Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.
It’s been a long time since I was in school (or had anything to do with school, but book banning seems to be increasing, especially in schools. So I want to talk about some banned books that I’ve read, and I think are really important.
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
- Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
- Maus by Art Spiegelman.
- The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.
What are some banned books that you love and think others should read?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
A few months ago I decided that I was going to read all the banned books. So far I’ve read 3, unfortunately, I feel like the banned and contested books list just keeps growing and I hate it. I can’t believe in 2022 there are so many people who think banning books is ok.
I’ve read 1984, and parts 1 and 2 of Maus. My favorite was Maus. It’s so heartbreaking to read but also such an important topic and I personally think everyone should have to read it. Next on my list will be The Kite Runner. I can’t wait to read it.
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I also hate that books are being banned and contested – it’s way more harmful, and so frustrating that people don’t see that, especially now.
Maus was incredible – it kicked up so much emotion for me, because my father was a Holocaust survivor. The Kite Runner was incredible, but so emotional. I’m also trying to read more books from the banned list. It’s a great goal to have.
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I’m disturbed by the increase in book banning. All of these books are important reads. It doesn’t make sense to me to prevent students from reading them.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-microhistory-books-worth-reading
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It’s awful to see, and it breaks my heart to know that books are being pulled out of kids hands, especially for narrow-minded reasons.
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I cannot believe these are banned! Such great lessons most of these teach.
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I know! They have such important messages.
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The Diary of a Young Girl, The Bluest Eye, and Speak were all such good reads.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
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I know! It’s so important for these books to be read, especially by teens.
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It amazes me which books get banned and/or challenged; and, many of those books are required school reading! The ignorance of society continues to astound me.
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Exactly! These books all have so much to offer, and to see kids getting a watered down education because of narrow-minded fear is shameful.
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I see these books and think how ridiculous it is that they are banned.
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I’m outraged. Things like this make me ashamed to be American.
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The Hate U Give is such a powerful book. I didn’t realize The Hunger Games was a banned book. I have seen a lot about Persepolis.
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Right? The Hate U Give is absolutely incredible, and it allows teens to process what they see and experience in real life in a safe and appropriate way. Persepolis is such a great book too!
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I’ve read a few of these and really enjoyed them. Here is my post- https://paigesofnovels.wordpress.com/2022/08/30/top-ten-tuesday-books-that-take-place-at-a-school/.
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So many of these are really great reads – students should really have access to them.
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Well, usually unaware if I am reading a banned book or not——–I know some were required for class reading or required to watch in class
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I’d suggest checking out a list – you’d probably be surprised at what’s being banned or challenged across the US lately!
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Usually I am surprised at what some of the banned books are- some are the reasons why are surprising and make no sense
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I know – it makes no sense to me. But then again, the people banning the books don’t seem to operate by using common sense.
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Sometimes when I see when the reason why, I am like “isn’t that the point of the book or the genre”
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Is book banning out of control or what? Ooh the Hunger Games. I read those relatively late (after I started blogging) but they’re so good…
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It’s so ridiculous! The books they’re banning have so much value, it’s almost as if the people deciding what to ban have never read a book 🤔
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Great topic. I have read many of these and loved them. The topics and messages are SO important. These days, I feel like everything is getting banned all over the place. It’s so annoying and quite frankly makes me angry.
My Top Ten!
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Thank you, and I fully agree!
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I agree with the comments above. Ironically I was just describing The Hate U Give to my husband tonight and telling him why it’s such a good and important book. Then I see it’s on banned lists. Sigh. This is exactly the kind of book teens SHOULD read so that they can gain a slight perspective from another viewpoint. It’s an amazing book, covering a difficult topic, and without being preachy of one view or another.
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/ttt-set-in-school
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Exactly! This is the kind of books that should be available in schools, and even incorporated into curriculums, not banned!
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Fantastic topic! Something we need to discuss more and books we definitely need to promote. I’ve read so many of these and they’re all so fantastic for one reason or another. I wish people were more open-minded and could see the value in things that are different.
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Some of the most important things I’ve learned came from people who have different life experiences from mine, and from reading books written by people from different cultures or backgrounds. It’s so heartbreaking to see that people are banning books and preventing school children from accessing such important books that have so much to offer.
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Why the heck is Anne Frank and The Hunger Games banned??? Anne Frank is history and Hunger Games teaches a good lesson that a lot of people need to know about these days. Dr. Seuss was or is banned and shouldn’t be…I can’t think of any others…good post, Leah!
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Thank you! You’d think that common sense would be more prevalent in the school system, but apparently not, and it’s not something that can be taught.
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Apparently. 🤷♀️
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Banning of books just baffles, frustrates and upsets me. I keep meaning to work through lists of banned books, just because nothing makes me want to do something more than being told I can’t/shouldn’t, and I’m also curious to see what’s got people’s knickers in a twist!
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You’d be surprised – they’re banning books that don’t make any sense to ban! But I’m also working on adding more banned books to my reading. People just seem eager to get their knickers in a twist over nothing instead of focusing on things that actually matter, like preventing school shootings.
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