Happy Wednesday of Banned Books Week, y’all.

Today we are considering the books that are most often being challenged in schools and libraries now.

The American Library Association tracks challenges to books and is working hard to share which books are being challenged each year and why.

For our purposes today, we are looking at their information and graphics from 2022 – where a record 2,571 books were challenged.

I chose 2022 to focus on because the book list is fairly representative of the lists over the past several years I reviewed.

Looking over this list, a clear agenda emerges.

However, while it is certainly up to you what you read, it is not up to you what I read – and this is the crux of the issue.

Especially with the young adult books related to issues of gender, sexuality, and racial injustice in society, the desire of some to hide the books and bury their heads in the sand will not make the issues go away. It will only alienate the young people facing with those questions further.

Also – and even more to my point here – these people have no right to determine what does and does not belong in the public library, only what is read in the their own private spaces.

Of this list of thirteen, I’ve only read three – but that will be changing as I plan to loop back after our banned books list is finished in a few weeks and read this list next.

We have to say no to these efforts at censorship at every level and in every space.

Wishing you all a happy Wednesday and happy (free) reading.

See you tomorrow for more Banned Book discussion.



Be well, everybody. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Grace and Blessings.