Banned Books, Keelatud Kirjandus, is a museum in Tallinn, Estonia that preserves banned, censored, and burned books from around the world. We tell the stories of our books and their authors, and provide resources for learning about the history of censorship, contemporary challenges, and the free exchange of ideas.

Our Story

A few words about us

We believe that the topic of literary censorship is highly relevant and important at this moment in time. Around the world many nations, institutions, and movements restrict access to written material for a wide variety of reasons. Our museum explores the thin lines and grey areas in each one of these cases by presenting the stories of restricted books and engaging the public in a dialogue about the free exchange of ideas.

Our goal is to study the phenomenon of free speech. We do not take a political stance, but rather we enable the public to learn about the topic for themselves by telling stories, educating about history, and providing free access to relevant research and journalistic material.

Mission
It's all about preserving books and liberating people.

The impact we create with our experience is as transcending as our books are concrete and physical. We aim to expand and develop consciousness as a whole by starting on the individual level. We do this through our museum, events, discussion groups, bookclub, podcast, and educational programme.

Vision
We dream of a world in which people can freely share, challenge, and refine their ideas.

The value and skill of self-expression strengthens the public and makes it more robust against outside influence. If there is one country that understands the importance of this freedom and has experienced what it takes, it is Estonia. Our initiative will continue this journey and help others along the way.

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has released new data documenting book challenges throughout the United States, finding that challenges of unique titles surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022 numbers, reaching the highest level ever documented by ALA. Read the full announcement.

OIF documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship, more than the previous two years combined (2,571 in 2022; 1,651 in 2021), as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources in 2023. Four key trends emerged from the data gathered from 2023 censorship reports:

• Pressure groups in 2023 focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries. The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year, accounting for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023; school libraries saw an 11% increase over 2022 numbers.

• Groups and individuals demanding the censorship of multiple titles, often dozens or hundreds at a time, drove this surge.

• Titles representing the voices and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals made up 47% of those targeted in censorship attempts.

• There were attempts to censor more than 100 titles in each of these 17 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.

Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans.

I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.

At least, that’s what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that’s crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does. But the Scholomance isn’t getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone’s idea of the shining hero, but I’m going to make it out of this place alive, and I’m not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.

Although I’m giving serious consideration to just one.

• Amazon
• Kobo
• B&N

Love Ted Chiang

Started this ages ago and thought it was one of the worst things I had the pleasure of reading, but for some unknown reason, I didn't delete it. Anyway, after a few months I ended up coming back to it and persisted a little bit and then to my surprise, it started getting good. 900 chapters in and it's now actually enjoyable.

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/561669

Women Writing Africa Project

The product of a decade of research, this landmark collection is the first of four volumes in the Women Writing Africa Project, which seeks to document and map the extraordinary and diverse landscape of African women’s oral and written literatures. Presenting voices rarely heard outside Africa, some recorded as early as the mid-nineteenth century, as well as rediscovered gems by such well-known authors as Bessie Head and Doris Lessing, this volume reveals a living cultural legacy that will revolutionize the understanding of African women’s literary and cultural production.

Each text is accompanied by a scholarly headnote that provides detailed historical background. An introduction by the editors sets the broader historical stage and explores the many issues involved in collecting and combining orature and literature from diverse cultures in one volume. Unprecedented in its scope and achievement, this volume will be an essential resource for anyone interested in women’s history, culture, and literature in Africa, and worldwide.

I’m too lazy to remove the personal information from a pic of my card, so here is the cover of the first book I checked out.

Creators who have at least one book banned in the prison system of the u.s. state of texas for "security" reasons as of september 2022. (The list of books banned by the state for any reason, available here, is much longer.)

