Top 5 Wednesday: Banned Books I've Read

Welcome to Banned Books Week! Top 5 Wednesday is Celebrating Banned Books Week by making Banned books we've read our topic this week, so lets get started. (To learn more about Top 5 Wednesday go here. Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey)

Let me preface my picks here by saying that I don't think any book should be banned, ever. I believe that as far as monitoring inappropriate content for children is concerned, that is the parent's job. And no I don't mean a collective of parents deciding for whole swaths of children, I mean the actual parents of the actual child determining what is appropriate for their child to read. Okay rant over.

Number 5

The Hunger Games

 by Suzanne Collins

For anyone familiar with the plot, it's clear why this book has been challenged/banned. Children being forced into an arena to kill each other isn't exactly what one might call kid friendly. But I love this book and I think it has some important things to say about violence in the media.

Number 4

Harry Potter (series)

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter was banned for "Satanic content" which is pretty laughable to anyone who has actually read the books. Those of you reading this don't need to hear my reasons for why I love Harry Potter. You know that it's a brilliant story of good versus evil, that the characters are well drawn and the world building is amazing. But you already know that. So lets move on.

Number 3

To Kill A Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

Banned for rascism, rape, and some bad language, To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing book that should be required reading in every high school and not banned anywhere! Sorry I got a little worked up there but it's true. It is one of my favorite books and I'm very passionate about it. 

Number 2

The Giver

by Lois Lowry

Still unclear on why this one was banned, something about religious viewpoint. Okay, sure we'll go with that. I read The Giver last year and couldn't stop thinking about it for days. It is such a fascinating dystopia/utopia novel. I can't understand why anyone would ban it. 

Number 1

Animal Farm 

by George Orwell

Animal Farm has been banned for many reasons including being critical of corrupt leaders. I read Animal Farm in High School and loved it. It is such a powerful fable that helped me to understand Stalin's rise to power. I can definitely see why people have banned this book, but I feel the same way about this as I do about To Kill a Mockingbird, everyone should read it. 

Well there's my list. Let me know what you think/share your lists in the comments! :)

Top 5 Wednesday: Cover Title Fonts

To add a regular feature to my blog, I've decided to start doing Top 5 Wednesday which was invented by Lainey over at Ginger Reads Lainey. To learn more about Top 5 Wednesday go to the Goodreads Group here.


This weeks topic is Top 5 Title Fonts on Covers. In composing this list I found that I'm not a big fan of the serif, apparently. Well here we go.

Number 5

Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins

I mostly like this font because of its size. I love the boldness of it taking up the entire cover.

Number 4

The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green

I've always loved the handwritten look as you'll see in this and my next pick. This along with the chalkboard, all-caps motif is very visually appealing.

Number 3

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

by Robin Sloan

I love the haphazard look of this title font, like the author was shown the cover right before it was about to go to the printer and they were like... "Robin, we need a title, like, now." So he pulled out a pen and scribbled it on the cover, and they sent it to the printer just like that.

Number 2

Landline

by Rainbow Rowell

I really like the boldness of this font and the cursive font that turns into the phone cord is just adorable.

Number 1

Rebel Belle

by Rachel Hawkins

There is something about this font that just screams southern belle to me. I don't know what it is, but it just does. I especially like the curl in the R. I also like the contrast between the Authors name and the title.

So there is my top 5. What are your favorite book cover title fonts? Share your thoughts in the comments or feel free to link to your own top 5 Wednesday blog/vlog. I would love to read/watch them.