Celebrate Banned Books!

September is a month to celebrate banned books, the controversies that they force us to address and the material that they bring to light.

I have a sticker that says "I Sell Banned Books" attached to my name tag at work, and there are always customers who are surprised to see it. "Are there really still banned books?" they often ask. "In America? In this day and age?" The answer is yes. In public schools, libraries, and other places in communities across the country, not to mention the world, books from the Harry Potter series to stories by Neil Gaiman are banned. Some of them have been flagged because they promote allegiance to one's culture and ethnicity; some are banned because of the presentation of homosexuality, race differences, or other content that is offensive in some way to local authorities and community leaders. Many of these books are banned thanks to a single individual or a small group of people who take a book away from a larger group because they alone find something objectionable in it. And the loss of that book is a loss to the entire community.

These are not all books like "The Story of O" or "Crash," books that contain adult material throughout. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie is an example of a fantastic book that has been banned before, because it makes one allusion to a teenage boy masturbating. Never mind that the rest of the book addresses important issues like being stuck between two ethnic groups, or developing mature, healthy relationships with the opposite sex, or finding and embracing your strengths as a human being regardless of whether or not they're what you wish they were.

Many bookstores, libraries, and other community reading resources will be spreading the word about banned books and literary censorship in general during the ALA's Banned Books Week from the 21st to the 27th of this month. Take the opportunity to educate yourself about what books are still banned, where they are banned, and what you can do to help ensure that your reading options are not limited by the wishes of those around you. There is something out there for everyone in the world of literature. That means that while there is always something that is certain to please you, there is always something that will not be to your taste. But that which you choose not to read, for whatever reason, could be the most amazing thing that someone else has ever picked up. The freedom to read what we wish, regardless of what others wish us to read, is truly a treasure and is something that should be protected by readers everywhere.