Banned books; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl; Perks of Being a Wallflower; Carrie; Rabbit Hole; sociopaths in fiction (‘Ripley’ and ‘Zone of Interest’); empathy through reading.
I think it should be more obvious than it is how if you haven’t actually read the book, and your first impression is reading the first part where it’s only stated why the book is banned, you have a much less nuanced take on what the book is actually about and it’s much easier to judge it harshly. I imagine that one of the ironies of book banning is probably that many who ban probably only read small sections without any context. It’s amazing how the books started coming to life upon reading your descriptions: maybe this isn’t some terrible, ominous, threatening creation. Maybe it’s a good book worth reading. Maybe there are even books worth running for, not walking, to get a copy. I remember hearing about Vonnegut’s books being banned and reading some of the reasons for it and realizing that the book banners totally totally missed what the book was actually about, to an astonishing degree.
Love this post. Relevant, cogent and with a reading list! Book banning is the harbor of the small-minded and those who seek to control what they do not like. The rest of us need to fight against the erasure of entire groups of people by reading and supporting libraries and librarians every way we can, and being allies for the marginalized.
Vic mentions the dark triad personality. If anyone finds themselves interested in socio/psychopathy, a new memoir be Patric Gagne on her journey to realizing she is a sociopath is a mesmerizing look into someone who struggles with mental illness.
No book should be banned. Period, but some books don't have to be purchased, either. It's a matter of quality, and several of these are nothing more than open provocations, with little value otherwise.
As you might imagine, I loved pitching books!
I love imagining your teenage patrons leaping over desks to be the first to read a book. Sounds like you were great at pitching!
School librarian (and PreK-12 district director of libraries) here. Thank you, thank you so much for this.
Also, that description of book banners as the “Cub Scouts of White Supremacy” is pretty amazing and thought-provoking.
Ron Charles of the Washington Post—I love his weekly newsletter.
I think it should be more obvious than it is how if you haven’t actually read the book, and your first impression is reading the first part where it’s only stated why the book is banned, you have a much less nuanced take on what the book is actually about and it’s much easier to judge it harshly. I imagine that one of the ironies of book banning is probably that many who ban probably only read small sections without any context. It’s amazing how the books started coming to life upon reading your descriptions: maybe this isn’t some terrible, ominous, threatening creation. Maybe it’s a good book worth reading. Maybe there are even books worth running for, not walking, to get a copy. I remember hearing about Vonnegut’s books being banned and reading some of the reasons for it and realizing that the book banners totally totally missed what the book was actually about, to an astonishing degree.
Often people don’t read any part of the book. They get their lists of what to ban and their talking points from groups like Moms for Liberty.
Love this post. Relevant, cogent and with a reading list! Book banning is the harbor of the small-minded and those who seek to control what they do not like. The rest of us need to fight against the erasure of entire groups of people by reading and supporting libraries and librarians every way we can, and being allies for the marginalized.
Vic mentions the dark triad personality. If anyone finds themselves interested in socio/psychopathy, a new memoir be Patric Gagne on her journey to realizing she is a sociopath is a mesmerizing look into someone who struggles with mental illness.
No book should be banned. Period, but some books don't have to be purchased, either. It's a matter of quality, and several of these are nothing more than open provocations, with little value otherwise.
Thank you for keeping up the fight against banned books. Those that fear books are worrying about loosing control. Keep fighting.