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Banned Books


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Banned Books



Banned Books Banned Books Week is the only national celebration around the freedom to read, observed in 2012 from September 30 through October 6.

Why do people challenge and ban books? We've searched everywhere for the answer to this question and it remains a mystery. Michael Powell has been adamant about the importance of free expression and has participated in many anti-censorship efforts. In fact, his advocacy for the freedom to read resulted in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit finding unconstitutional two Oregon statutes that criminalize distributing sex education and other non-obscene materials to minors. (Click here to read more about the court's ruling.)

Sadly, banning books is not a thing of the past. Take a look at our Banned Books aisle to view those frequently banned and challenged over the last two decades and don't be surprised to see many of your favorites. For some of the stories behind this year's books, please visit the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) website.



Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen
Staff Pick
Well, first, I am a sucker for any book set at the circus. But throw in the massive talent that Sara Gruen has and then tell me a love story? Far from the cliché book club pick, Water for Elephants will be read for your next club meeting and then you'll... (read more)

List Price $14.95
Your price: $1.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Children's Young Adult
Browse more titles in Banned Books-Children's Young Adult

The Outsiders
The Outsiders
by S. E. Hinton
Publisher Comments
The 45th anniversary of a landmark work of teen fiction Ponyboy can count on his brothers and his friends, but not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids who get away with everything, including beating up greasers like... (read more)

List Price $9.99
Your price: $4.50
Used - Mass Market

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A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
Publisher Comments
This special edition of A Wrinkle in Time includes a new essay that explores the science behind the fantasy. Rediscover one of the most beloved children's books of all time: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: Meg Murray, her little brother Charles... (read more)

List Price $6.50
Your price: $2.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Literature
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The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
Publisher Comments
The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power... (read more)

List Price $16.00
Your price: $1.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (The Definitive Edition)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (The Definitive Edition)
by Anne Frank
Publisher Comments
The basis for and official tie-in edition to the PBS Masterpiece Classic movie titled The Diary of Anne Frank, directed by Jon Jones from a screenplay by Deborah Moggach. First airing April 11, 2010. More than fifty years after its first publication... (read more)

List Price $13.00
Your price: $4.50
Used - Trade Paper

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Children's Middle Readers
Browse more titles in Banned Books-Children's Middle Readers

The Giver
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Publisher Comments
In Jonas' perfect world, everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. But when Jonas learns the truth, there is no turning back. In a utopian community where there are no choices — where everyone has his or her place in the... (read more)

List Price $6.50
Your price: $3.95
Used - Mass Market

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Science Fiction and Fantasy
Browse more titles in Banned Books-Science Fiction and Fantasy

Slaughterhouse-Five
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut
Publisher Comments
Slaughterhous-Five is one of the world's great anti-war books. Centering on the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we are afraid... (read more)

List Price $7.99
Your price: $3.50
Used - Mass Market

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Where Did I Come From?
Where Did I Come From?
by Peter Mayle
Publisher Comments
This bestselling classic explains the facts of life to young children in an age-appropriate and straightforward manner, accompanied by lively illustrations.... (read more)

List Price $9.95
Your price: $4.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Children's
Browse more titles in Banned Books-Children's

Harry Potter #5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter #5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by J K Rowling
Publisher Comments
The next volume in the thrilling, moving, bestselling Harry Potter series will reach readers June 21, 2003 -- and it's been worth the wait! We could tell you, but then we'd have to Obliviate your memory.... (read more)

List Price $29.99
Your price: $4.95
Used - Hardcover

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
Staff Pick
This coming-of-age story absolutely shines. Charlie is your average teenager trying to navigate the treacherous waters of adolescence, yet he's so much more than that. Recognizing something special in Charlie, a teacher feeds him literature and tries to... (read more)

