Anyone who knows me, knows that my life pretty much revolves around my books. I have several bookshelves filled to the max at home and always have anywhere from five to ten with me at school (though I rarely get to them all). My books cover a whole variety of genres and topics that frankly I can’t really keep track of them all. One thing they do all have in common, though, is that they make people more open-minded (generally speaking).
Every year it seems that we get more and more books published that cover a wide spectrum of topics. In 2016 alone we have stories from the likes of Solomon, who is agoraphobic, in Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley ranging to the story of Robbie, who is suicidal, and his twin brother Tristan in Jerkbait by Mia Siegert. (Both are books I have yet to get to read but they are definitely on my reading list.) Personally, I can say that I have never read a book about someone who is agoraphobic (fear of crowded spaces) and hopefully this book will help me learn more about through the story. Books allow people to learn and understand things that they may never experience themselves, such as anxiety, depression, the struggles of the LGBT community, the loss of a family member, and more.
An important thing to note about the United States is that we are very open with book publishing (today at least). Censorship of books is very rare, at least on a national level. There are still, sadly, school districts and states across the country that do ban certain books. An example of that that comes to mind is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for its abundant use of the ‘n’ word. Despite that, we are a fairly open country when it comes to books, nothing is really off limits. Even books intended for younger or mid-level audiences such as And Tango Makes Three and The Hidden Oracle tackle issues to allow younger audiences to be more open-minded as well.
And Tango Makes Three is about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin together. While the book has been highly criticized by anti-LGBT peoples, it does normalize for younger audiences that it’s OK to have two moms or two dads. Most books for younger audiences rarely address this, especially older books, but as our society grows, the prevalence of same-gender parents may also rise as it becomes more accepting. The Hidden Oracle, a book by Rick Riordan, tackles topics such as self-worth and (vaguely) LGBT issues, and it is intended for mid-level audiences (though it has been read by all ages). The main character is the Greek god Apollo, who has become mortal and has been placed into a less-than-spectacular body. Apollo has to accept that he is no longer perfect at everything and beautiful as he tries and struggles to accomplish tasks he was so used to as a god. Apollo’s bisexuality is also acknowledged as it is mentioned that one of his great loves of the past was a man named Hyacinthus and that one of his demigod children came forth from a relationship between her mortal father and Apollo.
Books allow societies to grow, yet there are still countries in the world that do ban books for the most part. Iran and Saudia Arabia are two examples that come right to mind, though a fair chunk of the Middle East is caught under the struggle under banning books. Maybe if more books were allowed into those countries and people become more open-minded, the political atmosphere could even change for the better.
I’ll end with a quote from Fahrenheit 451, a book abount burning books and limiting what society knows: “There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”