Have you read a banned book lately? Most likely yes.

You may have already seen our Banned Books Week display in the library. It's hard to miss, what with the crime scene tape and the (book) body outlines on the floor. The display was put together by a couple intrepid teen patrons of ours along with Young Adult Librarian Luke. The week, which from runs this year Sept. 24 to Oct. 1, challenges censorship by celebrating the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

If your memory's hazy about what the First Amendment says, exactly, here's a reminder:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment also speaks to intellectual freedom: "the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular." Banned Books Week is devoted to precisely that idea of freedom of choice. The annual event started in 1982 in reaction to a deluge of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. The American Library Association (ALA) explains that a challenge is when a person or group tries to restrict or remove access to materials. A ban is when a challenge is successful, and the material is actually removed from the shelves.

There were at least 348 books challenged in schools and libraries in 2010, but the ALA thinks that figure's low, and that an estimated 70 to 80 percent of book challenges are most likely never reported. For the record, the library association has logged more than 11,000 book challenges since 1982.

Geographically, here's a look at where book challenges happened between 2007 and 2011:

View Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2011 in a larger map

That's right, book challenges happen everywhere. In fact, odds are, you've probably already read a challenged book. They're often popular titles or classics you have to read for school. Here's a list of the most frequently challenged books in 2010 along with their call numbers here at Moore Memorial Public Library:

And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
E RICHARDS

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language, racism, religious viewpoint, sex education, sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group
YP FIC ALEXIE and the bookbook YP AD FIC ALEXIE

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
FIC HUXLEY

Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
Reasons: drugs, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
YP FIC HOPKINS and the audiobook YP AD FIC HOPKINS

The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group
YP FIC COLLINS

Lush, by Natasha Friend
Reasons: drugs, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group
YP FIC FRIEND

What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
YP FIC SONES

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint
305.569 EHRENREI and the audiobook AD 305.569 EHRENREI

Revolutionary Voices edited by Amy Sonnie
Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit
(The library doesn't have this one.)

Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence, unsuited to age group
YP FIC MEYER, the audiobook YP AD FIC MEYER and the movie DVD T

Source: BannedBooksWeek.org

So what are you waiting for? Go out and exercise your First Amendment rights — check out these books today!