# Poll: What banned books did you read? (Carry-over from GD) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472 "2003-01-09T07:13:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/21 "2003-01-09T15:41:24Z")
Oh, btw, Ed, allegedly, in one of the big huge pictures with lots of people, there’s a topless woman. A topless cartoon woman. That’s about half an inch tall. And only one of about 500 people on that page. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/22 "2003-01-09T15:49:29Z")
I’ve read: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Color Purple by Alice Walker To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Pigman by Paul Zindel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Cujo by Stephen King Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Dead Zone by Stephen King The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman - Now, I suppose it’s fun to sneer at “book burners,” but would one of the more (supposedly) enlightened people here care to tell me why Madonna’s “Sex” and “The Joy of Gay Sex” belong in school libraries? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/23 "2003-01-09T16:16:26Z")
I’ve read over 42 of those books, so I won’t torture you with the full list. 42 is the actual number I counted, but I have read all of the Harry Potter books, and all of the Anastasia Krupnik books. And I read a lot of them for school. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/24 "2003-01-09T17:38:05Z")
I’ve left off the ones I didn’t finish (like Lord of the Flies) and ones that were read _to_ me (like little Black Samo), but that still leaves: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Giver by Lois Lowry The Color Purple by Alice Walker Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Go Ask Alice by Anonymous In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry Blubber by Judy Blume We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Beloved by Toni Morrison The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Deenie by Judy Blume Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Cujo by Stephen King Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Fade by Robert Cormier Guess What? by Mem Fox The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney Carrie by Stephen King Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene I find this a bit odd since I haven’t _tried_ to read books that were banned, and this list is close to three times as long as the number of the “100 greatest novels of the 20th century” I’ve also read by happenstance. Apparently I’m more naturally drawn to banned than great! ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/25 "2003-01-09T19:36:40Z")
**In college** : The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Native Son by Richard Wright **In high school** : Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Pigman by Paul Zindel **On my own, over the years** : Forever by Judy Blume The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Giver by Lois Lowry The Color Purple by Alice Walker Go Ask Alice by Anonymous Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume **Read to me in elementary school by teachers:** James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein **A complete list of the books I stole from the library of Theodore Roosevelt Middle School in Westfield, New Jersey in December of 1988:** Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/26 "2003-01-09T19:46:07Z")
I read **Unintended Consequences** by John Ross. I believe it was banned for a time in Canada… ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/27 "2003-01-09T21:16:23Z")
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain\* Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck\* Forever by Judy Blume (actually, in 6th grade I skimmed most of it and only read the ‘naughty bits’) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson\* The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Go Ask Alice by Anonymous The Witches by Roald Dahl Blubber by Judy Blume To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee\* Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes\* A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein\* James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell Ordinary People by Judith Guest\* Lord of the Flies by William Golding\* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell\* - were assigned or read in class ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/28 "2003-01-09T21:18:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AudreyK \* > \*\*It’s sad that lists like these are made. Inevitable disagreements with some of these choices aside (I found _Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing_ WAY more upsetting than _Little Black Sambo_), it’s terrible to deal with objectionable material this way. I’d very much prefer that students read and discuss books like these, and in the process understand why they’re controversial. Not necessarily all agree that they’re objectionable, but just hear and appreciate others’ points of view. \*\* Wait, question…what’s upsetting about Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing? It struck me as pretty innocuous when I read it. Granted, though, it is pretty creepy to imagine what it’s like to get swallowed by a small and rather sticky child. But at the end, Peter does get his own dog. ---
**Author:** ![JessEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@JessEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessEnigma)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/29 "2003-01-09T21:55:50Z")
The complete list of the books I’ve read off this list is a bit long (seeing as I have a penchant for purposely finding books off lists like these), but these are the ones that I remember being assigned for school: Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling (actually, just the first one…the French translation of it for my 3rd year French class) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Pigman by Paul Zindel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Lord of the Flies by William Golding Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene Most of these were in middle school…_To Kill a Mockingbird, The Pigman,_ and _Summer of My German Soldier_ were all assigned in the same year, actually. I’ve read more disturbing books for school, but they’re just not special enough to get put on banned book lists. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/30 "2003-01-10T01:22:05Z")
