Banned for what? Have you picked-up a Danielle Steele book or any of those "romance novels" with Fabio on the cover? Give me a break! They were a fun read. That's it. The end.

For all of the advances in this country, we're still so repressed.

From the article:

"In the case of Fifty Shades of Grey, we read mainstream reviews that characterized the content as pornography," Jennifer Ralston, HCPL materials management administrator, told The Sun. "The library does not purchase pornography, and we therefore did not purchase the book."

In other words, nobody from HCPL has actually read the book, and they're just making decisions based on what other people say about it?

Sounds somewhat ridiculous to me.

How about Fifty Shades of Severna Park???

Banned for poor writing and editing, yes! For content? Of course not.

I have read all three books and they are no more explicit then some other romance novels that are currently on the shelves in the library. If you don't agree, don't read the book. I feel that no one had a right to censor the books in a public library. I do however feel that they should ask for ID before most romance novels are checked out. any Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts and Debra McComber are equally descriptive.

John Milton argued in the seventeenth century that bad books ban themselves: no book should be banned (or boycotted) prior to publication, because people are quite capable of discerning for themselves whether this or that book is something in which the individual is interested, or material of which he or she approves. Public libraries tend to follow the best-seller lists--and they *do* segregate this type of literature from mainstream fare suitable for children, so what's the issue? Many well-written books have been banned in the past that are considered quite tame by today's standards: it would be interesting to know precisely who declared this book "pornography." Whether an individual institution chooses to spend its budget on such stuff should be left up to each library. Ultimately, the most effective form of censorship is up to the consumer: if you don't want to read such a book, don't buy it, or borrow it from the library.

Isn't it all about choices? You can choose to watch, listen, or read whatever you want. I have a choice, you have a choice, the author has a choice to either write it or not. Isn't it what America is all about? Diane

Fifty Shades of Grey is no more explicit than People Magazine, Vogue, etc - which are all available in the library and are prominently displayed in stores. . . .

I read the first volume and yes, it is graphic. But my main problem was that the writing was awful. Really, really awful.

Censorship, please get over it...we see more nudity/sex on TV then we see in books, books take us to a fantasy world which we probably will never get to experience..Just leave it alone, I want to read what I want, and the more you censor it the more I want to read it, just out of curiosity now.

My time is limited, and after perusing a few of the Amazon.com reviews of this book, I decided it wasn't worth my time. It seems like it is laughably bad writing, not unlike the "Twilight" books. (The Amazon reviews are hilarious, by the way.)
I lose patience pretty quickly with bad writing. Furthermore, I am kind of creeped out by the storyline which is something wherein a naive young woman has to sign some kind of contract to be 'owned' by an unrealistically hot and handsome mogul. Yeah right. I wouldn't wish that on my daughter or any other healthy woman I cared about, much less myself. Do I think the books should be banned from the library? No- but the probably should be limited to readers over 18. Honestly, in this day and age when you have Kindle and cheap books available at Target and Warehouse stores, who is going to depend on the library to have access to it. Plenty of people on limited incomes manage to pay for cable TV, smartphones, etc.
I will admit that those of us who trash this book wish we'd written it and were rolling in the dough right now. It's a shame that people respond so well to the Kardashians, Jerry Springer and junk-literature rather than great works of art, but it plays into our corporate culture that values a quick fix and big profits rather than a lasting investment in anything.

Jerry Springer plays a mean saphaphone! AND he always has some good advice about how we should love our neighbors and family members at the end of his show. GOD BLESS JERRY SPRINGER - and he gives a geat deal at Liberty Ford!

Any book worth banning is a book worth reading. I'll pass on it, however the library should carry it. if anything needs to be done about it, perhaps since the library has a children's section, they could also establish an adults only section where material with content not safe for children could be kept.

Anyone remember when the Anne Arundel County Board of Education put Maya Angelou's "I Know Now Why the Caged Bird Sings" on the required reading list for high school freshman? My husband and I read the book and decided the sexual content was nothing compared to the racist content.

Has anyone read the book by Ann Rice called Exit to Eden? I borrowed it from the library as a book on tape, and listened to it at work. It was so erotic that i couldn't listen to it at work. I am sure this book can't be any worse than that. And I have read some pretty erotic romance books also. I say leave the book alone and let the people reading them decide on their own. I want to read it now just to see what all the hype is about.

It should be banned . All the slutty woman of our time are fantasising about having things put up there arse at the moment , nipple clamps and a man using a young girl as a dirty whore !
What is wrong with these people , whould you be happy with an older man putting things up your daughter arse and whipping her private parts?
The sad thing about this is these young girls will be catching all sorts of STI's and being treated like whores by men who think its ok now to treat woman like this, you idiots who don't want this banned are sick and twisted and I hope it's your daughter who gets it and not mine!!!

Just read "Karens " review..... well said!!
Wish there was more people who thought like you!