Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove longs to break free from her respectable life as a Victorian doctor’s daughter. But her dreams become a nightmare when Louisa is sent to Wildthorn Hall: labeled a lunatic, deprived of her liberty and even her real name. As she unravels the betrayals that led to her incarceration, she realizes there are many kinds of prison. She must be honest with herself – and others – in order to be set free. And love may be the key…

Imagine growing up in Victorian times with a brother who loathed you, a mother who wished you were more girly, and a father who dotes on you and leaves you verily unprepared for life after he is gone. We meet Lousia Cosgrove on her way to a position as a companion for a rich young lady. Her family hopes this will teach Louisa to give up on her thoughts of becoming a doctor like her late father and become more of a lady. In essence to become marriageable.

Instead of arriving at a mansion Louisa is admitted to a mental hospital called Wildthorn Hall. Louisa is told she is mad, that her name isn’t even Louisa Cosgrove. Her name is Lucy Childs. That her family sent her to Wildthorn to heal. To remember who she truly is so she can go home.

Louisa is rocked mentally and abused physically by the brutish matrons in Wildthorn, save for one. Elisa is generally nice to Louisa even though she still calls her “Miss Childs”.

Wildthorn is a creepy Gothic Victorian tale of forbidden love, lesbian themes and the hope as a woman to be more than a tea stirrer. To be more than a breeding tool that supervises how much sugar the household has used in the past month. Louisa dares to love, dares to have a dream and for that she is committed to an institution as mad.

The question remains, is Louisa mad or is this all a conspiracy so vile from her family that she herself cannot fathom the motives.

If you like Jane Eyre, or Wuthering Heights I do so believe you will love Wildthorn Hall.

FTC Disclosure: This digital book was given to me for a short period by Netgalley at behest of the publisher.

Censorship has lots of different definitions. To me it boils down to something pretty simple. The act of censoring materials, beliefs or media is a tyrant activity. To actively seek to destroy, remove or eradicate anything just because it doesn’t bode well with you and your beliefs is a selfish and cowardly way to handle things that you do not agree with.

I don’t like a lot of things. White chocolate for instance. I hate that stuff, and it’s not really chocolate anyway. Do I start a campaign to rid America or the world of this dastardly imposer? Absolutely not. Some people actually eat that garbage and enjoy it.

Now you may say what does chocolate have to do with books, books that have sex, drugs, and (gasp) gay protagonists? Nothing. However taking these materials out of libraries, out of the hands of people who are in no way connected to your life or beliefs weighs at the same ridiculousness as a proposed ban on white chocolate to me.

To take books such as, Twilight, Wintergirls, Crank, and Luv Ya Bunches out of the hands of teens because you don’t think any teen should read them is ridiculous. Are you the parent or guardian of every teen on the planet? Absolutely not.

Just because you do not agree with materials doesn’t inherently make the materials wrong. It makes it wrong to you and your family, not mine. You see I have a plan, my plan involves my children being able to read any material that they want. I want it ready and available for them anywhere they look. I want this because I trust my children.

I talk to them. We discuss things, we are a team. I trust them to make the right decisions, to be humanitarians, to tell me things that they read that made them think or that they need clarification on. I will encourage them to read outside of their comfort zones, to push the limits of their beliefs and have an open mind to any culture.

Through learning only are we free. If you want to live in a box that you have created for yourself that only includes x and y that is fine. Leave me and mine out of it.

What do you think reader? Do you have a plan for censorship in home?

I would like to thank Amy, Danielle, Gail, Susan, & Tasha for weighing in. Their pieces were fantastic. Go read them already.

Welcome to Bookalicious and Censorship week. We all know I am a huge advocate for censoring in your own home and leaving others to do what they wish in their own. Instead of giving you post after post of my own opinion, I wanted to bring in some other awesome bloggers to give us their take on censorship and what it means to them personally and their thoughts on what it means to us as a society. Humans through the ages have always banned, censored, rallied against, and protested anything that fell beyond their comfort zones. Whether that zone is in place due to religion, upbringing, or personal morals I have never understood the need to force others to your mentality. As bloggers we have the platform to be anti-censorship. To be a flagship of open content and doing and saying on our own blogs what we see fit. We must outwardly oppose censorship of any piece of literature, even if we are censoring it in our own homes. What if we are the next to be censored? Freedom of journalistic integrity and blogging taken away. What then?

