Read a Banned Book With Me!

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Hey you guys, it's Peter and welcome to my channel, Peter Likes Books. And it is that time of month where I announce the banned and challenged book for the next month. So today I am announcing the banned and challenged book for June. I am really, really excited about my choice. I actually think I have my choices for July and August as well already planned out. I'm trying to kind of figure out books that, I don't know, have kind of like, summer themes to them a little bit. Um, so I going forward, well, let me explain. So if you're new to this, in January I started the banned and challenged book club because I think it's important to read banned and challenged books and to bring more exposure to them and talk about books that maybe we don't talk about as much anymore, that I grew up either was, you know, required reading when I was in school or books that I have never even heard of. Sometimes when I go through these lists, I I I go through these lists, there's like so many lists of banned and challenged books. They're by state, they're on a national level. Um, and so what I'm talking about is books that are banned and challenged for the school systems.

[00:01:05]And when you go and you look at the list, they're typically by like for every year, how many challenges like a school system will say, "We don't want this book on in our libraries, we don't want it to be taught in our school systems." And there are several books that have been banned and challenged numerous, numerous times. There are some books that have only been challenged once or twice. I'm considering all of those in the list. So if you guys have suggestions for books to read, um, I I would I would totally be open to that. Um, I think this is something I'll probably continue into 2027 as well. I'm really enjoying doing this.

[00:01:39]Um, it's interesting like when I read, so I I did my review for Speak. Going forward I think as soon as I get done with the book, I'm going to turn around and do my review and my reaction to it, um, just so that I don't get behind. I still have the January, February, and March books to do my my to over here. So I will be getting caught up on those. Um but like right now, like my next book to read is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, which was the May book for the banned book club. As soon as I finish that, I'm going to turn around and do my reaction and my review to that. Um I just did my reaction to the April book, which was Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. And one of the things that was interesting to me is I'd seen somebody recently on Bookstagram talk about, you know, when people carry around book bags and say I read banned books or we have banned book month and stuff like that.

[00:02:25]Like that's fantastic. Like we should bring attention to banned books, right?

[00:02:29]But we should also be talking about why they're banned and why people are afraid of this. And it's it's a it's, you know, very much contingent on what society looks like in that moment. And it was interesting because I had I had read Speak before, I think twice. I think I read it in the physical copy form one time and I listened to it on Audible.

[00:02:46]And this last time when I listened to it, especially at the end, there was a letter about at the end about censorship.

[00:02:53]And Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson has an edited version that they can even like have at schools because they see it as such this horrible book. The book is about assault and consent. And at the very end of it, there's this fantastic love letter that's written. And on the Audible version, a man reads it. And he's reading it to young men saying if you're reading this book, you need to understand what consent is. And he also talks in there about men being victims as well. But the idea of consent. And I when I got to that point, I got already felt it in the book, too. I don't have any children, but if I did, I would want I would want my child as they were entering middle school to read this book. Like to understand the because the book is a lot about fear. It's a lot about coming out and telling your story or telling your truth. Fear of being a victim, fear of people the believability of it and what really consent is. Which is interesting to me. The book was, I think, written in 1995 or 1998. But still today, I see that discussion online where there's a this discussion about what is consent and things like that. And I I thought that the letter at the end of it was so fantastic. And you know, I'm reading this book and I'm thinking this is a book that is so like people are scared this book. I would want my child to read this book to understand, you know, how to how to treat one another humanly and who to go to to talk about these things and people are probably aren't going to believe you and and the fear associated it normalizes that. You know, in a world where we live where so many people are victims of that. And I just I think it's such an important book to read. So, I'm trying to pick books that yes, don't just have a summer theme to them, but also are very, very important books to read. The book that I picked for July, I've never read before. I'm really, really excited. But the book that the book that I picked for June, let me explain to you why I picked it. This is actually one of the very first books that I was going to pick like for January, February, March. Um, I read it when I was growing up in school. I believe that I it was required reading for me in sixth or seventh grade. Which is interesting to me that it has so many bans now. But the Netflix show just recently came out. There were several movie adaptations of this book. You guys probably know what I'm talking about.

[00:04:55]It's William Golding's uh Lord of the Flies. I just bought my brand new edition of it cuz I don't know where my edition is um on Amazon. It just came yesterday.

