This week we're celebrating our freedom to read! National Banned Books Week is September 28-October 3, and it's a great time to think about how important reading is. We all learn from what we read -- and sometimes those biggest lessons come when what we read challenges our ideas. So help us celebrate being free to choose our own reading material and our freedom to read!
For more information on challenged and banned books, check out the American Library Association's Banned Books Week page.
In honor of BBW, I'd like to pass on a challenge from Ray Bradbury, author of numerous science fiction books, including the classic anti-censorship novel Fahrenheit 451.
In the introduction to the new graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury issued this challenge:
“Finally, may I suggest that anyone reading this introduction should take the time to name the one book that he or she would most want to memorize and protect from any censors or firemen. And not only name the book, but give the reasons why they would wish to memorize it and why it would be a valuable asset to be recited and remembered in the future. I think this would make for a lively session when my readers meet and tell the books they named and memorized, and why.”
Add your suggestions in the comments, or head over to our Goodreads page to join the discussion there!
