11 of My Favorite Banned Books You Should Absolutely Read Once
“Depiction does not equal endorsement.” One of my favorite quotes this year that came up on a TikTok discussing a Twitter user that was trying to ‘cancel’ every writer from Shakespeare to Colleen Hoover (different topic to unpack, but not dissimilar to the banning conversation). Banned books week happened recently, and every year, I’m always shocked at seeing some of my favorite books on the banned books list. While there are many lists, and you can check a few here, here, and here, a book only has to be banned in one place for it to be added to the ever-growing list. Sometimes they’re banned for content, or a difference of beliefs.
Just because you might not agree with the content in a book, doesn’t mean that book isn’t still valuable to read. And often, it’s incredibly educational. And yes, of course, there are exceptions to this in terms of content, but that’s not what this post is about. If you surround yourself in an echo chamber of everyone who thinks like you do, you’ll never learn to truly hone and develop your own discernment skills. Plus, some of these bans are so beyond irrational, and are very much beloved books by the wide world.
Below you’ll find some of my favorite books that have made a banned books list in the past.
MAUS I+II by Art Spiegelman
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
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