Here is what Tasha from Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books has to say:

Read No Evil

A few weeks ago, Farley’s Bookshop Blog had a post titled “Most People Don’t Want to Read,” an essay by William Hastings. Hastings posited that people don’t want their ideas and world views to be challenged, so they either don’t read or read pablum that they know will reinforce their world view.

As a reader, especially someone who reads what Hastings would undoubtedly label “summer reading,” I found his thesis offensive. Who is he to decide what will and won’t challenge people’s world views, to decide what’s worth reading? Just the act of reading fiction is a submission of one’s viewpoint to that of someone else, at least for a time, and thus is an acknowledgement that experiences outside of one’s ken are valuable–even if they do in the end wind up reinforcing a personal viewpoint.

However, I do think the post is pertinent when talking about censorship.

As various anecdotes prove, the most virulent supporters of censoring books wouldn’t read the books they want to censor if they were last pieces of writing on the planet. They don’t want their world view challenged. They don’t want the books to tempt them or their friends and family. These people are obviously fringe elements, however, and rarely have a lasting impact.

The issue with most societies is there are things that the vast majority of people would object to off-hand without ever considering it. Sometimes these things make sense, like child prostitution or incest. But whether they make sense or not isn’t the point–the point is, if confronted with a taboo, most people don’t want to confront it, consider it, or read about it. It’s wrong, period.

But that’s where the role of genre comes in. Genre provides a structure to reinforce our favorite societal myths–romance and Westerns being two particularly appropriate examples. They are comforting reads of the sort which Hastings would undoubtedly deride. But subversive elements swish through the waters of that comforting, reinforcing framework. People of different classes and races mixing together, changing of genre roles, incest, and question of what is bad and what is good are all things that can be found in genre novels. No, they may not confront issues outright–but then if they did who would read them, or who would publish them?

So in a way, Hastings is right–people don’t want to read things that challenge them too much. Even the most liberal of human beings has a line; people should have lines. But the books he dismisses as an utter waste of brainpower are not. More people listen to a whisper than a shout, and a book someone enjoys is more likely to make an impact on them. In the end, Hastings’ manifesto is its own sort of censorship, reserving books for an educated intelligentsia who can afford to criticize many things from their ivory towers and ignore the fact that they have their own taboos.

But books aren’t just for smart people, or rich people. Books are for everyone.

So read–just read. And don’t let anyone ever tell you what you should and shouldn’t be reading.

Goodreads: Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.

In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers.

Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.

Oh Alexandra Bracken please tell me there is a sequel coming. You see I am kind of annoyed with every book in the YA market having a sequel or being a series or a trilogy but I really want to know what happens to Waylen and Sydelle next.

Fantasy is a favorite genre of mine. From Lord of the Rings to Middle Grade fantasy such as Septimus Heap, I find myself pulled towards stories involving magic and mythical beasts. I am a pretty tough critic of the genre, I have high expectations and I think Bracken met every one of my criteria.

Sydelle was a believable character in the midst of a fantasy setting. She had a rough life living in a drought plagued spot with a whole lot of worries. Then came Wayland bringing the rain. Dust turned to clay and Sydelle’s life will never be never the same.

Brightly Woven is a tale weaved with sadness, hope, realization, and intrigue. There are so many small “Aha!” moments you will never see coming. The drought, Sydelle’s part in the fate of the nation, and Wayland’s motives for everything he does will keep you reading and interested throughout the story.

Bracken is a fantastic story teller, I hope to see more fantasy coming from this young and bright author.

If you like Finnikin of the Rock or Graceling and Fire you will love Brightly Woven.

FTC Disclosure: This book was borrowed from fellow blogger Debbie’s World of Books.

