Banned Books | Books & Books

Banned Books Week: September 18 – 24, 2022

*Courtesy of the American Library Association, ala.org*

The goal of Banned Books Week is to draw attention to the fact that books are often challenged or banned, pulled from school and community libraries, with relatively little fanfare. But this year, book banning has not been quiet.

In 2021, the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom said it received reports of 729 challenges, representing 1,597 books. This up sharply from the 2020 numbers of 156 challenges, representing 273 books.

PEN America reports that it found 1,586 book bans in 86 school districts in 26 states between July 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022.

This is a tactic designed to push marginalized writers and readers off the page, and to shut down discussions about race and sexuality, among other topics, that many people find controversial. But what one person finds controversial, another may find enlightening or affirming. The goal of Banned Books Week is to encourage people to read widely and make up their own minds — and to encourage us all to stand up for the right of everyone to read freely.

Celebrate your right to read with us September 18 – 24. You might be surprised to see many old favorites in our banned books display, including several of Judy Blume’s books, as she is one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century. Pick up a book that someone else doesn’t think you should read. Read dangerously!

If you want to make your voice heard, standing against censorship, you can join booksellers and their customers in a petition condemning book banning. Also, check out the ALA’s new campaign, Unite Against Book Bans.

Have you read GENDER QUEER, a graphic novel memoir by Maia Kobabe? It’s about a lot of things you might expect in a memoir, growing up and fitting in, and it’s about Kobabe’s experience of being nonbinary.

Some people think you or your kids and grandkids shouldn’t be able to read GENDER QUEER or the 1500 other books that were challenged or banned last year, according to stats collected by the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom.

But it’s not actually about GENDER QUEER or THE HATE YOU GIVE by Angie Thomas (which has been on the top banned list 4 out of the 5 years since its publication in 2017) or A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by Sarah J. Maas, which a Virginia judge thinks might not be appropriate to sell unrestricted in bookstores. As librarian Alex Brown wrote recently for Tor.com:

Banning books is always bigger than just the ban or just the book. It’s a concerted effort to whitewash and sugarcoat history, to deny the truth of what happened and who we are as a nation, and to continue the dismantling of our public educational institutions.
– Book Bans Affect Everybody — Here’s How You Can Help

And it’s getting worse – along with targeting school libraries at every level and public libraries, an active challenge right now is trying to restrict Barnes & Noble bookstores from selling certain books to kids, and maybe to anyone at all (in Virginia).

*Find the list of the Top Ten Challenged Books of 2021 at https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10*

It’s not really about the books. It’s about the people. The kids who are hungry to see themselves and their experiences in the books they read. All of us who want to read widely, adventurously and freely. The authors who are writing their best stories with heart and hard-won wisdom, or maybe just for fun.

This Pride month, pick up a copy of GENDER QUEER, and see what you think. And, if it’s not for you, pick up something else – but champion everyone’s right to read freely.

If you want to do more, check out the ALA’s new campaign, Unite Against Book Bans.

~ Robin, social media manager