Return of Banned Book Week 2017

In our culture no books are formally banned. Most book "banning" today takes place in schools, where librarians, parents, and teachers try to wrestle with the gray area of which books are age appropriate for which children. But there still are those who would try, on their say so, to ban a book. One of the worst things a book reviewer can say is "do not read this book." But I hear book reviewers say this quite proudly. Often it's simply because they believe the book is unreadable, poorly written, the author did a bad job. But to say "do not read" is just too arrogant for me, too conceited, it's authoritarian and something like telling the book "you're fired!" Who wants to be that person? Don't be that person. Usually the reason is bad writing, but sometimes it's a review that sets off a tweetstorm because the book doesn't meet some vague and artificial standard of "cultural sensitivity." This is the new censorship, the new book banning. A book has a character who says racist things? Don't read it! The author is a racist! So I can't read Merchant of Venice (anti-semitism), Taming of the Shrew (misogyny), or Othello (racism). I may choose not to read them (I am going to read them), but certainly not on the word of someone else. What I read is my choice and I will decide for myself. I can't make any substantive comment on a book I haven't read. Neither should anyone else. As an aside, there are authors I feel I can't support, and make a point of only obtaining their books used or from a library. But that's because I don't want to put money in their pockets. And because I'm cheap.

As mentioned above, no books in our society are actually banned. Any real limitation takes place at the publishing level where certain books simply don't get accepted for publication. But self-publishing is still available (see Joy of Cooking, The Martian, A Christmas Carol). So really this talk about "banning" is somewhat exaggerated. But only somewhat, as I see the hysteria of Banned Books Week as a bulwark against censorship yet to come. As recently as the 1960s efforts were made to actually ban books in the U.S. Other countries still have banned books. I see First Amendment warriors as pushing Banned Books Week with such enthusiasm to maintain a weapon for use against any future government effort to actually ban a book. Can we say, in times such as these, that it's impossible? So "thank you!" to those who stand on guard today, for that tomorrow when the book burnings start.  🐢