Welcome to Bookalicious and Censorship week. We all know I am a huge advocate for censoring in your own home and leaving others to do what they wish in their own. Instead of giving you post after post of my own opinion, I wanted to bring in some other awesome bloggers to give us their take on censorship and what it means to them personally and their thoughts on what it means to us as a society. Humans through the ages have always banned, censored, rallied against, and protested anything that fell beyond their comfort zones. Whether that zone is in place due to religion, upbringing, or personal morals I have never understood the need to force others to your mentality. As bloggers we have the platform to be anti-censorship. To be a flagship of open content and doing and saying on our own blogs what we see fit. We must outwardly oppose censorship of any piece of literature, even if we are censoring it in our own homes. What if we are the next to be censored? Freedom of journalistic integrity and blogging taken away. What then?

What Susan from Waste Paper Prose has to say:

I’m a first amendment kind of girl. I’m an express-yourself-and-don’t-give-a-damn-what-other-people-think kind of girl. And admittedly, I’m the kind of girl who doesn’t hold back when I’ve got something to say, even when it could get me in trouble.

Opinions matter. They generate debate and spawn ideas. They shake up the status quo, force people to take a deeper look at issues, and hold the potential for solution and innovation. The problem is that sometimes people aren’t terribly keen on hearing the opinions of others.

Therein lies the root of censorship.

It’s a phenomenon that has always fascinated me. Whenever anything forces people to look at something they don’t want to see or consider a point of view that’s not their own then eradication always seems to be the answer. Eliminate the offending material. Wipe it off the face of the Earth. Sweep it under the rug. Forget about it. And most importantly, never consider the possibility that you could learn something.

Trouble is that the quest to do away whatever it is usually creates more buzz. I know my ears perk up when I hear about any instance of censorship. They have since I was a teenager. If it was off limits then I had to see what the big deal was.

That’s how I found Forever by Judy Blume. It was in the top ten on the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books for a decade solid, from 1990-2000, because it contained suggestive language and depictions of teenage sexuality and sexual intercourse. Learning it had been challenged sealed the deal for me. I had to read it. When I did, I wasn’t the least bit shocked or offended. Why? Because it felt real.

In retrospect, the moment I finished that book might have been the same one in which I came to understand that just because something is challenged, censored or banned doesn’t mean that it’s inherently bad. In most cases, it just means that the book, or whatever the item in question may be, pushed boundaries and that someone, somewhere was offended by it.

By no means am I advocating for every controversial book in existence nor am I saying that everyone will value these books or find insight in their pages. What I am saying is censorship isn’t an absolute. It’s the product of opinions. It’s someone saying “you shouldn’t read this because I don’t approve of it”.

Ultimately, you have to make up your own mind.

Welcome to Bookalicious and Censorship week. We all know I am a huge advocate for censoring in your own home and leaving others to do what they wish in their own. Instead of giving you post after post of my own opinion, I wanted to bring in some other awesome bloggers to give us their take on censorship and what it means to them personally and their thoughts on what it means to us as a society. Humans through the ages have always banned, censored, rallied against, and protested anything that fell beyond their comfort zones. Whether that zone is in place due to religion, upbringing, or personal morals I have never understood the need to force others to your mentality. As bloggers we have the platform to be anti-censorship. To be a flagship of open content and doing and saying on our own blogs what we see fit. We must outwardly oppose censorship of any piece of literature, even if we are censoring it in our own homes. What if we are the next to be censored? Freedom of journalistic integrity and blogging taken away. What then?

Here is what Gail from Ticket to Anywhere has to say:

Growing up I was pretty lucky, my parents had a good income and so I never wanted for anything. It is also because of my parents that I developed a love of reading at an early age. My dad used to read my bedtime stories and as I got older and started to read on my own they used books as a reward. In book stores or the library I was free to browse and take home any book that I wanted. My parents could have told me that I couldn’t read book x or y but they never did. Did they look at what I read? Sure. My mom would even borrow books that I checked out or bought after I read them if I really enjoyed them. But they never told me I couldn’t read something. They knew what a fraidy cat I could be and knew if something got too graphic that I would stop reading before I scared myself into nightmares. My parents trusted me to self-censor what I thought I could and couldn’t handle.

