If you ever needed proof that people can be frightened by the written word, then just look at how many books have been removed from libraries, burned, and of course, banned.
Why gotta be hatinâ? Some of the reasoning is totally bonkers⊠Whereas others you might think âfair enoughâ. But should a book EVER be banned? You decide. Hereâs a list of some of the more popular titles banned by world governments.
1. âNineteen Eighty-Fourâ by George Orwell.
Banned by the Soviet Union in the 50âs. Why? Stalin (yeah, that guy) thought it was a satire on his leadership. But dude, if you have to ban something so people donât draw a terrifying parallel⊠#saynomore
Big Brother is watching youâŠ
2. âLady Chatterlyâs Loverâ by D H Laurence
Banned in the UK and the US. Banned in Australia. Banned in China. Why? A âviolation of obscenity lawsâ. Sex and stuff. Words that should not have been printed in the 1928.
A complete edition was not published here in the UK until 1960.
 3. âGreen Eggs and Hamâ by Dr Seuss
China banned this CHILDRENâS CLASSIC because of its apparent portrayal of Marxism. Wut?
The ban was lifted in 1991. Once Dr Seuss had died. Nice one.
4. âThe Da Vinci Codeâ by Dan Brown
Think about it. Is this one really surprising? Maybe because of the modernity of it. Lebanon wasnât happy with its depiction of Catholicism and blacklisted in 2004. Oops.
 5. âThe Canterbury Talesâ by Geoffrey Chaucer
They banned one of the first ever books ever. This is a slightly odd one though. Ok, so the US mail banned it in the late 1800s because of some act that prevented the sending or receiving of works that were⊠considered a little bit filthy or inappropriate.
Apparently this book falls under that description. #hatersgonnahate
6. âAliceâs Adventures in Wonderlandâ by Lewis Carroll
This one is quite interesting too. So the province of Hunan in China had this book banned in 1931 because of the animals that acted like humans.
And this equality in intelligence and ability was insulting⊠and might teach kids the wrong message.
7. âThe Satanic Versesâ by Salman Rushdie
Youâve probs heard of this one and its reputation. But maybe youâve never seen the list of countries Rushdie had his book (and often his own person) banned from:Â Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Thailand.
There goes the gap year plans.
8. The âFifty Shadesâ series by E L James
Again, really, itâs not particularly surprising. Malaysia werenât happy with this one and banned it. Maybe it should be banned in other countries too. Like, all of them.
9. âFrankensteinâ by Mary Shelley
Banned in South Africa in 1955. The book was first published in 1818. So why suddenly gotta be hatinâ?
10. âThe Diary of a Young Girlâ by Anne Frank
Banned because of its depiction of Jewish people. Itâs incredible to imagine anywhere banning a book as important as this.
11. âAnimal Farmâ by George Orwell
Weâve made an Orwellian sandwich of this list. But it only proves further the fact that Orwell really was a pioneer. Unafraid. And had one heck of an imagination. He found it hard to get âAnimal Farmâ published because of its political criticisms.
The book is still banned in North Korea.
What other books do you know have been banned? Maybe not by governments, but by libraries, councils etc. Do you think it can make people actually want to read it more? Tell us in the comments below!
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