For this year’s Banned Book Week, I decided to go with a classes and read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Steinbeck is the author of twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories; he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962; but an unfortunate part of his legacy is that the American Library Association lists him as one of the ten most frequently banned authors from 1990-2004. Often synonymous with American literature, he’s considered one of the greatest author of the 20th century. His novels are considered classics and taught from grade school through university graduate courses here and around the world. Nevertheless, his three most notable works- The Grapes of Wrath (1939), Of Mice and Men (1937), and East of Eden- have also been repeatedly banned or challenged.

I hope that many of you are participating in Banned Book Week. I’d love to know what you’re currently reading and what your favorite “banned book” might be. Want to see what new, and old, books make the list? Check out Band Books Week here.