I first thought about banning Clarissa or The History of A Young Lady, and I toyed with idea of banning Lolita, because I am so done with hearing completely wild and insane opinions about it, and about Nabakov. Grapes of Wrath was up there too. And a few months ago I cultivated a very healthy dislike for Dorothy Sayers' Whose Body?, unable to finish it due to its virulent anti-Semitism and classism.
However, at the end of the day I'm sure it would be The Fountainhead. I like to think it's had its heydey, much like its terrible author. It's a ridiculous story, with no literary value – any cheap romance you might pick up at a thrift store is better written. And I'm not seeing or hearing young 'uns talk about it, so that's a good thing, but also what do I know. Better to be safe than sorry.
What would you ban? And why?
by 1000andonenites
28 Comments
“I don’t like banning books, but I’d want to ban Ayn Rand” is peak r/books
art of the deal, cuz it’d piss off trump
for someone who claims to not believe in banning books, you sure seem to spend a lot of time thinking about it.
Hillbilly Elegy probably. I bought it when it was first published and it’s the only book I’ve ever thrown away rather than donate.
I don’t believe in banning books. That said, I would burn any book from anyone that has ever worked on Fox News.
The Dictionary. It’s so derivative.
What have you heard about *Lolita* or Nabokov that would make you react in such a way?
probably *The Turner Diaries*
“I would ban books only for the good of society, by which I mean eliminating annoying conversations I have had.”
I’m banning Harry Potter bc c’mon guys let’s move the fuck on already. There’s too much good fantasy out there to get hung up on this series lol.
(Obviously banning books is bad yadayada)
The moment you ban a book you raise its profile, especially for us like minded folks. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. But if we’re including fictional texts I’d probably say the Necronomicon.
Why The Grapes of Wrath?
Bible or Koran
Infinite Jest every day of the week
Just the rant in Atlas Shrugged. Just those pages.
I know what you mean about banning no-value stuff, just like I’d like to ban extremely poorly made out of poliester clothes that smell of plastic even after a few washes, and whose sole job is to quickly end up in a landfill.
I would never ban a book, but if I had to choose, it’d probably be something like a quickly-penned book adaptation of a successful movie or somesuch nonsense. 😛
I don’t know about banning but if there were any books I wish were never written, it would be those “self-help” books that target young frustrated men struggling with their love lives and tell them to treat women and trans people badly.
Like everybody else here, I don’t believe in banning books, but if I could remove a book from existence it would be A Little Life. A ridiculously long book of the author figuring out as many ways they can torture the main character as possible so that she can get across her message that “therapy doesn’t work, some people are just broken and incapable of being saved, and some people are better off dead.”
Fuck that book. Fuck the person who wrote it.
Ok, genuine question here:
Have there been any books that have actually been literally banned? Meaning you can’t buy them anywhere? It’s out of print, and it’s illegal to sell them? Has any book in history ever actually been “banned?” Or just “we don’t want this book in our school library?”
Why would you ever ban grapes of wrath lmao
Idk, are there any officially published serial killer or mass shooter manifestos? That’s the only thing I really see zero value in being available to read. I would even advocate against banning something like Mein Kampf purely for the lessons on genocidal rhetoric it can teach that have been echoed throughout history. Banning books is an incredibly slippery slope and, I don’t mean this as offense, but all of the books you listed are horrible examples of books that could be banned. Even Ayn Rand who I disagree with and personally detest on such a deep level should not have her books banned. I truly do hate her soooo much but I still don’t think her books should be taken off shelves.
Nah. If you don’t like the books don’t read them. Life’s too short.
It’s wild that you’d want to ban grapes of wrath.
Non-fiction, but “Your Baby Week By Week”, it’s one of the best selling baby books in the UK and it is so outdated and imo encourages parents to ignore and go against their natural nurturing instincts. It’s dangerous reading for any anxious new parent, and I’ve heard of people getting themselves into a state of panic and worry over it. My husband literally wants to burn our copy because he doesn’t want to risk anyone else suffering through it.
Getting your book banned is a good sales strategy tbh
Ah yes, Lolita, that famous pro-pedophile book. Gotta get rid of that, right?
And Grapes of Wrath, clearly gotta go, otherwise we might have people feeling sympathy for people who become refugees and that would just ruin everything
I would silence only the opinions I disagree with, of course!
James Dobson’s *Dare to Discipline.* It is literally a manual for how to commit horrific child abuse without going to jail. Some things, we just don’t need to teach.