masoo has a recent entry on his "real" blog in which he lists which of the "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books" he has read. I'm doing the same:3 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya AngelouI'm surprised Our Bodies, Ourselves isn't on the list. Goodness knows it has been the biggest "bad" influence on my own life. Comparing the titles I've read to the ones that
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
13 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
19 Sex by Madonna
20 Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
22 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23 Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
25 In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
34 Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
39 The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
41 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42 Beloved by Toni Morrison
51 A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
53 Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
56 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57 The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
59 Ordinary People by Judith Guest
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
69 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71 Native Son by Richard Wright
75 Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76 Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
84 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85 Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
88 Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
masoo has, the main difference is that I've read more of the children's books on the list. The reason is clear: he was born fifteen years before I was. What I find useful about this particular exercise is that it underscores the degree to which attempts at censorship are a problem at all levels, from pre-school to graduate school. Defending Mark Twain or Toni Morrison is great, but defending them together with Judy Blume and Katherine Patterson. To paraphrase one of the more outwardly puzzling passages in Toni Negri and Michael Hardt's Multitude, hope for a better world falls squarely on the side of those who advocate for an "open source" society.
