The latest book ban craze in this country prompted me to take a deep dive into which books now and in the past. In Florida, this book banning is facilitated by our ridiculous governor, voted back into office by a large majority of voters as deluded by him as they were of trump.
Okay, the books. For a mean of comparison, let’s look back. In the 60s & 70s: To Kill a Mockingbird, Slaughterhouse Five, A Wrinkle in Time, Rabbit, Run, Catch-22 Tropic of Cancer, Forever, Lord of the Flies. These titles and others were were identified by the American Library Association. On a Reader’s Digest site, you’ll find the alleged reasons these books were banned.
In 2022, the most banned book has been – no surprise! – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
Penguin Books UK in 2019, said this about the ban of the 1985 book:
“Margaret Atwood’s fable about women’s power, fertility and the patriarchy may be so well-known that people dress up as its titular Handmaids for Halloween, but that hasn’t stopped it from being repeatedly banned over the past four decades. The Handmaid’s Tale has been criticised for a long list of reasons – for being anti-Christian and anti-Islamic and for its portrayal of sex and violence, among others. It remains the seventh-most challenged book on the American Library Association’s list of frequently challenged books. But, if The Handmaid’s Tale – and its author – teach us anything, it’s that resistance is power. “
They note that with book banning and gag orders becoming so prolific in Republican-led school districts across the U.S., Penguin Random House took did an unusual thing: they created a flame-proof copy of The Handmaid’s Tale. The You Tube video they made is at the top of the page.
Other books banned in 2022? To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Kafka on the Shore, Beartown, Thirteen Reasons Why… Every banned book holds a core idea that conservatives find offensive. A theocracy where women are used as sex slaves, teenage suicide, LGBTQ, racism, anti-war, book burning in an autocracy…
Here in Florida, the main idea is that removing certain books will make white kids and their parents feel better about themselves. DeSantis abhors what he calls the “woke” and passed a law – Stop Woke – that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in colleges.
“The law prohibits teaching or business practices that contend members of one ethnic group are inherently racist and should feel guilt for past actions committed by others. It also bars the notion that a person’s status as privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by their race or gender, or that discrimination is acceptable to achieve diversity.” wrote the AP.
The AP was reporting on how a federal judge in Tallahassee – a judge appointed by Obama – issued a temporary injunction against the Stop Woke act. He called it “Positively Dystopian.”
Since Covid, a lot of people have moved to Florida. Some came during the pandemic because they bought into the governor’s insistence that Florida was the freest state in the union – no required masks, no required Covid tests, no more lockdowns. Never mind that Florida lost more than 80,000 people to Covid.
So welcome to Florida, y’all, where we ban books, have election police, and love liars (trump) do nothings (marco rubio) and alleged sex traffickers (matt gaetz). As long as you fall into line with the governor’s vision, you’re welcome here.
p.s. I see more people have commented here since I posted my comment on the horror of book banning. What happened to freedom of the press? Today is another mini synchro with your site. I am now reading. “A Literate Passion” the letters between Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller. I’m all for passion in any form – no wait – not physical harm.
That’s an older book, right? I think I read it years back.
It was published after Nin’s death so older but not as old as the diaries.
OK, then I’ve read it. I remember thinking what an odd relationship they had. There was a movie, too, wasn’t there? Henry & June?
‘Henry & June’ starred Richard E Grant who I suggested in a previous post about maybe interviewing on your podcast show.
He played the husband of Anaïs Nin in that movie and Uma Thurman played Miller’s with June.
https://brizdazz.blogspot.com/2022/11/everywhere-i-look-lately-theres-richard.html
That should read “…played Miller’s wife June” 🙂
Wow, mystery solved! Thanks Daz!
Funny, as my youngest son finished reading my copy of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer and asked me yesterday if I wanted it back.
I said no way do I want that book sitting on my shelf now I have read it, and to give it away if he doesn’t want it.
So, he is going to put it in one of those neighbourhood book exchange community shelves for someone else to read and be touched by the wisdom of Henry’s foul-mouthed drunken rants 🙂
No more of Henry’s books for me thanks.
Henry was weird, no question about it. But a lot of writers during that era were.
Hi Rob and Trish! I was thinking of a hilarous and ironic truth regarding banned books, that being that I’ll bet banned books get read even MORE than books that are “safe.” It’s the old story of the “Adam and Eve Effect.” This means that the more controverisal and juicy the literary fruit is, the chances of taking a bite out of that fruit increases exponentially. As human beings, Iv’e observed that the things we want the most often ends up being the things that we can’t have. This applies to everything, not just banned books. We humans are natually curious and lean towards rebellion when we are told “No.” And hey, know what I just thought of? There are thousands of book clubs, so why not a “BANNED book” club? So- any couragous takers of this out there? Hope everyone here is safe and well!
I vote for banning people who ban books.
sounds good to me, Adele!
Yes and Amen! Me too, Adele!