Its because of this freedom that I’ve been able to go out and explore topics that I haven’t experienced first hand. Its through reading books that I can learn the horrors that exist in the world and learn from the experiences of others. I can pick up books by Ellen Hopkins and learn about the long term effects of drug use and get a better and longer lasting argument on why drugs are bad. One that works far far better than those “Just Say No” campaigns. I can also pick up Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran and learn about a world and culture so very different from my own. I can see through another person’s eyes about how dangerous an idea can be to some people. But Nafisi also shows the courage and strength and the amazing things that some people will do to keep that spark of free thought alive. To think that if she’d been caught reading books like Daisy Miller or Lolita that she could have been beaten, imprisoned or even killed is mind boggling to me.

Books are filled with ideas. They are filled with the thoughts and possibilities of others. They are a record of our history, of where we came from, where we are and where we could be in the future. Words can create a spark that make people think and evaluate how the world is. What if Upton Sinclair never wrote The Jungle? What if no one read it? Would the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exist as we know it today if this book didn’t exist? For it is because of this book, this work of fiction that people in the US sat up, took notice and began to realize just what horrible places the meat packing plants in the US were. Through a piece of fiction legislation was made and there are now standards to be followed. If someone had censored this book from being published or read then the public wouldn’t have reacted as they did and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 would probably never have been created. The Bureau of Chemistry never established and therefore it never would have turned into the FDA in 1930.

Just stop and think on that for a moment. Just think about the power that a book had on the world that we know today. The Jungle is just one book among millions. One thought. One person’s viewpoint that created so much out of nothing. So when I hear about other books being banned and words censored my blood begins to boil a little. I think about all those books that have had an effect on who I am. How I think and even the industry that I work in. If it wasn’t for The Jungle then the industry that I’ve made my career in probably wouldn’t exist. Where would I be today if it wasn’t for this book?

Yes, books and ideas can be scary things. They can shake your thoughts up and touch your soul. They can reaffirm your beliefs and they can make you think about the world around you. I love the books that make me question who I am and the world around me. The stories that make me wonder if I am making the right choices. Its these books that keep me aware of the world around me. That make me want to stand up and say something when I see something unjust happening. Its so easy to ban a thought or to suppress an idea because it challenges you. But to say nothing. To do nothing. To assume that because you aren’t directly affected by an issue that you can ignore it and life will be fine. To me, saying nothing is a quiet acceptance. To not do something because I am not black or gay or the affected party is the same as saying that I am ok with liberties being suppressed. Censorship effects everyone not just those being censored. I could go on and on and on but will stop with this one last thought from Martin Niemöller who says it far better then I could even imagine.

“First they came for the Communists ;

I did not speak because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews ;
I did not speak because I was not a Jew.
Then they came to fetch the workers, members of trade unions ;
I did not speak because I was not a trade unionist.
Afterwards, they came for the Catholics ;
I did not say anything because I was a Protestant.
Eventually they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak …”

Martin Niemöller,Pastor
Dachau, 1942.

The next time you see or hear of someone/something being censored think of Niemoller’s quote. Ask yourself, if you were the effected party would you want others to speak for you? And ask yourself when you see unjustice what might happen if you don’t speak up. Never think that your voice doesn’t matter. One person can make a difference. You don’t think so? After all what can one person do in such a vast sea of humanity?

Well just look at what Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman wrote about that in their book Into the Labyrinth: “In the vastness of the ocean, is any drop of water greater than another? No single drop has the ability to cause a tidal wave. But, I argue, if a single drop falls into the ocean, it creates ripples. And these ripples spread. And perhaps – who knows – these ripples may grow and swell and eventually break foaming upon the shore. Like a drop in the vast ocean, each of us causes ripples as we move through our lives. The effects of whatever we do – insignificant as it may seem – spread out beyond us. We may never know what far-reaching impact even the simplest action might have on our fellow mortals. Thus, we need to be conscious, all of the time, of our place in the ocean, of our place in the world, of our place among our fellow creatures. For, if enough of us join forces, we can swell the tide of events – for good or evil.”

Really makes you think doesn’t it? We are all drops in an ocean and as such we all have the power to make tidal waves of change. Always question what you don’t understand. Never stop learning. Never stop fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves. We’re all in this together. You might think that by banning one book, one voice, that nothing will happen. That its irrelevant and won’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. But what if that one voice was the one that would create a wave that would lead to the end of cancer or AIDS or to the creation of the FDA. Suddenly, it doesn’t seem like such a small thing after all, does it?

