Let Freedom Read -- Banned Books Week

Once upon a time, Banned Books Week was fun. Back in college, I was a member of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. Banned Books Week was a big deal to us. We celebrated the books that had offended somebody somewhere, challenged conventional thinking, or simply dared to tell stories that made people uncomfortable.

There was something wonderfully rebellious about it. We were readers, writers, and lovers of literature. Of course we wanted to read the forbidden books!

Somewhere along the way, the conversation changed. What once seemed an amusing exercise in literary defiance has now become a profoundly serious struggle over who gets to decide what the rest of us are allowed to read.

According to the American Library Association, 4,235 unique book titles were challenged in 2025. This isn't simply a matter of an occasional offended parent questioning a book. Organized censorship campaigns are targeting entire collections.

Whether we agree with the ideas in those books or not, that censorship should concern every single one of us. The freedom to read isn't about agreeing with every book on the shelf. It's about protecting everyone's right to choose what they read.

October 10 is Let Freedom Read Day, the culmination of Banned Books Week 2026. 

I still believe in the joy of discovering a book that challenges everything you thought you knew. But these days, I'm not laughing quite as much about banned books. Some freedoms are simply too important to take for granted.

Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.

Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association 

Banned Books Week

This article was composed with the assistance of ChatGPT.