The Power by Naomi Alderman (4 /5) This is a challenging read that left me uncertain how I felt about either the questions being posed by the author or the reading experience itself. “It doesn’t matter that she shouldn’t, that she never would. What matters is that she could, if she wanted. The power to
Category: Books
My libraries were never silent They were rarely even quiet When the kids came down from the flats because they had never held a book someone else hadn’t read before them they would chatter and their mothers would scold I wish I could say I never minded Never judged those who came in and only
“You got rid of them. Yes, that’s just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it. Whether ’tis better in the mid to suffer the sling and arrow of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them…But you don’t do
“Never forget who you are and where you’re from.” Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi 9/10 There is no way I could speak about censorship or banned books in the modern age without discussion Persepolis, my favourite political graphic novel. It is written by French-Iranian Marjane Satrapi about her life from Pre-Revolution Iran to the modern day.
“The memories of his ancestors become habits” The Call of the Wild by Jack London: 7/10 There were few books I was more surprised by when I went looking for banned books than this. There were stupider ones (like Harry Potter encouraging witchcraft) but this one was a bit out of left field. Technically it’s more
“A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and run deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sand in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool.” Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: 8/10 I was not a
“It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” 1984 by George Orwell: 7/10 “…the clocks were striking thirteen.” I love this opening line. It at once is completely of our world and completely not. Famiilar and foreign at the same time. The cold bright April day is so mundane
“To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, and a time to build up. Yes. A time to keep silence and a time to speak. Yes, all that. But what else?” Fahrenheit 451 by Rad Bradbury 9/10 I have an interest in banned books. I don’t always like them (example anything
