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Burning vs. Banning, To-may-to vs. To-mah-to

This week is the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, an annual event aimed at defending the First Amendment and celebrating our right to read whatever we choose.  I won’t wax philosophic on the value of such an event.  We all know that censorship is bad and freedom is good, and that it is the job of a parent to guide their child into the world of adulthood, not to challenge books that acknowledge the existence of said world.  For those who don’t think censorship is still a problem in our tremendously enlightened age, perusing a list of frequently challenged books might surprise you (Where’s Waldo, really?).  In honor of Banned Books Week, I am reading Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer.  This is one of the most controversial books of the past century and has been in my ‘To Read’ stack for quite a while.  Look for my review later this week, and in the meantime go read a banned book of your own.  Comment and let me know what books you pick!