I'm completely appalled at the excerpts. I feel that this is a degradation of the human race. Banned Books Week is a time to celebrate literature and examine the roots of intolerance and ignorance that fuel efforts to censor the arts and free expression.
Book censorship is neither infrequent nor an issue of the past.
Books with clear artistic and cultural merit are still challenged frequently by those who want to control what others read. Only weeks ago, school officials in Prince William County, Maryland said they would review three books on the school system's summer reading list after a parent complained that the books contain profanity and explicit sex scenes. Two of the three books are no strangers to challenge. In two cases, it remained on school reading lists, but in Littlefork, Minnesota last year, it was removed from a 12th-grade curriculum. A particular target for censorship are books on gay and lesbian issues.