[00:05:04]So, I've been wanting to reread this for a while now. Um, I'm excited about rereading it. I think there's a lot I probably don't remember about it. I think I've read this twice in my life. I think I read it in my early 20s before I got sober and I read it in sixth or seventh grade whenever it was required reading. And I remember bits and pieces of it. Um, I started watching the show and I kind of couldn't get into it. And then I was like, you know what? I think I want to read the book first. And so I was like, I'm going to pick the book for June. I was actually going to wait until the fall for this book, but I think I'm I was like, I'm just going to pick it for June. But let's go in and let's see why people are so afraid of this book of being read.

[00:05:38]William Golding's 1954 classic Lord of the Flies is one of the most frequently banned and challenged books in modern literary history. famously ranking on the American Library Association list of most challenged novels.

[00:05:53]Despite often being required reading in high school English classes, I read it much earlier than that.

[00:05:58]Um the book has faced widespread pushback from parents, educators, and administrators for decades.

[00:06:04]The primary reasons Lord of the The primary reasons Lord of the Flies is challenged or removed from school reading lists and libraries include excessive violence. The novel's plot descends into brutal violence, bullying, and the murder of several characters, which may which many critics argue is too intense for younger audiences.

[00:06:21]Excessive which is interesting that they're talking about that when I was bullied all the way through school from from kindergarten literally all the way through high school.

[00:06:29]Um and also dealt with physical violence. Excessive violence. The novel's plot descends into brutal Oh, okay. Profanity and blasphemy. The book frequently uses religious profanity such as taking the Lord's name in vain and traditional curse words, which has offended some religious groups.

[00:06:43]Offensive and racist language. The text includes derogatory terms and statements that critics argue are disparaging to minors and the disabled. And I can understand that. I also think that when we read books like that's one of the criticisms that To Kill a Mockingbird gets. I I think we also have to remember the the historical context of it at that time.

[00:07:00]Um bleak view of humanity. Many objectors find the book demoralizing because it suggests that stripped of societal rules, humans are inherently savage and little more than animals.

[00:07:10]Rather timely, don't you think?

[00:07:11]Historically, it has been challenged and restricted in various school districts across states um like Texas, Iowa, and New York, as well as in Canadian school boards. However, the book remains a staple of classic literature and continues to be taught in many schools many high schools across the country.

[00:07:27]Um and then it goes on and explains more. So, if you've never read Lord of the Flies before, came out in 1954, it's rather short.

[00:07:35]Um hold on a second. There's all these Oh, there's tons of stuff at the end about further reading about the book. Oh my god, there's like suggestions for further exploration. The book There's an afterword that's written by a Lois Lowry, which is interesting. Then Um okay.

[00:07:51]Where is the book end?

[00:07:54]Where is the end of the book? Okay.

[00:07:56]The book is 202 pages, so it's rather short. Um and it's available on Audible as well. Let me read you the synopsis to it really quick.

[00:08:05]Golding's iconic 1954 novel remains one of the greatest books ever written for young adults and an unforgettable classic for readers of any age.

[00:08:14]At the dawn of the next World War, a plane crashes on an uncharted island stranding a group of school boys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate. This far from civilization, they can do um far from civilization, they can do anything they want, anything. But as order collapses and strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hopes of adventures adventure seems as far removed from reality as the hope of being rescued. Um and yeah, so this is going to be the book for June.

[00:08:45]Um I don't There's like several covers.

[00:08:47]This is not the cover that I remember.

[00:08:49]The cover that I remember was like a green cover and it was like anyway, like a kid with like a spear or something on the front of it. Um but I'm going to read this and as soon as I get done reading it, I am going to um I'm going to do my reaction to it.

[00:09:02]And then I'm also going to watch the TV show on Netflix that just came out.

[00:09:05]There's also a movie. I might watch the movie, too, with Balthazar Getty that came out like 20 years ago. Um maybe longer than that, actually. But I'm also going to watch a TV show. If I watch the movie, I will cover it on my movie channel. And if I watch And when I watch the TV show, I It's four parts on Netflix. I'll be covering it on my TV channel, which is listed in the description box below if you want to follow those channels. So anyway, this is the June book. Next week, I will be doing my reaction to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. And then I will also be getting caught up on the other banned books. And later this week, if you are watching the coz If you're a part of the Cozy Mystery Book Club, I will also be announcing the June book for the Cozy Mystery Book Club, probably tomorrow or Saturday. So anyway, let me know if you're going to read along with me, if it's a reread for you.

[00:09:49]Let me know in the comments section below. I love you guys and I will see you tomorrow. Bye.