It’s banned books week, and I have thoughts. Like my shirt says: Try reading books instead of banning them. ‼️ “Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance.” ― Lyndon B Johnson “Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” ―Isaac Asimov “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.” ―George R.R. Martin “We need to be teased, questioned, and disrupted. Our minds need to be stirred up.” — Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 “If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all — except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.” — John F. Kennedy “Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” — Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own “If there’s one American belief I hold above all others, it’s that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of what is ‘right’ and what is ‘best’ should be given no rest; that they should have to defend their behavior most stringently. As a nation, we’ve been through too many fights to preserve our rights of free thought to let them go just because some prude with a highlighter doesn’t approve of them.” — Stephen King, in his blog #bannedbooks #uniteagainstbookbans #bannedbookslist #bannedbooksweek #ireadbannedbooks #readbannedbooks #wereadbannedbooks #caughtreadingbannedbooks #bannedbooksarethebestbooks #bannedbooksmugshot #speakoutforbannedbooks #bookstagram #bookish #instabooks #ilovebooks #bookblog #readmore #reads