Banned Books discussion

I recently read Insane Entities, and I’m honestly surprised it’s still available. It’s the kind of book that doesn’t just question beliefs—it rips them apart and rebuilds them into something unsettling. I read it thinking it was just another horror novel, but the deeper I went, the more I realized it was playing with something bigger. It twists religious themes in ways that feel almost… dangerous? No wonder someone was so rattled that they left a warning about it on Goodreads.

A warning about a book's contents is one thing. Banning it is quite another. There are far more disturbing books out there. I personally don't advocate banning anything.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "A warning about a book's contents is one thing. Banning it is quite another. There are far more disturbing books out there. I personally don't advocate banning anything."

Exactly. Reading is supposed to make you think and challenge you. Especially a book like that. I really enjoyed The Golden Compass which is absolutely anti-Catholic Church and nailed the whole childhood innocence nonsense debate long before that hit the mainstream in 2020.

It's Ok to keep Mein Kampf in the library and librarians are absolutely not allowed to ask why someone wants to read the book, nor are they responsible for what one does with the information. No books should be banned unless it's a science based book presenting false information.

I don't even think in that case. I think ones that advocate molesting children or have explicit pictures of kids are the only books that should be banned.

QNPoohBear wrote: "Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "A warning about a book's contents is one thing. Banning it is quite another. There are far more disturbing books out there. I personally don't advocate banning anything."

..."

I would though point out that if I had children (which I do not), while I would not be categorically against a high school teacher discussing Mein Kampf with students, I would definitely not agree with said teacher praising the book in class or using Mein Kampf to justify neo Nazi sentiments, anti Semitism, expansionist attitudes, any kind of racism etc.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I don't even think in that case. I think ones that advocate molesting children or have explicit pictures of kids are the only books that should be banned."

A library isn't going to buy those EVEN IF they could get them and I DOUBT a traditional publisher would publish something like that. It would have to be self-published and evade the authorities. No legitimate books should be banned and neither should groups of people. There's a slippery slope when you say "explicit" pictures of children.

Is this explicit? It's just female family members at a bath house in Japan.

https://kyomaclearkids.com/wp-content...

How about Fred?

https://lawrencekstimes.com/2022/05/1...

or David No, David!
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/...

or Mickey? In the Night Kitchen
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$...

or the toddler in Everyone Poops?

These are all examples of "explicit" books challenged and banned!
You need to make your language more clear when you say "explicit". Illegal according to the Miller Test would clarify things a bit. Otherwise perfectly innocent picture books get removed from libraries.
I have ZERO memories of Mickey's nakedness and my cousins' kids (two different generations on both sides of the family) have loved No! David and no one ever had a problem with that one illustration. The book is more than 20 years old!