This week, students across the nation are rebelling.

They're not doing it by defying police, by arguing with their parents or by experimenting with drugs and alcohol.

They're doing it by curling up with a good book.

Schlow Memorial Library, 100 E. Beaver Ave., is joining others across the nation to mark Banned Books Week.

Intellectual radicals everywhere are being encouraged to thumb their noses at prudish censors and dive into literary works that have been branded unsuitable because of offensive language, sexual content, drug use or even "a focus on wizardry and magic."

Most of the world's best books aren't G-rated -- and for good reason. Their focus on the gritty reality of life is what makes them poignant and memorable.

Consider Maya Angelou's 1970 work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

The autobiographical book -- sometimes funny and sometimes painful -- paints an honest picture of growing up poor, black and female in the South.

Censors might like this work to be kept from high school students because of its candid depictions of rape, violence and strong language.

But under the careful guidance of a capable teacher, this book can open a teenager's eyes to a part of American history still too often excluded from textbooks.

Other commonly banned books include J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and Bette Greene's Summer of My German Soldier.

Even the Harry Potter series by British author J.K. Rowling has faced some opposition recently because of its supposedly questionable topic.

Each of these works have beautiful prose, captivating plots, timeless themes -- and a few stray four-letter words, punches or sexual scenes shouldn't remove them from the literary landscape.

This week, defy authority: Read a banned book.

Whether it's one of your favorites or a work you never read because it wasn't around at your school, enjoy some of the greatest stories of our time.