Goodreads: Plum Coyle is on the edge of adolescence. Her fourteenth birthday is approaching, when her old life and her old body will fall away, and she will become graceful, powerful, and at ease. The strength of the objects she stores in a briefcase under her bed —a crystal lamb, a yoyo, an antique watch, a coin —will make sure of it. Over the next couple of weeks, Plum’s life will change. Her beautiful neighbor Maureen will begin to show Plum how she might fly. The older brothers she adores will court catastrophe in worlds that she barely knows exist. And her friends, her worst enemies, will tease and test, smelling weakness. They will try to lead her on and take her down.

I usually don’t talk about book covers here except for my end of the year best and worst covers video. However Butterfly has such an amazing cover I can’t pass up the chance to speak about it. The window, the light it seems so uplifting. I think it mirrors Plum’s transition perfectly.

I really enjoyed Plum’s story. What little girl hasn’t felt a bit of low self esteem during what I like to call the awkward years. Plum believes that when she turns fourteen her body full of baby fat will fall away and she will go from the ugly duckling straight into swan-hood over night. She tries to diet by not eating her lunch which was the idea of her neighbor Maureen who is older, more sophisticated and ethereally beautiful.

This is just the first advice Maureen gives to Plum. Maureen takes hold of Plum and starts deciding bits of her life. Who her friends should be, what she should eat, what she should wear. I began to wonder what the woman was doing and when Hartnett let the proverbial cat out of the bag I had no clue it was coming.

The reader knows what is going on just a bit before our protagonist and I quite liked it that way. Gauging how Plum will react to a situation is very hard. I had a bit of a hard time holding to the story at some points just because of all the Australian references that I couldn’t grasp immediately.

The ending of the book left me wondering what in the heck actually happened and what the point was? I am so conflicted, I loved Plum, I loved her world, I was enamored with the writing but I just don’t understand what happened or why. Maybe I am not meant to. Maybe there is a bigger picture that is just going straight over my proverbial head.

If you like Beth Kephart you will like Butterfly.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review.

Welcome to Bookalicious and Censorship week. We all know I am a huge advocate for censoring in your own home and leaving others to do what they wish in their own. Instead of giving you post after post of my own opinion, I wanted to bring in some other awesome bloggers to give us their take on censorship and what it means to them personally and their thoughts on what it means to us as a society. Humans through the ages have always banned, censored, rallied against, and protested anything that fell beyond their comfort zones. Whether that zone is in place due to religion, upbringing, or personal morals I have never understood the need to force others to your mentality. As bloggers we have the platform to be anti-censorship. To be a flagship of open content and doing and saying on our own blogs what we see fit. We must outwardly oppose censorship of any piece of literature, even if we are censoring it in our own homes. What if we are the next to be censored? Freedom of journalistic integrity and blogging taken away. What then?

Here is what Danielle from There’s a Book has to say.

