Friday Books: Banned Books

September 21-27 is Banned Books Week. Want to read a book that was once banned? I perused a list that explained where and why the books had been banned, but I'm not including all that detail (and also not including all the books). Just look over this list, and be amazed. Who would ban these books?? Today is my birthday. In protest against censorship, you can give me a birthday gift: choose to read one of these books. (I have a book review below this list.)

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Native Son by Richard Wright
The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (ashamed to say, this author was banned from speaking in a Minnesota school district)
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak


Here's my weekly review: Let Him Go by Larry Watson. Watson is the author of Montana 1948 which I read several years ago and thought was excellent. Twice I have read other Watson books, hoping they would match the excellence of Montana 1948. I don't believe I have found one that matches.

Let Him Go is about an older couple whose son died; they are looking for their former daughter-in-law and their grandson. They had lost touch and wanted to re-establish contact. It was entertaining (in a sad sort of way), suspenseful (a little), but also predictable (sort of). I wouldn't call it great. I think I may be in a minority. Other reviewers rave about this book, so perhaps you would love it, too. My sister, the bookstore owner, also loved it.

I give it three stars for being a good story, not a bad way to spend a few hours reading, but not among the greats.


She is engrossed in a good book.