Some of these other ones I just don't get. Of Mice and Men? Really? I think people overreact sometimes. :/
After having that one forced on me in High School, I'd say that it should be kept off required reading lists. Those who are masochistic enough may read it if they wish, but forcing kids to read it is just cruel and unusual...
In fact, a number of books on that "banned and challenged classics" list are ones that got rammed down my throat in high school and do not strike me as really deserving their reputation as classics. They probably shouldn't be banned, but they shouldn't be required reading either, and ought to be forgotten.
Gatsby was horrible,
Mice was horrible,
Farewell to Arms was horrible, as was
Separate Peace.
To Kill a Mockingbird is the one book on that list that's marked as one that has been banned or challenged that I have actually read and liked.
[rant]And I'm sorry, but
Lord of the Flies ought to be kept completely out of school libraries, and needs to be somewhere on a "worst 100 books of all time" list. That one left me deeply, deeply, disturbed. It shouldn't be a banned or challenged classic because it shouldn't be a classic. Once again, the masochists can read it if they wish, but making it a requirement for passing any class that's required for a diploma from any institution is a crime. And it's definitely R-rated. Adults can read it if they wish, but I've been under the conviction since I was a minor that minors ought to be prohibited from reading that book, rather than forced to do so. Having it as part of an elective course for literature majors in college is all well and good (for some values of "well" and "good", and as long as it's clearly labeled with a 'we are not responsible for any psychological damage you may suffer' warning), but having it as part of the mandatory 10th grade English curriculum like my school did... Ick. Take it off the classics list, and move
Lord of the Rings up to the top ten like it deserves. And list it as three seperate books instead of the whole trilogy as one item. And put
The Hobbit up there with it. And
Silmarillion. Lumping the whole trilogy together and sticking it down at 40 on a list of classics is also a crime.[/rant]