(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – It’s Banned Book Week, and a local theater company wants you to read and hear what books are in the crosshairs.
City Lit Theater Company, in association with the American Library Association, is presenting “Books on the Chopping Block,” a 60-minute program of readings of short excerpts from the Top Ten most frequently challenged books of the past year.
Overwhelmingly, books with LGBTQ content are being targeted the most, says City Lit Artistic Director Terry McCabe. The most-targeted book for censorship is “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe, McCabe said.
"The thing that's changed over the last couple of years is simply the amount, the number of attacks on books," McCabe told WBBM Newsradio in a phone interview.
McCabe also said he almost longs for the days when the only books that were targeted were classics like “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “The Catcher in the Rye.”
“Books on the Chopping Block” readings are taking place this week in west suburban Bellwood; at the Chicago Public Library Edgewater Branch at 6000 N. Broadway; the Chicago Public Library Lincoln Belmont Branch, 1659 W. Melrose; and also in north suburban Highland Park, DePaul University and in west suburban River Forest.
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