Banned Books Week starts today

Today starts Banned Books Week, an event sponsored by a national alliance of diverse organizations to combat censorship of books. Banned Books Week began in 1982 when a surge of book challenges occurred. Since its inception, more than 11,300 books have been challenged, according to the American Library Association.

The 10 most challenged titles of 2015 were “Looking for Alaska” by John Green, “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E. L. James, “I Am Jazz” by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out” by Susan Kuklin, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon, “The Holy Bible,”
“Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel, “Habibi” by Craig Thompson, “Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan” by Jeanette Winter and “Two Boys Kissing” by David Levithan.
            For more information, visit the American Library Association at http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of several Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. She is also the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.