Booking Through Thursday - Jan-23

Hosted here.

If there was one book you could make sure nobody ever read again … what would it be? And why?

I have hated plenty of books in my time as a reader. I've hated some because of the horribly shallow characters. Some I've hated because of the cruel way they killed off great characters. There are those that I've hated because the characters epitomized everything I hate. Others I've hated because the writing style gave me a headache. Yet others I've hated just because they weren't for me and every ounce of my body was telling me to hate them.

But, you know, I wouldn't choose to ban any book - because that's technically what this question is asking. It's not asking for your most hated book, or even what book you'd recommend that another living soul never read. No, it's phrasing is asking you to ban a book.

I am sure that there are books out there that are so twisted, so messed up in what it appears to advocate that no one should read them, but I've not actually come across any like that. Yeah I've hated books, but when I've heard about book burning's in the past, when I've heard about books getting banned - it makes me feel cold.

There are many books that I disliked or hated that have a fan base. That's fine, that's cool. The opposite is true too. As long as you don't rip on a book I liked too much, I'll leave you to like the books you do. I'll give you my opinion if you ask for it and want to know my thoughts on a book - and they will be my honest thoughts, not sugarcoated in any way. You'll be able to tell quite quickly if I liked something or not.

But I in no way do I feel comfortable choosing a book that no one should ever read. In fact, I personally don't think there is such a book. Even the books that are just wrong (advocating abuse, misogyny, misandry, or a dozen other things that have no place in a healthy society) are, if nothing else, a cautionary tale. 

So, if the question had been for me to name the worst book I ever read, or my least favorite, or the last book I read that I hated, the answer would have been quite different. But, I won't tell people that they should never read a certain book. I'd tell them it wasn't for me, but, if they're interested, I would not try to talk them out of it.