• Justin Seitz

• Supreme Understanding

• Tim Hindle

• Kre Kre ( 1970 )

• George L. Jackson ( 1941 - 1971 )

• Ajamu Niamke Kamara ( 1953 - 2005 )

• Helen Fouché Gaines

• Abbie Hoffman

• Reginald Major ( 1926 - 2011 )

• Robert Goldwire

• Cureton Steven

• Nyeem Mitchell

• Kevin Salt Rocc Lewis

• Michael Sims

• Gary Clark ( 1943 )

• Crystal Lacey Winslow

• Sanyika Shakur ( 1964 - 2021 )

• Neil, Theresa

• Sagar Rahalkar

• Marshall “Eddie” Conway ( 1946 - 2023 )

• Richard Mansfield ( 1945 )

• PaPa Sak

• Jamonz Ross

• Roger Morris ( 1938 )

• Rob Whitaker

• Koffi Hallman ( 1970 )

• Ian Neil

• Josh Lospinoso

• Al-Saadiq Banks

• Dave Ebert

• James R. Payne

• Brandon Whitting

• Samrat BHOOPLI

• Mike Meyers ( 1961 )

• Bryace Todd Jones

• Roger Gastman ( 1977 )

• Kevin 'Rashid' Johnson

• Kevin D. Mitnick ( 6 August 1963 - 2023 )

• Jennifer Niederst Robbins

• Andrew MacDonald ( 1933 - 2002 )

• David Carmack

• Tegan Broadwater

• Robert Greene ( 14 May 1959 )

• Abraham Lee

• Vickie Li

• David F. Walker ( 1968 )

• Soma Halder

• Jack C. Stanley

• Katie Hafner

• John Lee Brook

• Luc Gesell

• Barbara Casey

• Lance Henderson

• Rob Percival

• Tony Stacy

• James "Jinx" O'Connor

• Damen "Mr. C" Corrado

• Rachel Pearson ( 1983 )

• Pavel Yosifovich

• Nikhil Abraham

• Gus Khawaja

• Ric Messier

• OccupyTheWeb

• Brian Messenlehner

• Paul O'Donnell ( 1961 )

• Wendel Withrow

• Chad Orzel

• Edward A. Kutac

• Joey Green

• Julitta Korol

• Erick S. Gray

• Herbert C. Covey

• Ralph Morrison

• Thomas Petruzzellis

• Eric Stover

• Danny Korem

• Lance J. Hoffman

• T. Jeff Williams

• Craig Berg

• Art Blajos

• Chris Blatchford

• Luke Wroblewski

cross-posted from: https://mstdn.social/users/compoundchem/statuses/112053145362352366

Image description: Infographic on the aroma of books. The smell of old books is produced by the gradual breakdown of cellulose and lignin in paper. Type of paper and age of the book affect the compounds produced, which include furfural, vanillin and benzaldehyde. The aroma of new books is equally variable, the compounds causing it coming from adhesives, inks, and chemicals used for paper treatment. Many of these chemicals are odorless themselves, but can react and contribute to the release of aroma chemicals.

(Originally published earlier today on mstdn.social) - Click the Fedi-Link to visit.

The Chaos of Heat is a crime story as unrelenting as the heat wave described in its vivid prose. It follows a man who, wracked by heroin addiction, finds himself at the front of a dangerous robbery spree. Will Vince survive long enough to get his next fix, or is he little more than shark bait, out of his depth?

[Note: Barlow’s contributions are in brackets.]

