Book Banning in 21st-Century America

With book banning increasing around America, this book breaks down how and why contemporary reading practices can lead to censorship. Requests for the redaction, removal, relocation, and restriction of books – also known as challenges – have markedly increased in the 2020s. Book Banning in 21st-Century America examines 25 contemporary cases of book challenges in schools and public libraries across the United States, demonstrating the significance of contemporary reading practices, especially interpretive strategies, in understanding why some attempt to censor books in public institutions. What does it mean to read a text? How do readers construct their own ideas about what constitutes “appropriate” reading materials? This book focuses on the why of censorship and posits that many censorship behaviors and practices, such as challenging books and targeting public libraries and schools, are intimately tied to the challenger’s understanding of the practice of reading and its effects on character development and behavior. It discusses reading as an evolving social practice that encompasses different physical modalities and interpretive strategies.