Banned Books Week runs September 24th- October 1, and celebrates the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and therefore, freedom to read what you want to read. The American Library Association runs Banned Book Week, and highlights the common books banned or challenged by year, and decade. You can see who has challenged or banned a book, where they are located, and what reason is given. I am a firm believer that no one gets to dictate what I can or cannot do. If you want to enforce what you read, or what your children want to read, that's your choice. But you don't get to decide what I or anyone totally unrelated to you can or cannot read. My parents never tried to tell me what I could or could not read. I've been lucky living in a school district that never tried to deny me what I wanted to read. The closest I had was one teacher who though Steinbeck's East of Eden maybe wasn't the best book for a 7th grader to read (12-13 years old for anyone not familiar with the US system). Although the same teacher had no probably with me reading Gone with the Wind the same year. If you'd like to see some of the banned and challenged books, check out the bottom of this page for pdfs of some of the most challenged books for most of the last decade. You can find more lists in the sidebar under Frequently Challenged Books.
So in honor of banned book week, I'm doing a giveaway. Last year, I read A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving and I really enjoyed it. I first became of his writing my first year of college when Cider House Rules won it's Oscars. Rented the movie, liked it, so I do what I normally do if I find out a movie I liked is based on the book. I bought it. I loved it. Its one of those books, where I can't quite explain why it marked me, but it did. I've been collecting his novels since then, but Owen Meany is only the second I've read. Irving is not afraid of covering the difficult subjects. Abortions, out of wedlock births, religion, Vietnam War and draft dodging..., he's covered it. They are well written, and well paced reads, despite many being of the chunkster persuasion. A Prayer for Owen Meany was removed from the Pelham, Massachusetts district reading list in 2009, over complaints about language and sexuality.
For the hop, I am giving away one brand new trade paperback of A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. This giveaway is International, so long as Book Depository ships to your country. If the winner resides in the United States, the book will ship from Barnes and Nobles; everywhere else will ship from Book Depository. Please make sure Book Depository ships to your country before hand.
To Enter: Leave a comment to this post, including your email address where I can contact you if you are the winner. If no email is in the content of your comment, you have not entered.
One entry per person. Winner will be chosen via Random.org
Contest runs from 12am PST September 24th through 11:59pm PST October 1st. That's the end of the day folks.
Be sure to check out all of the other giveaways running as well.
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