Have you ever read a banned book? Odds are, you have
The Freedom to Read Week display by the elevators at Mills Library showcases a number of books, symbolically covered in brown paper, that have been banned, challenged, or censored for any number of reasons, including sexuality, coarse language, racism, or religious objections.
If you’ve ever spent hours reading Harry Potter, poured over the literary classic The Great Gatsby, or devoured the Hunger Games trilogy, you may not realize it, but you’ve read a banned book.
This week marks Freedom to Read Week, a nation-wide commemoration of the thousands of books that have been banned, challenged, or censored for any number of reasons, including sexuality, coarse language, racism, or religious objections.
From Feb. 23-27, McMaster University Library is joining public libraries, bookstores and schools across Canada to host events encouraging Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom.
Visit the Mills Library lobby from Feb. 23-27 and check out our Freedom to Read display.
Over the years countless novels have been challenged or removed from school curriculum in jurisdictions around the world, including here in Hamilton.
In 1993 a principal at a local high school removed Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, from the Grade 10 core reading list after receiving a complaint from a parent. The book came under fire once again in Nova Scotia as recently as 2002, and again in a Brampton high school in 2009.
The vast selection of challenged, banned or censored books may surprise you. Read through a list of 100 controversial books on the Freedom to Read Challenged Works database. You can also borrow many of those books here on campus by visiting McMaster Libraries.
Which challenged Canadian book should you read? Take our quiz and find out!
Watch more videos in celebration of Freedom to Read Week.
