To continue our monthly series of book lists and celebrate Banned Books Week (September 23-30), the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library would like to recommend the following titles and urge you to celebrate your freedom to read. Even though they were each written over 45 years ago, all of the books listed below appear on the American Library Association's list "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000".
September, 2006 -- Banned Books: Classics
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Having just flunked out of his third prep school, Holden Caulfield wanders around New York City instead of heading straight home for Christmas vacation. Cassette book RC 47480. Braille book BR 11909. Large print book LP 11323.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Huck Finn explains the reasons he is running away from home and recounts his exploits floating down the Mississippi River on a raft with Jim, an escaped slave. Cassette book RC 57349. Braille book BR 10687. Large print book LP 12616.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Two itinerant ranch workers dream of owning a small farm, but they are doomed by Lennie's unintentional overuse of his physical strength and George's honorable attempts to resolve the problems it causes. Cassette book RC 48515. Braille book BR 08851. Large print book LP 12069.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. 1930s Alabama. Six-year-old Scout's father, an attorney, is called upon to defend a black man accused of rape. Cassette book RC 36414. Braille book BR 12850. Large print book LP 20269.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. A satire set in a future technocratic society in which people are rigidly classified by the state and kept happy by a government-administered drug. Cassette book RC 47108. Braille book BR 11922. Large print book LP 02369.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding. A group of English boys are wrecked on a desert island and have to establish their own system of government with horrifying consequences. Cassette book RC 48388. Braille book BR 9480.
Native Son by Richard Wright. Fighting against the political and social conditions of Chicago in the 1930's, a frustrated and resentful black man is driven to violence and murder. Cassette book RC 25087. Large print book LP 10614.
Link to previous Recommended Reads.