Banned Books Perpetual Challenge

Hi, everyone! Time for another 2012 Reading Challenge, and this one is perpetual!

I stumbled across this challenge, which is being hosted by Becca at Lost in Books.

I am always puzzled by the books that have been banned. It makes me want to read them all the more! So, here is to reading banned books!

Here are the details copied from Becca's blog:

This is a challenge that I started for myself. I hate the idea of books being banned, much like any other book lover. So I began a challenge to read 50 of the most commonly challenged and banned books in the world.

For this challenge, all banned and challenged books you've ever read count. The point of it is to read 50 of them, not necessarily 50 new ones. But, of course, if you'd like to choose 50 new ones, then that is wonderful. This is a perpetual challenge and has no end date. If you'd like to join me in this particular challenge, just leave a comment saying you'd like to participate and then a link to where you will show your progress on the challenge. Book reviews are not required, but, of course, accepted. A few short lines on what the book was about and whether you found it worthy of reading in and of itself (as oppose to the singular fact it may be worthy of reading just because it is banned).

Here are a few links to sites about banned and/or challenged books:

Banned Books Online
List of banned books on Wikipedia
Forbidden Library
American Library Association's Banned Book Week Information
Banned Books: How Schools Restrict the Reading of Young People

If you want to join me in the challenge, just click on the challenge badge at the beginning of this post.

I am going to keep track of my progress below. Here is a list of some banned or challenged books that I want to read:

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Book #1 of The Twilight Saga)
2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (Book #2 of The Twilight Saga)
3. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Book #3 of The Twilight Saga)
4. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer (Book #3.5 of The Twilight Saga) 
   
5. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Book #4 of The Twilight Saga)
6. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 
7. Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast (House of Night, Book #1)
8. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, Book #1) 
9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, Book #2)
10. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
11. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
12. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
13. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
14. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey  
16. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut 
17. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, Book 1)
18. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, Book 2)
19. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, Book 3)
20. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 3)
21. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 4)
22. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 5)
23. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
24. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
25. Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
26. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
27. Cut, by Patricia McCormick
28. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
29. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 1)
30. The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 2)
31. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 3)
32. The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 4)
33. The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 5)
34. The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 6)
35. Cujo by Stephen King  
36. Christine, by Stephen King 
37. Carrie by Stephen King 
38. The Dead Zone by Stephen King 
39. Lord of the Flies by Sir William Golding  
40. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 6)
41. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 7)
42. American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis
43. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
44. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
45. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
46. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games, Book #1)
47. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games, Book #2)
48. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games, Book #3)
49. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
50. House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
51. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
52. The Fighting Ground by Avi
53. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
54. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
55. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
56. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
57. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
58. The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Robert Langdon Series, Book 2)
59. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
60. The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
61. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
62. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
63. The Giver by Lois Lowry 
64. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
65. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
66. His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
67. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster