Banned Books Week is an annual event, organized by the American Library Association and Amnesty International and occurring at the beginning of October, that draws attention to banned or challenged books while celebrating the freedom to read. Here in Canada, we also celebrate Freedom to Read Week in February, which has a specific focus on works challenged in this country.

It may surprise you to discover how many well-known books have been challenged in the past, for a variety of reasons. Below are a sample of such books that can be found here at our Faded Page site. We encourage you to try any of these books that interest you, thus exercising your own freedom to read, and decide for yourself if the objections hold up.

• Ulysses by James Joyce was serialized between 1918 and 1920 and published as an entire novel in 1922. Considered one of the most important Modernist novels, this work was initially banned in many countries around the world and led to a prosecution for obscenity in the United States.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1926, has been frequently challenged, especially by religious organizations and schools, for its language, violence and sexual references.
• Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, published in 1949, has been banned and challenged for its sexual content and political ideas. It has been accused of being subversive and promoting corrupting ideologies.
• The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall, published in 1928, deals with themes of homosexuality and gender identity. It was deemed obscene by a British court judge for depicting "unnatural acts" between women but is now considered a classic of lesbian literature.
• Brave New World by Adous Huxley, published in 1932, has been banned at various times in different countries for its sexual content, depiction of drug use and anti-family themes.

If you are interested in helping us add more public domain books like these to Faded Page, consider volunteering to proofread a few pages! Please visit our companion site at Distributed Proofreaders Canada.

The above image is courtesy of the American Library Association.