Week 8

When I looked at the list of the top banned books I was surprised by how many I have read. Out of the top 100 banned books, I read twelve of them as part of my middle school or high school curriculum. Some of the titles I wasn't surprised to see, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, because I remember discussing that it was a commonly banned book when my English class read it in the 9th grade. I wasn't surprised to see the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn either. Other titles, however, surprised me. I was surprised to see The Giver, Are you there God, it's me Margaret, Bridge to Terabithia, and Friday Night Lights. I remember being slightly uncomfortable when I read To Kill a Mockingbird, because of the derogatory racial slurs, but now looking back, I'm glad that I read it and was exposed to it at that time in my life. Reading the book as a class opened up a lot of discussions about racial injustice in America at that time, and I learned so much more from the book than just what happened in the story.

To me, the idea of banning books is ridiculous. However, I wouldn't oppose some sort of rating system similar to movies and television shows.  I think that it's a parent or guardian's responsibility to make sure their child has the necessary maturity level to understand the material that they're reading. I don't think that any books should be banned from libraries because not everyone thinks that they're appropriate. I think that censorship could very easily become dangerous to our freedom.

In the last few years I haven't done a lot of reading, but when I do read I tend to enjoy dystopian type novels, which seem to often be targeted for censorship. One of my favorites, Brave New World, was on the top 100 list of banned books in the last decade. I think the reason that I like dystopian novels is that they often take place in a world similar to ours, but more extreme, and I think that it can serve as a warning.

When it comes to magazines, I have to admit I only read them in waiting rooms. When I was little I had a magazine subscription to Clubhouse magazine, but that's the only experience I have to draw from. I've noticed from the magazine selections in waiting rooms, they tend to be aimed more toward women than men, in general, and the main target market seems to be stay at home moms. There are always craft projects to do with your kids, recipes, and organization tips.

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