{"id":362606,"date":"2025-12-21T22:35:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T22:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/362606\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T22:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T22:35:12","slug":"a-mildly-subversive-gift-guide-10-banned-books-for-curious-and-rebellious-us-readers-gift-ideas-from-the-filter-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/362606\/","title":{"rendered":"A mildly subversive gift guide: 10 banned books for curious and rebellious US readers | Gift ideas from the Filter US"},"content":{"rendered":"

I live, study and teach writing in a state that is one of the epicenters of book bans<\/a> in this country. For years, Texas has consistently been a top-ranking state in book ban attempts in schools and libraries, according to the American Library Association (ALA<\/a>), which publishes annual censorship reports.<\/p>\n

The Guardian\u2019s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.\u00a0Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In its latest report for 2024, the organization recorded 821 attempts<\/a> to ban library books and other materials in the US. Many of these books are first challenged before banned, and they are often not from the disgruntled parents you may be thinking of. According to the ALA, most censorship attempts<\/a> last year came from \u201cpressure groups and decision makers who have been swayed by them\u201d. The most common reasons for book challenges: objections to sexual content and themes around race and racism, LGBTQ+ and other social justice issues.<\/p>\n

Between 2023 and 2024, the number of reported book challenges actually fell. But it is important to note that not all challenges are actually accounted for. Many times, books don\u2019t even get to that stage when library workers are forbidden from buying them or required to place them in restricted areas \u2013 some states have passed laws that pre-censor books with so-called \u201ccontroversial\u201d themes.<\/p>\n

But the response to book bans in the US is still hopeful and evolving. In Texas, concerned residents have taken action: two years ago, a group of parents and community members formed the Texas Freedom to Read Project<\/a>, a grassroots campaign that fights against censorship. Librarians in at least half a dozen states<\/a> are currently working with civil rights groups to oppose book bans and related legislation.<\/p>\n

This holiday season, consider gifting a banned book (or two or three) to your loved ones. The titles below have all faced bans since 2000, according to ALA reports. Read on for our banned books gift guide<\/a> with picks for readers of all ages and backgrounds.<\/p>\n

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende <\/p>\n

from $8.89<\/p>\n

\"The Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$8.89 at Amazon<\/a>$8.89 at Walmart<\/a><\/p>\n

For lovers of magical realism and historical fiction, this multi-generational story about a Chilean family living through social and political unrest was influenced by Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez\u2019s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Isabel Allende<\/a>\u2019s debut novel was published in Spain in 1982 and follows a clairvoyant matriarch, a poor miner patriarch, and their descendants as they live through a military coup and regime. Get a copy for someone who wants to read this before the TV adaptation<\/a> comes out in the new year on Prime Video.<\/p>\n

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The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende <\/p>\n

from $8.89<\/p>\n

Are You There God? It\u2019s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Are You There God? It\u2019s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume<\/p>\n

from $6.28<\/p>\n

\"The Photograph: Courtesy of Walmart$6.28 at Amazon<\/a>$7.84 at Walmart<\/a><\/p>\n

As the product of a pretty chill interfaith marriage who grew up in the New Jersey suburbs, I very much heard 11-year-old Margaret\u2019s prayers. When I was her age, I needed my literature to address going through puberty, getting the first period and having a crush. Are You There God? It\u2019s Me, Margaret has also been challenged and banned for decades<\/a> since its 1970 release, which is a disservice to young people who also deserve to read about these topics. Consider buying a copy for the preteen in your life who is going through it (like the rest of us).<\/p>\n

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Are You There God? It\u2019s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume<\/p>\n

from $6.28<\/p>\n

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
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Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich<\/p>\n

from $8.45<\/p>\n

\"The Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$8.45 at Walmart<\/a>$8.45 at Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Get this for your broke friend who needs affirmation that capitalism is ruining their life and also happens to be a fan of writers of dirty realism including Bobbie Ann Mason and Jayne Anne Phillips. Unsettled by the passing of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, writer and activist Barbara Ehrenreich<\/a> went undercover as a journalist in the late 1990s, working different minimum-wage jobs typically ascribed to women. A former honorary co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ehrenreich emphasizes the gaps between most Americans\u2019 income and their expenses, as well as disputes the notion of \u201cunskilled labor\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich<\/p>\n

from $8.45<\/p>\n

The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved by Toni Morrison
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The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved by Toni Morrison boxset<\/p>\n

from $38.95<\/p>\n

\"A Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$38.95 for set of three at Amazon<\/a>$46.40 for set of three at Bookshop.org<\/a><\/p>\n

