Banned Book Week 2024

Yet again, I must blog about Banned Book Week.

I've been doing this for years, and it seems things only get worse, years after years.  To quote one of my past Banned Books posts, from 2022:

 For those of us who love to read, we know we live in dangerous times.  The forces of censorship seem to grow stronger every day.  In 2022, we live in a state of constant crisis, which is why I try to keep world events out of my blog.  I strive to bring some peace and beauty to my readers.  But it's hard.  

 In the United States, everything has become political.  We are all, it seems, in crisis mode, with "breaking news" appearing on our television screens multiple times a day.  We are even questioning some of our core values, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  

But censorship is a different thing....

This year, Banned Books Week is September 22-28.

My local library has had a display of banned books up since early September.  I am thankful I had the freedom to photograph it.  Millions of people over the world don't have that freedom. 

No wonder the most banned book of all time is 1984, by George Orwell.

To quote the American Library Association:

The American Library Association condemns censorship and works to defend each person's right to read under the First Amendment and to ensure free access to information....

ALA documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship in 2023—a 65% surge over 2022 numbers—as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources. Pressure groups focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year, accounting for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023.

Of the top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023, many of them were challenged due to real or alleged LGBTQIA+ content.

Of other books frequently receiving challenges, these include such classics as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (a perpetual target of book banners), and The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. Even To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck are challenged.

The most challenged book of the 21st century? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling.

Those who want to destroy our freedoms fear books.  Why?  Because books are powerful, more powerful than any of us realize.They educate us.  They encourage us to dream.  They challenge us to imagine a better world.  Just look at dictatorships around the world.  How many of them allow their citizens to read any book they want?  Free access of information would endanger their reigns.

Knowledge Wins poster, 1916, Westfield Public Library, New York (in public domain)

Knowledge wins.  That's why the book ban people fear books.

Don't let them win.