LumenOS

Read Banned Books

Who's on first, What's on second, and idiots are in charge of the government and many aspects of education so book bans happen. Here's a bunch of resources to help, books to read, and where to read them!

The American Library Association's Banned and Challenged Books site: www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks

Wikipedia's banned book list by country: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_by_governments (Notice how The Anarchist Cookbook only appears 2 times here, Poor Man's James Bond 0 times, but Animal Farm appears 4 times, because apparently "don't exploit people for profits" is more dangerous that a guide to making pipe bombs!)

Tor Browser, a browser for anonymously browsing the internet (super secure, far more than any VPN, great for visiting book archives): ww.torproject.org/download/

Project Gutenberg, 70,000+ free eBooks: www.gutenberg.org/

Archive.org, lots of public domain books and other media: archive.org

The Banned Book Club, a Palace Project community offering a collection of banned eBooks: www.thebannedbookclub.info

The Online Books Page, find over 3 million books for free online, including a whole page for banned books: digital.library.upenn.edu/books/

Worried about someone seeing you read something they dislike over your shoulder? Tools like FasterThanSight, iReadFast, or similar speed reading tools can be used to obfuscate what you're reading while still allowing you to read easily. (A little trick I learned from Steal This Computer Book 4.0 by Wallace Wang)

Here's an article about libraries offering library cards and online books to people out of state or out of country: www.9thstreetbooks.com/how-to-get-a-library-card-online/ and here's another article by the same author with more resources to read books for free online: www.9thstreetbooks.com/how-to-read-books-online-for-free/

Check with your local library to see if they offer Libby, Hoopla, OverDrive, The Palace Project, or other eBook loaning software to allow quick, easy, and private borrowing of a large collection of books.

Here's all the reasons books have been banned/challenged in the US, as of 2023 (low to high, alphabetical):

"Alleges it is child pornography"	1
"Disgusting and all around offensive"	1
"Divisive language"	1
"Politically, racially, and socially offensive"	1
"Thought to promote an anti-police message and indoctrination of a social agenda”	1
“A bisexual main character”	1
“a deliberate attempt to indoctrinate young children”	1
“A scene describing the rescue of a naked women”	1
“Concerns that a group of teenagers will want to try it”	1
“Graphic depictions”	1
“Graphic Images”	1
“Poorly Written”	1
“Portrays Muslims in a negative light”	1
“Selective storytelling incidents”	1
“Setting bad examples”	1
“Sexual references exploiting a toddler “	1
“Sexuality was not appropriate at elementary levels”	1
“Too much of a sensitive matter right now”	1
Allegations/Comments of author	1
Anarchist Themes	1
Anti-christian themes	1
Anti-Communist views	1
Anti-semitism	1
Author's anti-Communism views	1
Author's public statements	1
Author's political views	1
believed to lead children to “want to have sex or ask questions about sex”	1
Bestiality	1
Challenging Authority	1
Child abuse	1
Concerns that the illustrations are inappropriate	1
Concerns that the title is inappropriate	1
Conflicting with a religious viewpoint	1
Content dealing with AIDs	1
Content dealing with Child abuse	1
Content dealing with eating disorders	1
Content dealing with feminine hygiene	1
Content dealing with firearms, later proven to have been fabricated	1
Content dealing with menstrual cycles	1
Content dealing with the issue of bullying	1
Content relate to the manufacturing of illicit narcotics and explosives	1
Criminal sexual allegations against the author	1
Criticism of Iran-Contra incident	1
Date Rape	1
Degrading to women	1
Depicting “immoral situations”	1
Depicting a “depressive view of life”	1
Depicting stereotypes of Mexican culture	1
Depictions of abuse	1
Depictions of mutilation	1
Depictions of torture	1
Discussions of gender identity	1
Discussions of puberty	1
Divisive Topics	1
Encouraging poor spelling	1
Family dysfunction	1
Glorification of militant nationalism	1
Graphic content	1
Includes a transgender child	1
Infidelity	1
Legitimisation of murder	1
Murder	1
Nazism	1
New Age religion	1
Nude drawings of Adam and Eve	1
Obscene topics	1
Portrayal of Muhammad in a negative light	1
Portrayal of slavery	1
Portrays Kern County, California in a negative light”	1
Potential to cause confusion	1
Potential to cause curiosity	1
Potential to cause gender dysphoria	1
Promoting negative behavior	1
Promotion of Islam	1
Psychiatric disorders	1
References to Adultery	1
References to animal mating	1
References to animal slaughter	1
References to beer	1
References to cults	1
References to Defeat	1
References to domestic violence	1
References to male prostitution	1
References to mental illness	1
References to pedophillia	1
References to Playboy magazine	1
References to punk rock	1
References to self harm	1
References to slavery	1
References to teen pregnancy	1
References to the Bible	1
References to the Holocaust	1
Ritualistic sex	1
Scariness	1
Scatological humor	1
Secular Humanism	1
Slang	1
Themes regarding slavery	1
Un-American content	1
Underage drug use	1
Witchcraft	1
Abortion	2
Anti-Police	2
Atheism	2
Author's pro-Socialism views	2
Bullying	2
Communist commentary	2
Criticism of Vietnam War	2
Crude Language	2
Darkness	2
Gambling	2
Gang Violence	2
Inaccurate	2
Mature Themes	2
Misogyny	2
Pro-Communist views	2
Racial stereotypes	2
References to divorce	2
Satanism	2
Sexual abuse	2
Religious Themes	3
Sexism	3
Themes of the occult	3
Violence Toward Women	3
Animal Abuse	4
Child sexual abuse	4
Death	4
Incest	4
References to masturbation	4
Anti-Family	5
Encourages disobedience	5
Political Viewpoint	5
Rape	5
Anti-Religion	6
Sexual References	6
Slurs	6
Suicide	6
Smoking	7
Alcohol	10
Nudity	10
Supernatural Themes	10
Racism	11
Religious Viewpoint	13
Sexual Education	15
Drug Use	18
Unsuited for age group	34
LGBTQIA+ content	38
Violence	44
Profanity	83
Sexual Content/Sexually Explicit	107

