This Illinois school board member wants to pull a seven books from the 
curriculum in her local school district. Some of the offensive books may sound familiar:
The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien
Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
The Awakening, Kate Chopin
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Freakonomics, Steven Leavitt
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World, Michael Pollan
Impressively, she hasn't read any of the books. In fact, she's quoted as saying "I don't know if I would want to."
The Awakening? Are you kidding? (Sadly, I realize that you are not. Nor is she.)
Posted by: c.c. | 20 May 2006 at 09:07 AM
The Botany of Desire? Because it dicusses marijuana? I bought it today (I was going to read when it came out in hardcover, but forgot about until I saw here).
Posted by: EI | 20 May 2006 at 12:51 PM
I have been wondering for ages when someone was going to challenge Freakonomics. If you haven't read the book, (and you should, really you should) there is a whole chapter that statistically ties in the current lower crime rate with the availability of abortion about 20 years ago. Super Controversial, you might say, but I have not heard much about it - really anywhere. I am not giving the theory a stamp of approval, but it is an interesting concept and worth thinking about in an intelligent way - assuming you want to think and assuming you find intelligence a virtue.
Posted by: MotherReader | 20 May 2006 at 01:34 PM
"assuming you want to think and assuming you find intelligence a virtue."
If only... I read a good critique of that argument somewhere fairly recently; New Republic?
Posted by: c.c. | 20 May 2006 at 04:06 PM
And so it goes.
Really, people, at least READ something before you rant about it/try to ban it.
Posted by: Little Willow | 20 May 2006 at 05:07 PM
You gotta love seeing Beloved on this list so close in time after being named the NYT best novel of the last 25 years. Two lists, two utterly different ways of thinking about literature....
Posted by: Gregory K. | 20 May 2006 at 07:18 PM
I hate to say 'these people', but THESE PEOPLE!!! argh. The ones that get me really are the ones who don't bother to read the books. Talk about uninformed decisions.
Posted by: Jac | 21 May 2006 at 04:22 AM
Who wants to bet that the only book she owns is a Rachael Ray cookbook?
Posted by: Adam | 21 May 2006 at 06:23 PM
I have read "The Awakening", "Slaughterhouse-5", and "Beloved", I guess the rest are going on my list to read (I am working on the ALA's most challenged list). I hated "Slaughterhouse-5" and "Beloved", but I would never tell you you couldn't read it. What the #@!! is her problem? I bet she has read all the books in the "Left Behind" series.
Posted by: Lady S | 23 May 2006 at 09:21 PM
The Things they Carried? They really are Know-Nothings.
Posted by: Camille | 24 May 2006 at 05:45 PM
Ah ... Ignorance is bliss. She must be very happy.
Posted by: Anne | 26 May 2006 at 09:15 AM