Banned Books Week is being celebrated through October 3, with the theme "Censorship Is a Dead End." On social media, independent booksellers are highlighting their efforts to bring attention to the cause:
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, San Francisco, Calif.: "Lawrence Ferlinghetti in front of the Banned Books display at City Lights Bookstore in the late '50s, photo by Harry Redl. The Howl Trial of 1957 was a key victory for free expression."
Books and Books, with stores in Southern Florida and the Cayman Islands: "NotBannedatBooksandBooks!! Some of our author friends shared the banned or challenged title that has impacted them! Swipe through to read their thoughts, then pick up your banned book online or in-store."
Darvill's Bookstore, Eastsound, Wash.: "Celebrating Banned Book week at Darvill's Bookstore! Live dangerously--read a banned book!"
Bards Alley Bookshop, Vienna, Va.: "Why would anyone try to get a book banned? The answers... well, they probably won't surprise you. Not only does banning books for any of these reasons fly in the face of free speech, it limits the ability to educate and empathize."
Rediscovered Books, Boise, Idaho: "At Rediscovered Books, the freedom to read is integral. Welcome to #bannedbooksweek 2020!"
Union Ave Books, Knoxville, Tenn.: " 'Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.'--Stephen Chbosky. These books aren't banned in our hearts. They are celebrated and amplified for showing every facet this world has to offer."
Books With A Past, Glenwood, Md.: "Did you know that every single book in this picture has been banned or challenged somewhere in the United States? We tend to think of classics when we think of banned books, but you might be surprised by how many recent books make the list. This Banned Books Week, we challenge you to pick up a banned book, and see what you think."
The Phoenix Bookstore, Laredo, Tex.: "Banned books week is here and below you will find the top 100 banned and/or challenged books in the past 10 years. Which one have you read?"
Trident Booksellers and Café, Boulder, Colo.: "Happy Banned Book Week and Spooky Season! The kind of holidays we like to celebrate."
Odyssey Bookstore, Ithaca, N.Y.: "It's #bannedbooksweek. Our bookseller, Casey, put together a display of some of the most banned books for our Books In Conversation area, and she had some poignant thoughts on what this week means, especially right now: What would democracy be without intellectual freedom? The right to be an informed citizen necessitates the right to read, access information, discuss new and different ideas and form our own opinions. Books spur our imagination and conceptions of possible realities. They confront and challenge assumptions. They embrace and comfort us when we may feel alone. To quote the American Library Association, 'Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.' "