The Open Road Blog

Editor’s Note: Barbara Hambly speaks out on behalf of Banned Books Week. Barbara is a New York Times bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction, as well as historical novels set in the nineteenth century. Read more about her fascinating books and watch videos of the author here.

DON’T READ THIS BOOK!

If one believes the content of fiction to be the intellectual equivalent of heroin, I suppose it would make sense to say, “Don’t read that, it’ll corrupt you,” without reading it oneself. Some people do, in fact, become addicted to or corrupted by ideas – as some ...

Editor's note: Today for Banned Books Week, some of Open Road's fiction writers weigh in on their favorite banned or challenged books.

"When I was twelve, I memorized a poem for English class:  Walt Whitman’s “This Dust Was Once The Man.”  I chose it because Whitman was the “good gray poet” and I a good green girl, because he wrote it when Lincoln was shot and it was a hundred years later and Kennedy was shot. I chose it because it was four lines.

When I was sixteen, I was a pent-up aching river with a body electric that wanted ...

Today for Banned Books Week we bring you an excerpt from Bette Greene's young adult classic Summer of My German Soldier. The book remains one of the most frequently challenged books in the U.S., with would-be censors often citing the book's ending and its theme of forbidden friendship between a Jewish girl and a Nazi prisoner of war as material unsuitable for young readers. Learn more about Bette Greene and the true story behind Summer of my German Soldier on her Open Road author page and official website.
Banned Books Week Collection

Editor's note: In light of Banned Books Week, we asked the authors of Hotel Angeline to comment on some of their favorite banned or challenged works of all time. Here’s what they said:

"My favorite banned books are by my fellow young adult writers, especially those by friends and cohorts such as Sonya Sones, Stephen Chbosky, Chris Crutcher, Sherman Alexie, and the great Judy Blume, whose books aim for truth and not sensationalism.  Young adult writers are at the front lines of censorship, while, too, having an audience that needs the power of honesty more than anyone."—Deb ...

Today’s featured excerpt for Banned Books Week is Sophie’s Choice by William Styron. William Styron is widely considered one of the preeminent American writers of his generation. First published in 1979, Sophie's Choice is the winner of the 1980 National Book Award. It was also made into an Academy Award–winning film of the same name. The book has been banned from many libraries throughout its publication history. As recently as 2002, the book was pulled from the shelves of the La Mirada High School Library in California by the Norwalk-La Mirada High School District because of a parent's complaint ...

Editor’s Note: Sean Beaudoin speaks out on behalf of Banned Books Week. Sean is one of thirty-six authors behind the epic, inventive novel Hotel Angeline: A Novel in 36 Voices. Read more about the book here or visit his website for more fodder for banning.

I find that I want to be banned now more than ever. To that end, please read this slowly, and with due attention. If you care about me at all—even a little bit—I’m sure by the end you will consider tossing me (in the form of crates of my books purchased at full ...

Open Road is pleased to announce the wide release of seven digital books by iconic physicist Albert Einstein. This selection of Einstein titles was designed for readers interested in Einstein’s seminal works in physics, his collaborations with colleagues, and his broader philosophy. Each ebook features new photographs and biographical information from experts at the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and several also include a new introduction by Neil Berger, PhD.

These titles, available at all major ebook retailers starting September 27, 2011, are part of Open Road’s ongoing publishing partnership with Philosophical Library. They include:...

For the first time ever, eight titles by New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Forster are now accessible in digital format. Forster has written more than thirty novels and been the recipient of countless awards, including the National Reader’s Choice award. She became a household name in the genre with the Loveswept release of her books Wild Honey, Wild Child, and The Devil and Ms. Moody. Trademarks to Forster’s success include her forward-looking interest in high concepts and countercultures, as well as the psychological depth and expertise brought to her characters and their love interests.

New in ...

Now, for the first time ever, Open Road Integrated Media will release Summer of My German Soldier, the classic story of a twelve-year-old Jewish girl who befriends a Nazi POW, as an ebook, along with five other titles including its sequel, Morning Is a Long Time Coming, the renowned Philip Hall books and the controversial Drowning of Stephan Jones. The books, which were originally published over the past forty years, will enjoy a new life as ebooks finding a fresh audience among the next generation of young readers.

The themes of these classic ebooks are a reminder ...

Open Road Media announces the ebook publication of eight titles by Leon Uris, a writer known for his riveting accounts of modern historical events. An ex-Marine who served valiantly in World War II’s Pacific Theater, Uris was particularly fascinated by armed conflicts. With his blockbuster novel Exodus, he presented a sweeping, fictionalized narrative about the founding of the modern state of Israel. Based on years of research, including thousands of in-depth interviews, the novel quickly became a national bestseller, catapulting Israel to the forefront of the American public’s consciousness. This groundbreaking novel, hailed as a “passionate summary of the ...

Today’s featured excerpt for Banned Books Week is Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. Jean Craighead George loved nature from an early age, and she has drawn from that passion in her more than one hundred books for children and young adults. Julie of the Wolves won the Newbery Medal in 1973. The inclusion of Julie of the Wolves in elementary school reading lists has been challenged several times due to parental concerns with a graphic scene within the book. (To read more about this, with spoilers, click through to an interesting review.)

Read an excerpt from the ...

Editor's note: Author Pat Conroy has witnessed his books being challenged and banned in a variety of settings. Read a letter he wrote to the editor of the Charleston Gazette in response to one such incident in 2007, shared in honor of Banned Books Week.

October 24, 2007

I received an urgent e-mail from a high school student named Makenzie Hatfield of Charleston, West Virginia. She informed me of a group of parents who were attempting to suppress the teaching of two of my novels, The Prince of Tides and Beach Music. I heard rumors of this controversy ...

This week’s archival photo shows Susan Isaacs at home in New York during a New York Post photo shoot. Isaacs was born in 1943 in Brooklyn, New York. After attending Queens College, she became a writer, and eventually the senior editor, for Seventeen magazine. After her marriage and birth of her children, Isaacs left Seventeen to take care of her children, but also worked as a freelance writer, and continued to write magazine articles as well as political speeches. It was during her time at home that she cultivated a love for mystery novels, inspiring her to write one of ...

Today’s featured excerpt for Banned Books Week spotlights The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. Pat Conroy is one of America’s most acclaimed and widely read authors and the New York Times bestselling writer of ten novels and memoirs. The stirring saga of a man’s journey to free his sister—and himself—from a tragic family history, The Prince of Tides is frequently challenged for scenes of violence and derogatory language, among other reasons.

Read an excerpt from the book below.

 

Banned Books Week Collection

Editor’s Note: Lisa Alther speaks out on behalf of Banned Books Week. Lisa is the bestselling author of five novels, among them the critically acclaimed Kinflicks, and a family memoir, Kinfolks: Falling Off the Family Tree. Read more about the author here.

Recently I saw a list of the top 100 banned, censored, or challenged books.  It is very distinguished, featuring some of my favorite books, five by Nobel Prize winners.  The title of Most Banned should probably go to Of Mice and Men, challenged over 50 times.  Such attacks are most often provoked by vulgar or profane ...