According to the American Library Association. Some catagories (strong language, obscene language) were collected into one category (profanity). Some catagories that seem similar but have key differences (sexual reference, sexual content) were kept separate. A single book may account for many reasons, some series may be grouped as one entry, and some may not have reasons given. For every ban reported, it is estimated 4-5 go unreported. Some bans date back 100 years, and may have since had their ban removed. Any reason "in quotes" is a direct quote from someone, or very specific to a certain book.

Here's the ALA's list of the 100 most banned books of the last century:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Looking for Alaska by John Green
George by Alex Gino
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
Internet Girls (series) by Lauren Myracle
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Bone (series) by Jeff Smith
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss
Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg
Alice McKinley (series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Scary Stories (series) by Alvin Schwartz
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
It's a Book by Lane Smith
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer
Bad Kitty (series) by Nick Bruel
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby by Dav Pilkey
This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Goosebumps (series) by R.L. Stine
In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco
Lush by Natasha Friend
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Holy Bible
This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Gossip Girl (series) by Cecily von Ziegesar
House of Night (series) by P.C. Cast
My Mom's Having A Baby by Dori Hillestad Butler
Neonomicon by Alan Moore
The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle
Dreaming In Cuban by Cristina Garcia
Fade by Lisa McMann
The Family Book by Todd Parr
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
Habibi by Craig Thompson
House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
Jacob's New Dress by Sarah Hoffman
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Nasreen's Secret School by Jeanette Winter
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
Stuck in the Middle by Ariel Schrag
The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
1984 by George Orwell
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
Awakening by Kate Chopin
Burned by Ellen Hopkins
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
Glass by Ellen Hopkins
Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesle'a Newman
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Madeline and the Gypsies by Ludwig Bemelmans
My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis
Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack
Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology by Amy Sonnie
Skippyjon Jones (series) by Judith Schachner
So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
The Color of Earth (series) by Tong-hwa Kim
The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter
The Walking Dead (series) by Robert Kirkman
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah S Brannen
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks