Welcome to bookchat! Where you can talk about anything; books, plays, essays, and audio books. You don’t have to be reading a book to come in, sit down, and chat with us.
So, there I was wondering what my BookChat would be about, when this came up on my Twitter feed:
National Banned Book Read-In
About this event
Tired of extremists banning books? Let’s do something about it. Join Stella Parton (who recently spoke out against attacks on her sister Dolly’s Imagination Library), authors of some of the most banned books in the country, and families fighting for the freedom to learn for a one-of-a-kind virtual event! It’s a Read-In! While you watch, post a photo of yourself with your favorite banned book using the hashtag #BannedBookChallenge (we might even show some of the best during the event!).
Come for Stella and the books -- and stay for specific ways to take action and get involved. You don’t want to miss this! Featured authors include Brad Meltzer, author of I Am Rosa Parks and I Am Martin Luther King, Jr.; Leslea Newman, author of Heather Has Two Mommies; Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli, authors of Our Skin, I.W. Gregorio, author of None of the Above, and Nikki Grimes, author of Ordinary Hazards.
Our amazing event partners include Women’s March, PEN America, We Need Diverse Books, and dozens of parent groups fighting book bans in their local communities.
This is definitely something the book people at Daily Kos can do! Here’s the link to tell them you’re participating. or you can probably just use the tag they suggested if you’re on Twitter. In case you need some help finding a suitable book, here’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists from the ALA — starts at 2021 and goes back. Here’s 2021:
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, and because it was considered to have sexually explicit images
- Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content, profanity, and because it was considered to be sexually explicit — this was the subject of Ali Velshi’s first Banned Books Club, with a great interview with the author. Video is below.
- Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted for depictions of abuse and because it was considered to be sexually explicit
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, violence, and because it was thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references and use of a derogatory term
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Banned and challenged because it depicts child sexual abuse and was considered sexually explicit
- This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
Reasons: Banned, challenged, relocated, and restricted for providing sexual education and LGBTQIA+ content.
- Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
Reasons: Banned and challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because it was considered to be sexually explicit.
The stuff I’m reading hasn’t actually been banned (Bridgertons and Tessa Dare’s Spindle Cove series) but as steamy, feminist historical fiction; it is the type of stuff book banners would hate. How about you? What are you reading? Any officially banned books? Just the type of books they would hate? Or maybe not at all offensive? All types of readers are welcome here.
Video from the Velshi Banned Books Club:
It’s too bad it only had 2 meetings before the world fell apart (again? more apart? how do you describe the world continually falling more & more to pieces?) and our friend had to take off to broadcast from a war zone. Anyway, maybe someday Mr. Velshi will get to come back to the States and do his show in a studio and have time for banned books. And I’m reminding myself of a song:
Is there a time for kohl and lipstick
Is there time for cutting hair
Is there a time for high street shopping
To find the right dress to wear.
from Miss Sarajevo, a song about the last time [turns out it’s the time before last] we said “never again” to civilians being slaughtered by crazed/evil militaries led by even worse leaders. I saw an interview on MSNBC today that said they’ve identified individual soldiers who were in Ukraine as having been involved in atrocities in Syria. Never again — do those words mean anything?
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