...by which I don't mean poorly plotted or badly written books. I mean books containing subject matter which we find uncomfortable or disturbing. Last week was "Banned Books Week," and while I don't really hold a lot of truck with thing-of-the-week weeks, there was a lot of talk on the internet about books that had been banned, so I've been thinking about it. Like most writers, I'd argue that banning books is dumb if your goal is to get people to not read those books, especially if the people you're targeting are kids or teens. I mean, what's more appealing than a book the stodgy old farts think is BAD? As Mark Twain said when the Concord Library banned The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: "Apparently, the Concord library has condemned Huck as 'trash and only suitable for the slums.' This will sell us another twenty-five thousand copies for sure!" (via this Flavorwire post of quotations from writers of banned books) But why does a book get banned in the first place?