6,870 Book Bans

Happy Friday, Meteor readers,

Wishing a peaceful weekend to everyone except Kacie. Girl, does the word accountability mean anything to you?

Today’s newsletter is one for the book…bans. Plus, a much-deserved just-announced Nobel winner,  a new side gig for Angel Reese, and your weekend reading list.

WHAT’S GOING ON

Tomorrow is the last day of Banned Books Week, and man,  the book banners have been going hard this year. According to the latest report from PEN America, there were over 6,000 incidents of books being banned or challenged during the 2024-2025 school year—almost three times as many as just three years ago. (No wonder Gen Z can’t read.) And the bans have implications for some students more than others: “Not all students have access to just buying books on Amazon,” PEN America’s Kasey Meehan told USA Today. “Not all students have access even to public libraries in their neighborhood that they can get to by foot or by bike or even by car.”

You might assume that this rapid rush to purge schools of titles like Clockwork Orange (the most-banned book) and Breathless (number two, and a good read!) is the result of laws and White House executive orders forcing educators’ hands. But the PEN report found something even more disturbing: Schools are also removing “vast numbers” of books out of fear of getting in trouble, whether or not they are legally compelled to do so. “This functions as a form of ‘obeying in advance’ to anticipated restrictions from the state or administrative authorities, rooted in fear or simply a desire to avoid topics that might be deemed controversial,” PEN concludes. Parents and ultra-conservative groups have poured so much time and energy into filing challenges to books, in other words, that for educators, it’s sometimes easier not to have a book on shelves at all than to spend weeks fighting over whether it can stay there.

And that makes the passage of actual laws requiring the removal easier. In Utah, South Carolina, and Tennessee, PEN reports an “unprecedented phenomenon” in which states as a whole are adopting “no read” lists, wherein all school districts in the state must adhere to certain books that had been flagged in multiple districts. (Sorry, Water for Elephants, that means you.). And if you’re wondering which authors get banned most, a look at the ten most-banned writers this year is revelatory: While the hyper-prolific Stephen King tops the list, he is the only white male writer; seven of the most-banned ten are women of various races, and the other two are men of color.

All of which is why it’s so important to get involved with what’s going on in your community. You can support legislation that will allow libraries to carry all kinds of reading; you can buy some banned books and pass them around your neighborhood this year; and, if you’ve got time tomorrow, you can participate in Let Freedom Read Day.

  AND: 

• Congratulations to María Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this morning for her long struggle on behalf of democracy in Venezuela, where autocrat Nicolás Maduro has repressed dissent for a decade. In honoring Machado, who now lives in hiding out of fear for her security, the Nobel Committee noted that “when authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

MACHADO EARLIER THIS YEAR AT AN ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTEST IN CARACAS. (VIA GETTY IMAGES) 

• Texas attorney general and enemy to all God’s creatures Ken Paxton announced this week that he will be launching “undercover operations” into what he calls “leftist terror cells” that he claims promote “corrupted ideologies like transgenderism.” In plain English, that means the government plans to secretly (although it appears the secret is out already with this announcement) investigate people based on their thoughts, political views, and gender identities. There’s a word for that, but I can’t seem to remember….starts with an F?

• One of the men convicted of raping French national hero Gisèle Pelicot appealed his conviction last year, and this week the new jury in his retrial came to a new decision: They added ten more years to his sentence. FAFO.

• New York’s prison system is on the brink of a crisis due to understaffing and what advocates say is Governor Kathy Hochul’s inaction. But as one incarcerated man writes in Slate, the issues, from guard strikes to canceled family days, could soon start popping up across the country.

• More New York news: The state’s attorney general, Letitia James, who famously investigated Trump for real estate fraud, has been indicted by the Justice Department on mortgage fraud charges in Virginia. (James has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.) This comes after a team of prosecutors led by Erik Seibert found that there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against James—at which point Trump quickly replaced Seibert with his personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan. Remember, kids, you can’t spell vendetta without DT.

• In this month’s edition of Who Asked for This? we present to you, the approved budget for Ocean’s 14. Yes. Another Ocean’s movie. There’s nowhere left to rob!

• There’s a lot that can be said about Pam Bondi’s Senate hearing this week, but if your mind strayed from her question-dodging to her MAGA beauty aesthetic, don’t miss Nona Willis Aronowitz’s piece about that look earlier this year.

• Angel Reese will be the first professional athlete to walk the world’s sexiest runway.

• Dolly Parton lives to fight another day.

WEEKEND READING 📚

On ignorance not being bliss: Why are so many white people shocked—shocked!—at the state of the country? (Rewire News Group)

On romance: In a new memoir, Malala Yousafzai shares the story of a love that changed her life. (Vogue)

On the “be yourself” trap: A new book explains how “authenticity” is often a double bind for people of color in the workplace. (The Guardian)

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