare
The Lord of the Flies--William Golding
A Passage to India--EM Forster
Wuthering Heights--Emily Bronte
Jane Eyre--Charlotte Bronte
The Kill a Mockingbird--Harper Lee
The Grapes of Wrath--John Steinbeck
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy--JRR Tolkien
1984--George Orwell
Pride and Prejudice--Jane Austin
The Bell Jar--Sylvia Plath
Catch 22--Joseph Heller

I have no idea who composed the list. And I know that with the listing of 2 series that there are actually more than 50 books here. Having said that, I still thought it was a fun personal challenge so I am passing it along. I have read all but 11, maybe next year I shall finally finish the list. Happy Reading!!

Currently Reading

Flux by Mark R Faulkner

Awesome new book to be published next year.

Iain, after being hit by a bus, finds himself in hell but is given a reprieve as doctors save his life. However, hell isn't ready to let go just yet.

A Sound Among the Trees

Synopsis

A house shrouded in time.
A line of women with a heritage of loss.

As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

Paperback, 336 pages
Published October 4th 2011 by WaterBrook Multnomah
more details...
ISBN0307458857 (ISBN13: 9780307458858)


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I want to thank Firstread for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. It was truly a wonderful read.

This book tells the story of several generations of women who have lived at Holly Oak mansion begining before the Civil War and continuing to the present. This story is woven around history and gives us insight into how life was during the war. We see how family members were on different sides and were forced to make difficult and dangerous decisions. Love and loss were hand in hand. Sacrifices were made and love was often found in unlikely places. The stories about Susanah were told and in the telling things were often misinterpreted leading many to believe the house was haunted or the house was cursed.

This is an absolute wonderful read. Anyone who loves histrorical fiction or a good mystery will like this one. The characters and actions of the past were melded so well with the present that the book pulls you in and keeps you interested right from the begining. I definitely see this as one I would love to read again soon.



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The Son of Neptune

Hardcover, 513 pages
Published October 4th 2011 by Hyperion Book CH
more details...
ISBN1423140591 (ISBN13: 9781423140597

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was such a fun book! This is the second book in the Heros of Olympus series where we find out what happened to Percy Jackson when Juno removed him from Camp Half Blood. Percy has no idea about his past and find himself in a Roman camp with new friends and a new quest. So much information is covered in such fun ways. We learn all about the differences and similarities between the Greek and Roman Gods and why the changes came about. How the differences in civilization actually changed the personalities of the Gods and not only their names. There is also an underlying theme that is so relevent in this day and age and that is the unfairness of war and what it means to sacrifice for what is important. So many kids today have lost their parents to war the loss of Frank's mother and his home is something that they can relate to. Using humor Rick Riordan strikes a perfect balance between these subjects. This was an awesome book full of great characters and lots of hilarious scenes. I can hardly wait for the story to continue with the next book.



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Eve

Eve by Anna Carey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Hardcover, 318 pages

Published October 4th 2011 by HarperCollins Publishers

ISBN 0062048503 ISBN13: 9780062048509

Synopsis

Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

In this epic new series, Anna Carey imagines a future that is both beautiful and terrifying. Readers will revel in Eve’s timeless story of forbidden love and extraordinary adventure.

Review

Wow! Where to begin? This was an amazing book. I loved every word. This is YA dystopian that has a feel of The Handmaid's Tale meets Brave New World. Eve is a young woman raised in an all girl school with dreams of a happy life in the new city after a plague has wiped out most of the population. She learns that it all a lie and escapes into the wild that she'snot prepared for. She has to learn the lessons of life and love that she never knew. Eve grows up fast as she is pursued accross country by the King's men and finds love despite it all. She is forced to make difficult decisions between saving her friends and saving her own life. And is life worth living without the one you love? This is a powerful, moving book that draws you in from the first page and by the end you are wanting more. I can't wait for the second book in this trilogy. I would recommend this to anyone who loves dystopian literature.



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Slime and other stories

Slime and other stories. by Mark R Faulkner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was such a fun read! This was a group of short stories that has something for everyone. Some were scary and some were interesting and some were sad. Piskie was my favorite story in the book. It had a definite fairlike quality and and after reading it I thought "Wow, that was cool" But overall, I liked all of the stories and found myself wishing for more by the end of the book. It is a small book containing just 10 stories but all are different and unique. I would recommend this for anyone who just loves a good story.



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Synopsis

Ten short tales from the new master of Horror.

From the extraordinary to a unique take on the ordinary, Slime and other stories is a collection of ten short stories which will stay with you for long after you stop reading.

1 – The Trickster.
2 – Once a Warrior.
3 – Slime.
4 – Piskie.
5 – Live Entertainment.
6 – The Legend of the Rock People.
7 – Black of Night.
8 – Good Health.
9 – The Phone is Ringing.
10 – Face.

Kindle Edition
Published September 17th 2011

ROOM

Hardcover, 321 pages
Published September 13th 2010 by Little, Brown & Company (first published August 20th 2010)
more details...
ISBN0316098337 (ISBN13: 9780316098335

To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. . . . It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.
Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating--a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a book that I think everyone should read. Told from the point of view of a 5yr old little boy who has only known the world that exists in a small shed where he was born and lives with his mother. We learn what life has been like for her after her abduction by a stranger as a teenager and how she has worked to give him a normal life. After their escape from the Room he has to learn to live among people and he sees how much people take for granted. His life within Room gives him insights that most people don't think about. This is a haunting and unique story that is a definite must read.



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