Michigan libraries and First Amendment groups are urging the public to take a stand against censorship and read a banned book this week.

Banned Books Week , which ends Saturday, Oct. 11, is themed "Censorship is so 1984. Read for your Rights," according to organizers. Saturday also is Let Freedom Read Day, a day of advocacy against censorship of diverse books.

"With the escalation in attempts to ban books in libraries, schools, and bookstores around the country, George Orwell’s cautionary tale '1984' serves a prescient warning about the dangers of censorship. This year’s theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights," the American Library Association said on its website.

The ann

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