fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviews

This week I want to take on a more serious topic than normal.  September 26th starts Banned Books Week, an annual observance of the importance of the First Amendment to protect your freedom to read.  This is especially pertinent to fantasy readers because young adult fantasy novels are frequently challenged.  The J.K. Rowling Harry Potter books and Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series are two of the most challenged books over the last decade.  If Fantasy Literature’s motto is “Life’s too short to read bad books” then for the next week, let it be “Life’s too short not to read bad books.”

So this weekend I’ll be rereading one of the Harry Potter books to celebrate my ability to read whatever I want.  What will you be doing to celebrate your right to read?

Author

  • Ruth Arnell

    RUTH ARNELL (on FanLit's staff January 2009 — August 2013) earned a Ph.D. in political science and is a college professor in Idaho. From a young age she has maxed out her library card the way some people do credit cards. Ruth started reading fantasy with A Wrinkle in Time and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — books that still occupy an honored spot on her bookshelf today. Ruth and her husband have a young son, but their house is actually presided over by a flame-point Siamese who answers, sometimes, to the name of Griffon.

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