This one\u2019s a threefer because the works of Toni Morrison<\/a> are a collective gift to us all. Her first, third and fifth novels traverse time and form as some of Morrison\u2019s greatest hits. They\u2019ve also been featured on banned and challenged book lists every decade since their initial releases. As a box set, they\u2019re an ideal present for anyone who desperately needs an introduction to her work.<\/p>\n

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The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved by Toni Morrison boxset<\/p>\n

from $38.95<\/p>\n

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
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Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi<\/p>\n

from $8.99<\/p>\n

\"The Photograph: Courtesy of Walmart$8.99 at Amazon<\/a>$9 at Walmart<\/a><\/p>\n

Originally published in French and named after the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis<\/a> is a black-and-white graphic novel written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi<\/a>. Based on her childhood during and post-Islamic revolution, the book details Satrapi\u2019s early life as she comes of age in Tehran and Vienna in the 1980s. This is ideal for anyone who likes reading multi-disciplinary writers or prefers comics.<\/p>\n

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Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi<\/p>\n

from $8.99<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a Book by Lane Smith
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It\u2019s a Book by Lane Smith<\/p>\n

from $12.84<\/p>\n

\"The Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$12.84 at Amazon<\/a>$14 at Walmart<\/a><\/p>\n

For your friend who doesn\u2019t like to read \u2013 or your four-year-old nephew. (There\u2019s also It\u2019s a Little Book<\/a> for even younger readers.) A monkey that identifies moreso as a bookworm tries to convince his screen-obsessed donkey friend to put down his devices and join in on his reading ritual \u2013 does the donkey happen to sound like somebody you know? At the end, an \u201cexplicit\u201d donkey nickname proclaimed by a mouse stirred up real-life controversy<\/a> among people and groups.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a Book by Lane Smith<\/p>\n

from $12.84<\/p>\n

Goosebumps series by RL Stine
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Goosebumps (series) by RL Stine 25th anniversary retro set<\/p>\n

from $20.99<\/p>\n

\"The Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$20.99 for set of five at Amazon<\/a>$20.99 for set of five at Walmart<\/a><\/p>\n

Banned or challenged by those who felt it was depicting violence and the occult, the Goosebumps<\/a> series was formative in my understanding of plot and suspense. My love for Goosebumps was a precursor for my love of The Twilight Zone \u2013 thanks to books such as Say Cheese and Die! about a boy and his friends who find a camera that produces life-threatening predictions, and Night of the Living Dummy about twins who acquire ventriloquist dummies that come to life. I recommend any sampling of the series for your tween<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Goosebumps (series) by RL Stine 25th anniversary retro set<\/p>\n

from $20.99<\/p>\n

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
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The Color Purple by Alice Walker<\/p>\n

from $11.89<\/p>\n

\"The Photograph: Tracy Allison\/The Guardian$11.89 at Walmart<\/a>$11.99 at Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Not much more can be said about the impact of Alice Walker<\/a>\u2019s epistolary novel that won her the Pulitzer prize and National book award for fiction in 1983. It has been adapted for the screen<\/a> and stage<\/a> and challenged in schools and libraries for decades due to its honest portrayals of physical, sexual and emotional violence against Black women. Censoring this book overlooks the beauty in the art that her characters create through music, sewing and writing. This is for anyone interested in reading about sisterhood and resilience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Color Purple by Alice Walker<\/p>\n

from $11.89<\/p>\n

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou<\/p>\n

from $8.36<\/p>\n

\"The Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon$8.36 at Amazon<\/a>$8.36 at Walmart<\/a><\/p>\n

The first of seven autobiographies, Maya Angelou<\/a>\u2019s seminal I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/a> was written at the suggestion of her friend James Baldwin and editor Robert Loomis. The book subverts the form of autobiography, as well as the prejudice and racism imposed by a white, male-dominated society. For the omnivorous reader \u2013 Angelou was also a poet, playwright and composer \u2013 who is interested in reading more post-civil rights movement narratives by Black women.<\/p>\n

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou<\/p>\n

from $8.36<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I live, study and teach writing in a state that is one of the epicenters of book bans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-362606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}