Buzz News Roundup, 9/7

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:30:15 PDT

Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time and other books, died Thursday at age 88, the New York Times reports.
Death Cab for Cutie is heading back to the recording studio mid-September, says Billboard.
Hollywood Reporter has news that Ralph Fiennes will join Keira Knightley in The Duchess.
Zap2It states that there will be an animated film version of Robotech, with Tobey Maguire producing and lending his voice.
Time Magazine has named its 100 best TV shows ever.
Billboard reports that Ozzie Osbourne and Rob Zombie will team up for a tour.
Will Smith will star in Seven Pounds, a drama about a man who accidentally falls in love while attempting suicide, Variety reports.
MTV is planning a bisexual dating competition show starring MySpace's Tila Tequila.
Variety has the news that Joaquin Phoenix and director James Gray will team up for the third time on the drama Two Lovers.

Banned Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Last Two Decades

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:49:54 PDT

When a high school in Missouri recently banned Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut's story of World War II as told through a science fiction lens, for creating "false conceptions of American history and government," the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library stepped up to donate copies of the book to any affected student that requests it.

Despite First Amendment protection, banning or attempting to challenge books has a long history, with many cases even making it to the US Supreme Court. As the American Library Association explains: "books usually are challenged with the best intentions-to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information." Science fiction and fantasy books often contain these themes that some find questionable, whether it's alien life forms, magical powers, or mystical worlds. In honor of Banned Books week, we're rounding up the most challenged science fiction and fantasy books according to the ALA. Browse the list below!

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - The stories of the wizarding world are seen by challengers to have occult and violent themes.
Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins - The hot series for youth and adult readers has been deemed unsuitable to its target age group and violent.
Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer - Its movie stars may provoke pandemonium, but critics of the book say it's too sexually explicit.
His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman - The series beginning with The Golden Compass is often decried for its anti-religious viewpoints.
The Giver by Lois Lowry - Despite the book's message of freedom of choice, criticisms are made for the fictional dystopia's bleak family outlook.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Offensive language, racism, and insensitivity are often cited in challenges to the future dystopian novel.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - The tale of a future world where the printed word is banned and systemically burned was criticized for offensive language.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - Children's search through space and time for their vanished father is often challenged for the inclusion of supposed witches.

Follow the break for more challenged books of the last 20 years.