"It was a pleasure to burn."Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury 1) Fahrenheit 451 is the story of a fireman by the name of Guy Montag, whose job is to burn materials that have been deemed dangerous to society...namely books. He's good at his job and, given the first line of the novel (which is quoted above), seems…
Here on The Unapologetic Bookworm, Banned Books Week has been focused on sharing some of my favorite challenged/banned titles, as well as drawing attention to censorship. I've spent time discussing why certain books have been challenged, and also given some reasons for reading them. I've even issued some challenges of my own this week, including:…
Of all the books I have read during 2019, The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, is the book that I was most impressed by. The Hate U Give is about a teenager named Starr Carter. After witnessing her unarmed friend being shot and killed by a police officer, Starr finds herself in a difficult…
Happy National Comic Book Day! As some of my followers already know, I have a thing about comic books...namely that I adore them. I first started reading comic books when I was a kid. I used to be able to get new issues at the grocery store newsstand (and collector packages at Toys 'R Us),…
When I think about all the books I have read over the course of my lifetime, the ones I remember the most vividly are the stories that challenged me in some way. Many of them are novels (or nonfiction texts) that helped to shape my values and sparked interests, caused me to pursue certain career…
The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, has been around for just over twenty years. While the series has won numerous awards, and is loved by both children and adults, it has also been subject to a tremendous number of banning attempts. Unlike many of my peers, I actually did not read the books when…
"Any book worth banning is a book worth reading."Isaac Asimov Of all the people who have spoken about censorship, Isaac Asimov is the author whose response most accurately reflects my own attitude toward banning books. I can't tell you how many times I've bought books simply because someone else told me not to read them.…
