Censorship and Ratings

Book people tend to get very worked up about the “C” word—okay, I’ll say it: Censorship. We’re against it, no question. And we get very worked up about it: next week is devoted to anti-censorship called Banned Books Week. I love taking time to think about some of the amazing pieces of literature that have been banned through time, and sometimes surprisingly, even today. I encourage you to browse through some of the lists of the most frequently challenged books. One of my favorite books of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird, is near the top of the list.

I recently came across a website that I’d never heard of before. It’s called Rated Reads and its reviewers attempt to give ratings to books similar to movie ratings, including the language, sexual, or violence content. Among a community of book lovers, it’s easy to get worked up about anything that looks like censorship. But along with believing in the right for people to write, publish, and read whatever they want, we sometimes forget that belief includes the right of people to not read something, or to not allow their children to read it, based on its content. (Just so long as they don’t try to stop others from reading it or having access to it.)

I don’t think I would use this site for myself, but I might use it before choosing a book for my church’s book club again (that ended awkwardly the last time because as an English graduate, I’ve apparently become desensitized to content that makes other uncomfortable). And if I haven’t read a book, I might check out a “rating” on it before deciding if my child is old enough to read it or to know if there might be some content that I want to discuss with them.

As an avid reader, I’m more likely to read a book right along with my child to determine its appropriateness, but Rated Reads offers an alternative to those who don’t have the time or inclination. My children will probably hate me for reading their English assigned books along with them in high school, but I plan on doing it anyway. Just to annoy them.