Freedom to Read Week

February 21st - 27th is Freedom to Read Week.

This is an event that is near and dear to most readers' advisor's hearts. We don't mind suggestions of what to read, but please don't dare to tell us what not to read.

Why not get in the spirit of the week and read something that has been challenged, which unfortunately makes up a big list.

Please also consider attending our Freedom to Read event at our Spring Garden Road branch, on Wednesday February 24th, at 12:00 p.m.
Join retired Saint Mary’s University English professor Gillian Thomas who will discuss how libel laws affect writers and how freedom to write leads to freedom to read. All are Welcome.

Here are a few titles in our collection to whet your rebellious reading appetite. These titles have all been recently challenged somewhere in Canada



Wild Fire, by Nelson Demille. An adult thriller challenged in Edmonton as "promoting hatred".

Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson - A PEN Faulkner Fiction Award winner challenged in an Ontario Catholic high school on the grounds of sexual content .

Baby Be-Bop, by Francesco Lia Block. A young adult novel challenged in Calgary on the basis of its homosexual themes.

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Most recently challenged in Manitoba as being blasphemous to Christians.

The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence Sanders. This adult thriller was challenged at the Toronto Public Library as being a how to manual on becoming a male prostitute and that young readers could be negatively effected.

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. Challenged in Ontario as being inappropriate for grade twelve students due to foul language, sexual violence and anti-Christian overtones.