I don't think books should ever be censored.

Maybe erotica, but that's about it.

I'm sure everyone has a ton of these. In the interests of being short, I'll say The Hobbit. I'm sure there are tons of kids like me who were introduced to the joys of books through this classic.

I'm always kinda "meh" on required reading. I hated a lot of what we read in high school. Depressing, generally, although I guess if your English classes are pushing existentialism so damn much, that's about what you could expect.
Yeah, I do think everybody should read The Hobbit/ Lord of the Rings... LotR more for high school because there's a lot to discuss there. The Hobbit is more for enjoyment, and I'll give it to my kid one day.

Blech. I haven't read enough to really be able to say "these five". A lot of stuff that's required is on a long list of stuff to choose from. I didn't approve of much I was required to read in HS, but I'm sure there are thousands of books that would be beneficial as an early introduction to literary criticism. I personally appreciated Lord of the Flies, Ender's Game, Night, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Interestingly enough, my final for English in tenth grade was a discussion of fate that compared and contrasted Night with Gaiman's Neverwhere. You probably would've appreciated reading that one.

I don't know much about what's generally censored. Of course I feel like censorship is ridiculous, so just about everything I do hear about just makes me snort in frustration. I read And Tango Makes Three recently, because I knew it had been removed from school libraries a lot. I was stunned.

Heh heh. Yeah, the existentialist stuff was important to learn, I think, but I could've used some more positive philosophy as well. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, now that was an inspiring book. Don't laugh at me, either.

I don't think so. Maybe crap like Twilight.

Well, of course. I read some "out of the way" kind of stuff that I'd like to see become more mainstream. I'm glad I came to wotmania so many years ago, because that, combined with Anastasia's gifts and tastes, led me to this new world of reading I might never have found otherwise. I don't know much about how to open others' eyes, besides being active on the internet and talking about books I like.

I don't really think there's anything like that. The closest I could come would be Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I guess because it has proven a positive influence in my life. It's a short, easy read that everyone should be able to appreciate.