In one of those aligning, not quite coincidence things, I completed my Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge on the first day of Banned Books Week. I vowed to read 112 books in 2012 & had logged that many as read by September 30th. Yes, I am a big reader BUT not all the books were all that big. For example Why is Blue Dog Blue? is on the list as one of the 112. So is Nancy Drew, Vampire Slayer, not only not a particularly bookish book, but a graphic novel as well. At the other end is Robert Massie's Catherine the Great, which certainly counts as a big book.
Also in that list are slews of book junk food, romances & mysteries abound. Quite by accident I managed at least one frequently banned book: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. No, this was not the first time I have rad this book; I don't even think it was the third. I read it when I was the age to read it (the age deemed too impressionable by book banners), I read it again in college while doing background for a class in crossover literature (children's & sci fi, hello!; & I say children's because the young adult designation did not exist when I was an undergrad). It would be a lie to say I never knew this book had been banned; when I saw it on the frequently banned list it rang a bell. What I did not know is how popular banning it was (& apparently still is, as it is creeping its way up the list of most frequently banned children's books. Mazel Tov).
Mostly, though, the books I have read so far are a cross-section of what I was in the mood for & what was available on the shelves of my local library. I fully expect the rest of the year is going to be mostly like that as well. If you want to see what they are, you can...right here (just click the View Books option):
congratulations on the Goodreads achievement! I put myself down for (only) 50 books, and finished up a week or so ago. I loved "A Wrinkle in Time" but haven't re-read it since about 5th grade. Currently listening to "Catherine the Great" and enjoying it, too.
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