“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” - C. S. Lewis

Happy Banned Books Week, everyone!

Every year, usually in the last week of September, the American Librarians Association (ALA) hosts Banned Books Week as a celebration of reading and an opportunity to educate about censorship. It feels like we at PSB and the book community at large have been having a lot of discussions this year about First Amendment rights, censorship, and the "right" to a platform, and dipping into that discussion seems like a fitting kick-off for the week.

The curating and selling of books isn't quite the same matter of life and death that, say, suppressing information about the full extent of the danger of a pandemic is but it's still pretty important. The majority of the books on ALA's list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2019, books like George by Alex Gino or Drama by Raina Telgemeier, met opposition because of they included LGBTQA+ characters, discussed sex, or challenged "traditional family values" by presenting stories that fall outside of those traditional structures. Presenting otherness in a positive light could give young readers ideas about inclusion that could threaten existing power structures; something that people who ban books tend to fear, but I think is a good thing. (As an aside, queer kids NOT getting access to queer books can be a matter of life and death, or at least a matter of happy life or crippling depression.)

In March, employees of Big 5 publisher Hachette walked out protesting the acquisition of director Woody Allen's memoir, Apropos of Nothing, in part because he denied the allegations of sexual abuse by his daughter Dylan Farrow. Hachette eventually canceled Allen's book, and defenders of Allen cried censorship and called the decision a violation of Allen's First Amendment rights. The thing is First Amendment rights do not include a right to a publishing contract or adequate book promotion. He did end up publishing the book with a different publisher; a real First Amendment violation would have been imprisoning Allen for publishing the book at all.

You could say, and many people online have, that choosing not to carry a book in an independent bookstore can count as censorship. Aside from the practical limits of only being able to fit so many books in a brick-and-mortar store, on a shelf, I feel the same way about a bookseller's obligation to stock and promote certain books as I do about a publisher's obligation to provide an author a platform: there isn't one. I'm going to quote Neil Gaiman here, who articulates this better than I have managed to so far: "The First Amendment states that you can't be arrested for saying things the government doesn't like. You can say what you like, write what you like, and know that the remedy to someone saying or writing or showing something that offends you is not to read it, or to speak out against it." Choosing not to stock a book is speaking out, choosing not to publish a book can also speaking out against objectionable content, saying "we're not putting our money behind something that doesn't align with our values." That doesn't stop someone from publishing, doesn't legally punish someone for what they've written, but it does allow a bookstore or publisher a choice in the information they work with.

Speaking out and fostering discussion is the best way to interact with media we find offensive when it's out in the world. For example, after J. K. Rowling's anti-trans commentary and the publication of the decidedly anti-trans new Robert Galbraith novel, Shana recently made some bookmarks to put in all of the J. K. Rowling books we carry that includes reading suggestions for book by trans and nonbinary authors. It's a way to change the discussion. Banning a book snuffs out this kind of conversation entirely and ends the possibility of education.

I'm not sure there's a concrete point to be made here other than that who gets access to write and read is incredibly nuanced, that banning a book outright doesn't only stop the possibility of nuanced discussion, but discussion at all, that speaking out and making your voice heard can be accomplished in a variety of ways, that the obligation of the law and the obligation of a bookstore or publisher are not the same, that the need to eradicate hate and misinformation while not suppressing voices is a difficult balance to strike. My fellow booksellers and I are frequently discussing this, and that's the value of Banned Books Week, to continue conversations about censorship in publishing.So read a banned book, discuss it with people in your life. I hope it's a good week.

Curbside Pick Up: Daily, 3PM-7PM

Virtual: Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green, Becoming a Good Creature

PSB is delighted to present a virtual event for Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green's new picture book, Becoming a Good Creature, called "full of conviction, wisdom, and essential truths" by Kirkus Reviews! This event is free and open to all, and hosted on Crowdcast.

School is not the only place to find a teacher. In this picture book adaptation of Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green’s New York Times best-selling How to Be a Good Creature, learn the many surprising lessons animals have to teach us about friendship, compassion, and how to be a better creature in the world.

Sy Montgomery has had many teachers in her life: some with two legs, others with four, or even eight! Some have had fur, feathers, or hooves. But they’ve all had one thing in common: a lesson to share.

The animals Sy has met on her many world travels have taught her how to seek understanding in the most surprising ways, from being patient to finding forgiveness and respecting others. Gorillas, dogs, octopuses, tigers, and more all have shown Sy that there are no limits to the empathy and joy we can find in each other if only we take the time to connect.

Based on the New York Times best-selling adult memoir, Sy Montgomery and Rebecca Green's beautiful, friendly guide is for readers young and old who wish to be better creatures in the world. Go ahead, pass it on.

Virtual: Andrea Hairston with Daniel José Older, Master of Poisons

Porter Square Books is pleased to present a virtual talk with Andrea Hairston, author of Master of Poisons, in conversation with Daniel José Older! Award-winning author Andrea Hairston weaves together African folktales and postcolonial literature into unforgettable fantasy in Master of Poisons. This event is hosted on Crowdcast, and is free and open to all!

The world is changing. Poison desert eats good farmland. Once-sweet water turns foul. The wind blows sand and sadness across the Empire. To get caught in a storm is death. To live and do nothing is death. There is magic in the world, but good conjure is hard to find.

Djola, righthand man and spymaster of the lord of the Arkhysian Empire, is desperately trying to save his adopted homeland, even in exile.

Awa, a young woman training to be a powerful griot, tests the limits of her knowledge and comes into her own in a world of sorcery, floating cities, kindly beasts, and uncertain men.

Awash in the rhythms of folklore and storytelling and rich with Hairston's characteristic lush prose, Master of Poisons is epic fantasy that will bleed your mind with its turns of phrase and leave you aching for the world it burns into being.

So, you want to read some banned books, do you? Don't know where to start? Here are some suggestions from the ALA's Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books from 2010-2019!

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson

Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples

Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen

Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Our bookseller bundles have expanded again! Hannah has joined the fun with her new horror bundle! Having trouble getting into spirit this unusual Halloween? Hannah will hand pick you three spine-chilling paperback novels that will make you double check your locks and hide beneath the covers. Let’s embark on a journey of short story compilations, female horror writers, horror poetry, Halloween books for youth, and classic horror together. Now light that pumpkin spice candle and let’s take a ride to Halloween Town.

You can re-watch all of our virtual events on Crowdcast. Check out our Debut Voices event from Thursday with Cathleen Barnhart, Lorien Lawrence, Cat Scullly, Kaela Noel, Josh Roberts.

And don't forget to subscribe to our Events Newsletter for the full line up of events coming up, and to our Kids Newsletter for all the latest on events, new books, reviews, and more for young and young-at-heart readers.