List Price $14.00
Your price: $6.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Horror
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American Psycho
American Psycho
by Bret Easton Ellis
Publisher Comments
Now a major motion picture from Lion's Gate Films starring Christian Bale (Metroland), Chloe Sevigny (The Last Days of Disco), Jared Leto (My So Called Life), and Reese Witherspoon (Cruel Intentions), and directed by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol). In... (read more)

List Price $15.95
Your price: $7.50
Used - Trade Paper

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Brave New World (P.S.)
Brave New World (P.S.)
by Aldous Huxley
Publisher Comments
"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune Aldous Huxley is rightly considered a prophetic genius and one of the most important literary and philosophical voices of the 20th Century, and Brave New World is... (read more)

List Price $14.99
Your price: $7.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Politics
Browse more titles in Banned Books-Politics

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich
Publisher Comments
Our sharpest and most original social critic goes "undercover" as an unskilled worker to reveal the dark side of American prosperity. Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join... (read more)

List Price $15.00
Your price: $8.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Romance
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Animal Dreams
Animal Dreams
by Barbara Kingsolver
Publisher Comments
"Animals dream about the things they do in the day time just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life." So says Loyd Peregrina, a handsome Apache trainman and latter-day philosopher. But when Codi Noline returns to her... (read more)

List Price $14.99
Your price: $1.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Anthologies
Browse more titles in Banned Books-Anthologies

Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno
by Marcus Sanders and Sandow Birk and Dante Alighieri
Publisher Comments
A faithful yet totally original contemporary spin on a classic, Dante's Inferno as interpreted by acclaimed artist Sandow Birk and writer Marcus Sanders is a journey through a Hell that bears an eerie semblance to our own world. Birk, hailed by the Los... (read more)

List Price $24.95
Your price: $13.00
Used - Trade Paper

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Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa
Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa
by Mark Mathabane
Publisher Comments
The Classic Story of Life in Apartheid South Africa Mark Mathabane was weaned on devastating poverty and schooled in the cruel streets of South Africa's most desperate ghetto, where bloody gang wars and midnight police raids were his rites of passage... (read more)

List Price $15.95
Your price: $3.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Mythology
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The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
by Anne Rice as A. N. Roquelaure
Publisher Comments
From bestselling author Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquleaure. In the traditional folktale of 'Sleeping Beauty, ' the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient... (read more)

List Price $16.00
Your price: $7.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Sale Books
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 New Moon (Twilight Saga #2)
New Moon (Twilight Saga #2)
by Stephenie Meyer
Publisher Comments
Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The star-crossed lovers theme continues... (read more)

List Price $10.99
Your price: $3.97
Sale - Trade Paper

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Carrie
Carrie
by Stephen King
Publisher Comments
A modern classic, Carrie introduced a distinctive new voice in American fiction -- Stephen King. The story of misunderstood high school girl Carrie White, her extraordinary telekinetic powers, and her violent rampage of revenge, remains one of the most... (read more)

List Price $7.99
Your price: $3.95
Used - Mass Market

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Used Books
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Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books (Weetzie Bat Books)
Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books (Weetzie Bat Books)
by Francesca Lia Block
Publisher Comments
Love is a dangerous angel...Francesca Lia Block's luminous saga of interwoven lives will send the senses into wild overdrive. These post-modern fairy tales chronicle the thin line between fear and desire, pain and pleasure, cutting loose and holding on... (read more)

List Price $12.00
Your price: $5.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Snow Falling on Cedars
Snow Falling on Cedars
by David Guterson
Publisher Comments
Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies.  But in 1954 a local fisherman is... (read more)

List Price $15.95
Your price: $1.95
Used - Trade Paper

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Bestsellers

Saturday,
May 18, 2013
The Outsiders
  1. The Outsiders
    by S. E. Hinton
  2. A Wrinkle in Time
    by Madeleine L'Engle
  3. The Kite Runner
    by Khaled Hosseini
  4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
    by Stephen Chbosky
  5. The Giver
    by Lois Lowry
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