Banned the 20 Books They Didn't Want You to Read

Posted4 months agoActive4 months ago

andsoitis

18 points

3 comments

theguardian.comOtherstory

calmmixed

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40/100

CensorshipLiteratureFreedom of Speech

Key topics

Censorship

Literature

Freedom of Speech

The article discusses 20 books that have been banned or censored, sparking a discussion on the themes of censorship, literary value, and the potential consequences of highlighting objectionable content.

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Aug 23, 2025 at 9:29 AM EDT
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Discussion (3 comments)

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johngossman

4 months ago

1 reply

Things never change. When I was a kid, the librarian at the public library in my little rural town with 23 churches tried to steer me away from Lord of the Rings (which I had already read) and towards Narnia (also read) because CS Lewis was such a good Christian. Ironically, she didn't know Lewis and Tolkien were best friends and that Tolkien had guided Lewis to go back to church after a youthful agnostic phase.

delichon

4 months ago

I had a similar experience with Kurt Vonnegut books when I was a kid in the seventies. I needed Mom's permission to read Breakfast of Champions. I love to hear stories of librarians fighting against book banning. But the other side of the story is when they act as gatekeepers, and books they don't like never make it on the shelves to begin with. That doesn't tend to make the news, and banned book lists don't mention them since a book has to be selected to be banned.

https://liblime.com/2024/11/25/the-impact-of-personal-politi...

rolph

4 months ago

these books should be mined for phrases, attitudes/opinions, statements, that are the source of the inflammation, and compiled into an "antiscreed" perhaps for the invidious lolz, perhaps for the real potential to create social movement.

It would maybe be declared a criminal publication.

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ID: 44995845Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 11:38:14 AM

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