Seems to me book bannings are just a few steps away from book burnings. The sort of activity that illustrates how idiotic human beings can be, and reminds me of one of my favorite Einstein quotes: "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
That being said, I'm not a fan of Catcher in the Rye. It's a grossly overrated work, in my opinion. We covered the book in high school, and even then I wasn't impressed. Why this novel is considered a required read in English class is beyond me. Give me Orwell, or Shakespeare, or Donaldson for that matter. But J.D. Salinger? His reputation seems to rest solely on Catcher in the Rye, but I think his writing is pedestrian. Which could be why I don't remember much of the book, because there wasn't much in it worth remembering. I do recall that the protagonist, Holden Caufield(?), annoyed me. I suppose we were meant to identify with the character, since he was also someone of our age - a teenager with troubles. Same deal with S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, another piece of teenage melodrama I endured in class. What my teachers didn't realize was that, a few years before, I had already discovered an "outsider" in fiction that I identified with: Thomas Covenant. As an outcast of society, Covenant was far more compelling than some twit like Caufield. And Donaldson's writing was far more compelling than Salinger's.
But heaven forbid that fantasy literature should ever be studied seriously in our schools.
That's my rant for the night.
Enjoy the book if you can, duchess. If you do, then you utterly surpass me.