A Banned Book Is A Book Worth Reading
Hey hey now - it’s your favorite heathen coming at you with something fun! We all know I tend to read 400+ books a year, but there is a subject I don’t always touch on… so…Let’s talk BANNED BOOKS.
I know, I know. It’s scary. It’s okay.
Hold my hand, take a DEEP breath, and lemme tell you WHY you should be reading banned books. (Other than the fact literacy is at an all time low currently in the US.)
Recent data indicates that a significant number of U.S. adults lack proficient literacy skills, with the number of adults scoring at the lowest levels of literacy increasing substantially between 2017 and 2023; and the numbers haven’t improved drastically even with the phenomenon of booktok and bookstagram, but yeah they wanna ban books, insert a HEFTY eye roll from me
In a world that always has an opinion about books, you will find the list of “banned” books grows more and more every year, hell everyday if we are honest. It has even now reached out and touched the horror erotica and dark romance world.
And here is the thing, trying to explain why a book gets banned could be something such as review bombing, reporting the book for being “too much” or in the case of Amazon, this company bans books that violate its content guidelines by creating a poor customer experience, inciting hate, or containing illegal material such as child exploitation and terrorism advocacy ( or they just don’t like the morally pitch black romance, stalking, taboo, or gore, etc). Books may also be removed if they infringe on trademarks, contain inaccurate descriptions, or are deemed low-quality or inappropriate by Amazon's standards. (I know, it’s a lot and honestly, seems skewed towards some writers).
Now you may be saying, why should we care if a book gets banned. Well, for one, it can and does usually negatively impact the author through revenue, preorders, opportunities, etc. These impact more negatively usually if they are an indie author too. (Though if I'm being honest; if I see a book has been banned, it makes me want to read it more cause curiosity killed the cat and all that.)
For two, and yes, I'm going to go there - when an author pours their heart, soul, trauma, healing, love and more onto the pages that is technically freedom of speech. Yes, there is a “grey” area and that’s where those pesky “guideline infringements” come into play which again, is a lot and seems slated against certain sub genres that fall under dark romance and/or horror erotica and splatter punk.
And three, I feel no one has the right to tell us what we can, and cannot read as adults.
They already try to tell us that dark romance is a trash genre and we all need “help” cause we are “sick”. It’s ignorance honestly and if it isn’t their cup of tea, as I have stated in a previous article … JUST FUCKING SCROLL. Don’t be a douche canoe or twat waffle about it.
Since I am very much for being a rebel, marching to the beat of your own drum, doing what brings you joy, reading the banned books, and recommending them, so…
Here is what I’m going to do for you. I’m going to tell you just a few of the banned books (some were only temporarily banned but are now available again for now) I have read and absolutely loved.
The Dare by Harley LaRoux
banned on Amazon, but available on Eden books
5 stars
Double Edged by Nyla K
banned on Amazon, but available on her website
4.5 stars
Scream Little Sister by Willow McQuerry
banned on Amazon
5 stars
No Way Back by Santana Knox
banned on Amazon
5 stars
Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta
banned on Amazon
4 stars
****Psssst. If any of those titles or authors have tickled your fancy, drop me a line - I’ll send you some more too.****
Now back to my point with this article, my main thing is to tell you - go read a banned book or 20.
It can be dark romance, it can be horror erotica, splatter punk, hell, it can be even a book such as, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Or even A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
Any book banned is a book worth reading, in my opinion.
Doesn’t matter the genre.
So keep reading, and fuck what people think.