Censorship and My Children
With the recent activity in the world of book banning and censorship, as well as a recent review I wrote, I haven’t been able to get away from this topic. So, I’m actually quite happy Pam has given me the opportunity to chat a bit about this often touchy subject.
About three months ago I read and reviewed the book Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James (You can read my review here: http://www.theresabook.com/2010/06/book-review-beautiful-malice-by-rebecca-james/). A profound book, covering topics like friendship, underage drinking and drug use, teen pregnancy, gang rape and murder, and much, much more. As an adult I found the book to be beautifully written and one I’d highly recommend to many of my friends. But upon completing the book I questioned it’s appropriateness for the young adult audience, being that it was placed in that genre. I sought out the opinions of others, friends and strangers alike, and came to no certain conclusion with one exception. Censorship, or in this case screening, is something best kept within the walls of your own home.
The books we read have a personal impact on us, individual and unique to each reader. Whether we are age ten or sixty, our reading preferences can vary from comedy to horror the way one person enjoys chocolate versus licorice. Just because I’m a chocolate person doesn’t give me the right to deny my husband his favorite black licorice treat. Nor could I deny another the privilege of their favorite author or the potential of a new book series. And even more deeply, how could I deny a person, no matter their age, the comfort and/or escape they so often long for?
Now, my children, on the other hand fall into a different category. I’m responsible for them. I care for them and hopefully teach them the things they need to know to be happy and successful in their lives. Yes, we are a religious family, in fact we happen to be Mormon. And yes, it does influence the way I live my life, how could it not? But I don’t feel my religious views give me license to inflict my beliefs on others and deny them the opportunity of making discoveries of their own. Some will argue with me on that, but that’s my opinion. If you have questions about my beliefs, feel free to ask, but I’m not going to impose them on you when you aren’t honestly seeking them out.
So how does that apply to my feelings on censorship. My beliefs as well as many of the life experiences I’ve had affect the choices I make; including what I read, the things I choose to take into my body and yes, how I parent my children (not yours). I have no more right to tell you, or someone I’ve never even met before what they (or their children) can or cannot read. By so doing it would conflict with the very core of my beliefs which center around the ability to have freedom in your choices.
Chances are, my daughter and son will not be reading Beautiful Malice until I feel they are mature enough to handle the subject matter. I grew up in a home where things like sex, drinking, doing drugs and similar topics were discussed openly and frequently. I’m hoping to carry on that tradition with my children and by so doing give them the opportunity to discuss these difficult subjects when they encounter them, whether it be in “real” life or in a book/movie. Unfortunately, not every child has the same home environment I hope to raise my children in and often books can be a huge source of strength and comfort to those seeking answers.
As someone who promotes literacy and education, how could I possibly deny a child these stories? If a parent struggles with a difficult subject and the appropriateness of it in their child, then they need to talk with their child about it and not the superintendent of the local school district. Sorry, they may “care”, but where were they when your child was learning to walk? You’ve always been there for your child, be there for them with their choices in media. Truly, if they know how you feel and have an honest relationship with you, the choice will be easy for them.

Welcome to Bookalicious and Censorship week. We all know I am a huge advocate for censoring in your own home and leaving others to do what they wish in their own. Instead of giving you post after post of my own opinion, I wanted to bring in some other awesome bloggers to give us their take on censorship and what it means to them personally and their thoughts on what it means to us as a society. Humans through the ages have always banned, censored, rallied against, and protested anything that fell beyond their comfort zones. Whether that zone is in place due to religion, upbringing, or personal morals I have never understood the need to force others to your mentality. As bloggers we have the platform to be anti-censorship. To be a flagship of open content and doing and saying on our own blogs what we see fit. We must outwardly oppose censorship of any piece of literature, even if we are censoring it in our own homes. What if we are the next to be censored? Freedom of journalistic integrity and blogging taken away. What then?

Here is what Amy from My Friend Amy has to say:

One of the things I most love about reading is that it is a low risk way to confront my prejudices. Often, going into a book, I have no idea that some of my ideas about life or people might be challenged. I might not realize that I’ll be asked to slip into the mind of someone very different from myself and feel the things they feel as they experience a variety of situations I may never experience. I really believe that reading fiction allows me to become a more sympathetic person.

This is one of the reasons I cannot tolerate the idea of censorship. Granted, I have always read what I wanted to read. It’s a freedom I do not take for granted, especially as I’m learning more and more about book banning. Censorship is a form of control that should not be tolerated in our society. Censorship is when one person or groups of people try to shape the information intake and thus the way another group of people thinks. This usually benefits a majority rules type mindset. This is particularly cruel, because books are often where we first discover we are truly not alone.

Are books a cause for fear? Well yes. Because reading by its very nature encourages thought, sympathy, empathy, imagination, and the changing of one’s mind. If you are seeking a world uniform in thought, a world that is grey, where injustice goes unnoticed, and everyone is exactly the same then books are the most terrifying objects there are. Books contain the the story of us, of all of us, humans working out our different situations through artistry, trying to make sense of the messy, holy, mystery of life. But no book is a simple object and no reading experience invites a uniform response. Each individual responds and reacts to what they find in the pages of a book in a way that is unique to them.

Living in this world is hard. There is no reason to make it harder by trying to control the way we think, by barring books that express a different worldview from ours from the shelves, by robbing ourselves of the chance to feel a little more human compassion for one another, to feel angry by injustice, to feel empowered to realize we are not alone. Can’t we put aside our fear and instead open our ears and start talking to one another instead?