October 4th – 10th is Banned Books Week. The theme for this year is “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.”
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, which compiles data on book challenges from reports by library professionals, documented that 4,235 unique titles were challenged in 2025. 39% of those books “represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color.” Most books are not challenged by individuals. The ALA found that 92% of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision makers, up from 72% in 2024.
Florida, Iowa, Texas, and Tennessee lead the nation in book bans. In a recent press conference, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has announced that they are “coming for the books” while also claiming that they are not banning anything. In Arkansas, a recent law threatens both librarians and booksellers with jail if children are so much as exposed to “harmful” books at all. In August, an Arkansas county settled a lawsuit with a librarian who was fired for speaking out against limiting access to children’s books.
We often forget to think about the books available to prisoners, since book bans are associated with schools and libraries, but book bans also affect prisons. Prisoners often have their access to books severely restricted in content as well as form. Dallas County is currently being sued (as of September 2026) for a near-total ban on physical books for prisoners.
You can check if your favorite books have been banned anywhere using Is It Banned or the Censorship Search Portal. If there are any specific banned books you would like to own, please let us know – we would be happy to order them for you!
How Is TBR Books Participating?
As part of our celebration of Banned Books Week, we will be featuring some of the banned books we have in store each day! You can check this space or our blog each day for a new book.
Our banned book features are below, and sources are linked when used.
Featured Book for 10/4:
Featured Book for 10/5:
Featured Book for 10/6:
Featured Book for 10/7:
Featured Book for 10/8:
Featured Book for 10/9:
Freedom to Read Day
Related Pages
