So, it’s Banned Books Week. I’ll withhold — reluctantly — the Sarah Palin jokes.

According to the Banned Books Week site, more than 400 books were challenged in America in 2007. The top ten?

1. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
2. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
3. Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes
4. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
7. TTYL by Lauren Myracle
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
9. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Banned Books Week is set aside at the end of each September as a time to reflect on the importance of the freedom to read.

The University of Memphis’ University Libraries will be getting in on the fun by staging readings from books that have been banned or challenged throughout history. The readings will be Monday (Sept. 29) through Friday (Oct. 3) from noon until 2 p.m. in the rotunda of the Ned. R. McWherter Library.

To volunteer as a reader, contact Tom Mendina at 678-4310 (e-mail tmendina at memphis.edu), or Kay Kroboth at 678-2209 (e-mail kroboth at memphis.edu).