Episode Details

Happy “Banned” Books week, to all who celebrate. [1. Photo by Joshua Newton on Unsplash.] Yes, we’ve used scare quotes! Some of these books are scary and earn caution. Yet some people think you’ll be so happily scared by hearing these books are “banned” that you’ll want to support them automatically. About this trope, we have questions. Aren’t some books really horrible for some or most or all readers? If so, is this really a matter of whether these books should be banned? And if so, who should ban them from which kinds of readers, and why?

Subscribe to Lorehaven

middle grade • teens + YA • adults • onscreen • author resources • gifts • guild

Episode sponsors

1. Oasis Audio: The Mermaid’s Tale by L. E. Richmond
2. Almost Paradise by Bryan Timothy Mitchell
3. The Pop Culture Parent by Ted Turnau, E. Stephen Burnett, and Dr. Jared Moore

Concession stand

• “Banned Books Week” is led by the American Library Association.
• Some celebrants have genuine beliefs, including a basic freedom idea.
• We’re speaking directly to the marketing shtick that can appeal to fans.
• See some silly examples like, “Repeat after me: I read banned books!”
• Or see a more benign example: “These are the most banned books …”
• The list includes, say, Huck Finn, Animal Farm, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451.
• Do watch inflammatory (ha ha) terms like “banned” with implications.
• “Banned” does not mean “burned,” though you may make associations.
• Words like these are often used as shortcuts to “hack” your imagination.
• When we say banned, more positively, we only mean limited, restricted.
• Also, some “banned books” shtick isn’t political. It’s basically clickbait.

Quotes and notes

• American Library Association: Banned Books Week (October 1 – 7, 2023)
• New York Post: School purges books published before 2008 in ‘illogical’ inclusivity push
• TED.com: