If you're looking for a good book to read, you might consider going to a different source — the American Library Association's list of Frequently Challenged Books. After all, what better way to celebrate your freedom to read during Banned Books Week, Sept. 26 to Oct. 3 this year?
Observed since 1982, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.
If you look at the Top 100 Banned Books of the 20th century, you will see that many of the titles are examples of classic literature: F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men," George Orwell's "1984" and William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," just to name a few.
Also popular: all of the books in the Harry Potter series.
As Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. said: "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."
To read the complete editorial, visit The Fresno Bee.