Well, I discovered that of the seven books I was assigned in seventh and eighth grades, four have been challenged, including both of the ones from seventh grade literature class(A Day No Pigs Would Die and To Kill a Mockingbird). Ah, but I always knew Mrs. Z was a subversive type. Anyway, here’s my list. -Lil 1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz 2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 3. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling 4. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson 5. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 6. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck 7. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel (The first one, God help me) 8. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle 9. The Witches by Roald Dahl 10 Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry 10. Blubber by Judy Blume 11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 12. The Pigman by Paul Zindel 13. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein 14. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 15. Lord of the Flies by William Golding 16. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 17. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene 18. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/31 "2003-01-10T01:26:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\*I find this a bit odd since I haven’t _tried_ to read books that were banned \*\* As a couple of others have said, to little effect, the list is NOT a list of banned books. It is a list of the 100 books most “challenged”, which means that someone has complained that they shouldn’t be stocked. That doesn’t mean that any of them were actually banned. I’ve read: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Sex by Madonna (sorry. Well, maybe not read - looked at the pictures) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/32 "2003-01-10T01:39:33Z")
I have read: Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain \* Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling \* Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine \* A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle \* The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain \* Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell \* Wow… I liked a lot of these books. How to Eat Fried Worms was one of my faves years ago. [sub]\*I have copies of these books around somewhere.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/33 "2003-01-10T03:29:00Z")
These “banned” books look an awful lot like the english curriculum when I was in school. anyway, I read: Scary Stories(series) Alvin Schwartz The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Sex by Madonna The Witches by Roald Dahl The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Cujo by Stephen King James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Carrie by Stephen King The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/34 "2003-01-10T04:09:35Z")
Hmmm… The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain\* Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger The Giver by Lois Lowry\* several Goosebumps books by R. L. Stine The Color Purple by Alice Walker The first Earth’s Children book by Jean M. Auel, whose name I can’t recall (it sucked) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Go Ask Alice, I think. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak sounds familiar, but I can’t remember what it was about, if I did read it one of the Stupids books by Henry Allard The Witches by Roald Dahl The Goats by Brock Cole, assuming it’s the one about the kids in summer camp The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood the beginning of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee\* Beloved by Toni Morrison The Pigman by Paul Zindel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein Brave New World by Aldous Huxley\* Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Lord of the Flies by William Golding Native Son by Richard Wright, I think The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison\* Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene I recall reading a book about a boy who decided to go 40 days (or something) without eating anything but worms. If _How To Eat Fried Worms_ is that book, then I have read it. Asteriks (\*) by the ones I read for school. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/35 "2003-01-10T04:15:55Z")
Out of curiousity, what is the objection to Flowers for Algernon? It seem pretty benign to me(but so did a lot of these books). ---
**Author:** ![wei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90ced4/32.png) [@wei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wei)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/36 "2003-01-10T04:17:58Z")
Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain \* Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck \* My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier The Giver by Lois Lowry \*\* Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood \* The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison \* To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee \* A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein Lord of the Flies by William Golding \*\* Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya \* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain \*\* Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford - - Read in high school \*\* - Read in junior high Strange, I’ve never had to read Brave New World or the Catcher in the Rye in school. The other books I read when I was younger (now almost 18). ---
**Author:** ![Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermann_Cheruscan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/37 "2003-01-10T04:21:16Z")
I’ve read the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States. Aren’t these banned in the High Schools nowadays? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/38 "2003-01-10T04:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 5-HT \* > \*\*Out of curiousity, what is the objection to Flowers for Algernon? It seem pretty benign to me(but so did a lot of these books). \*\* Probably the part about him getting rough on the pregnant hooker. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/39 "2003-01-10T04:58:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Strange, I’ve never had to read Brave New World or the Catcher in the Rye in school. I had a list of books to read the summer before my sophomore year, and I had to choose some of them to read over the summer before the year started. BNW was on that list, but I never got around to reading it until much later. I don’t recall what made me get a hold of Catcher in the Rye. In Wuthring Heights Heathcliff mutilates animals! Bad, evil, bad! (One of my favorite books, actually) ---
**Author:** ![robinc308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@robinc308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinc308)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472/40 "2003-01-10T05:24:59Z")
I’ve read 13. Most of these at school. 1. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson 2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle 3. The Witches by Roald Dahl 4. Blubber by Judy Blume 5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 6. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton 7. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 8. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume 9. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle 10. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford 11. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene 12. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman 13. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-banned-books-did-you-read-carry-over-from-gd/147472.md?page=3)