This year, the American Library Association celebrates Banned Books on September 27, 2015. Even in this age of information, where movies are pirated, tweets captured for infinity the second they appear and are deleted, and criminals record and post their activities to the world, we still need to fight for the freedom to speak. And be read. And to ensure that others have the freedom and access to information.
In the next few weeks I hope to re-visit those "dirty" or challenged books that I thoroughly enjoyed in my youth. I hope that you will also take a moment to appreciate being able read books that someone believed you shouldn't.
Books are power.
Looking back, I bet that books that were considered scandalous or dangerous are the ones that you remember reading the most. And not always for the reasons one would expect. For me, what turned out to be the most accurate depictions of reality were often the most shocking, disturbing, and memorable.
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