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Banned Books published by Google

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the don't-see-my-autobiography-yet dept.

Lens Hood Man writes "Marking the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week, Google is inviting users to celebrate their freedom to read by making Banned Books available to all. From the Google Blog: "...you can use Google Book Search to explore some of the best novels of the 20th century which have been challenged or banned." Those books challenged this year include 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and 'Lolita'."

5 of 392 comments (clear)

  1. A bit misleading by jagilbertvt · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Google is inviting users to celebrate their freedom to read by making Banned Books available to all."

    Google has not made these books available to read online, it just gives you the ability to find a library that has the book.

  2. Re:Just previews? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The write-up is missing some context. For more info on what's being banned and why, see here and here.

  3. A Couple Good Resources for Finding Banned Books by SlashdotOgre · · Score: 5, Informative
    When I was in college I picked up 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature [1] from my college bookstore. It does a great job of categorizing the books based on why/where they were banned, sumarizing the criticism, etc. Also another good list [2] is published by the American Library Association; it's supposedly the most challenged books from 1990-2000.

    [1] http://www.amazon.com/100-Banned-Books-Censorship- Literature/dp/0816040591
    [2] http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlink s/100mostfrequently.htm

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  4. Re:I don't see how they are banned books... by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't see how these are banned books... they might even choose at a community level not to stock your book at the library, that doesn't mean that your book has been banned.

    If the government at any level forbids a library from carrying a book, it has been banned. In addition to that, books have been banned for ownership in certain localities.

    Heck most libraries don't carry everything anyway, I can't go get Hustler and Playboy at my Library. At my local library I can't find copies of the Jane's Reference books, or many other books.

    The difference is, is it the choice of the library or of an external influence? When some of the most popular and requested books, like the Harry Potter books, are not carried by the library because the city council has passed a law preventing the library from carrying them, then they are effectively being censored. This is a common occurrence and something everyone should be aware of.

    There are good books on that list, but you don't need to hype them by saying that they have been banned or censored by "the man." You should take the books as what they are.

    The point is, they have been banned and burned and what is being celebrated is victory over that. The fact that anyone can go online and find a way to get these books is worth celebrating.

  5. Re:Not all banned/challenged books are meaningful by Hyram+Graff · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Where's Waldo?" was challenged because of one part in the beach scene where a kid is sticking an ice cream cone on the back of a young lady causing her to lift her topless chest off the ground enough to see breasts. (It should be noted that her top is on the towel under her.)

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