The brighter side of book banning

Banned Books Week

I must admit this is one of the few American celebrations that I wish we had here is Australia.

This article is a wonderful reflection on the ideology and things that get books banned, not only over time but now too. I especially like the references to Harry Potter as I'm very much in HP mode lately.

Almost throwbacks in such a society are people who want to impose their standards. But now, instead of banning adult books, they say they do it for the kiddies. The ALA's annual listing of most challenged books comes from public and school libraries. So, the list is heavily tilted toward, well, Harry Potter. And why are we not surprised?

In one adventure or another, Harry became the most challenged character of the 21st century after his creator, J.K. Rowling, discovered what it takes to make kids want to read. The Potter phenomenon preceded the merchandising hype by at least two volumes.

The first complaints were about sorcery, but later gripes expanded to include inappropriate behavior among sorcerers. The kid disobeys elders, gets into trouble, mixes with good and bad witches and con men and kills someone. Oh, wait. That's the beloved The Wizard of Oz.

The brighter side of book banning