Dam Bor glued each of his six eyes to the lenses of the cosmoscope. His nasal tentacles were orange with fear, and his antennae buzzed hoarsely as he dictated his report to the operator behind him. “It has come!” he cried. “That blur in the ether can be nothing less than a fleet from outside the space-time continuum we know. Nothing like this has ever appeared before. It must be an enemy. Give the alarm to the Inter-Cosmic Chamber of Commerce. There’s no time to lose—at this rate they’ll be upon us in less than six centuries. Hak Ni must have a chance to get the fleet in action at once.” [I glanced up from the Windy City Grab-Bag, which had beguiled my inactive peace-time days in the Super-Galactic Patrol. The handsome young vegetable, with whom I shared my bowl of caterpillar custard since earliest infancy, and with whom I had been thrown out of every joint in the intra-dimensional city of Kastor-Ya,] had really a worried look upon his lavender face. After he had given the alarm we jumped on our ether-bikes and hastened across to the outer planet on which the Chamber held its sessions. [Within the Great Council Chamber, which measured twenty-eight square feet (with quite a high ceiling), were gathered delegates from all the thirty-seven galaxies of our immediate universe. Oll Stof, President of the Chamber and representative of the Milliner’s Soviet, raised his eyeless snout with dignity] and prepared to address the assembled multitude. He was a highly developed protozoan organism from Nov-Kas, and spoke by emitting alternate waves of heat and cold. [“Gentlemen,” he radiated, “a terrible peril has come upon us which I feel I must bring to your attention.” Everybody applauded riotously, as a wave of excitement rippled through the variegated audience; those who were handless slithering their tentacles together. He continued: “Hak Ni, crawl upon the dais!” There was a thunderous silence, during which a faint prompting was heard] from the dizzy summit of the platform. [Hak Ni, the yellow-furred and valorous commander of our ranks through numerous installments, ascended to the towering peak inches above the floor. “My friends—” he began, with an eloquent scraping of his posterior limbs, “these treasured walls and pillars shall not mourn on my account....” At this point, one of his numerous relatives cheered. “Well do I remember when...” Oll Stof interrupted him.] “You have anticipated my thoughts and orders. Go forth and win for dear old Inter-Cosmic.” [Two paragraphs later found us soaring out past innumerable stars toward where a faint blur half a million light-years long marked the presence of the hated enemy, whom we had not seen. What monsters of malformed grotesqueness seethed out there among the moons of infinity, we really didn’t know, but there was a malign menace in the glow that steadily increased until it spanned the entire heavens. Very soon we made out separate objects in the blur. Before all my horror-stricken vision-areas there spread an endless array of scissors-shaped space-ships of totally unfamiliar form. Then from the direction of the enemy there came a terrifying sound, which I soon recognised as a hail and a challenge. An answering thrill crept through me as I met with uplifted antennae this threat of battle with a monstrous intrusion upon our fair system from unknown outside abysses.] At the sound, [which was something like that of a rusty sewing-machine, only more horrible,] Hak Ni too raised his snout in defiance, radiating a masterful order to the captains of the fleet. Instantly the huge space-ships swung into battle formation, with only a hundred or two of them many light-years out of line.

About the book (official blurb)

Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope.

Then, in December 1990, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote freely, wear what they liked and worship as they wished. There was no longer anything to fear from prying ears. But factories shut, jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy on crowded ships, only to be sent back. Predatory pyramid schemes eventually bankrupted the country, leading to violent conflict. As one generation’s aspirations became another’s disillusionment, and as her own family’s secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what freedom really meant.

My review

This is the best book about Albania I’ve ever read, which doesn’t tell you much because it’s also the only book about Albania I’ve ever read (for now).

It did make me want to read more, though.

In this book, we follow young Lea as she goes to school in Albania, the Only True Communist Country™, in the 1990s, and as her family goes through the journey of becoming a truly independent country, followed by the joys and pains of embracing capitalism, which includes unbanning religion, trying to figure out what religion even means, watching ads on Yugoslav television, collecting Coca-Cola cans, and needing to choose between several political parties.

There is so much going on, and following this one girl allows us to grasp how incredibly big this is while still keeping it to a manageable, understandable level. It’s extremely well-written, very engaging, reads very naturally and was a perfect first foray into Albanian culture and history for me.

Oh, also? I love memoirs that have plot twists. You’ll have to read the book to understand that one.

Read on my website: https://alexsirac.com/free-coming-of-age-at-the-end-of-history/

publication croisée depuis : https://jlai.lu/post/4804182

The original title of this book was Maryam Was a Dyke, as Lamya H said in their interview on the podcast Gender Reveal (if you speak English, grab the episode or transcript, if you prefer French, the translated transcript will be on this blog soon). They then changed it because some friends said that would alienate more traditional Muslim readers, who would be feeling defensive before even starting to read.

Makes sense!

I, however, am not a Muslim reader, regardless of tradition. My main relationship to Islam is that every year for about a month, I feast on pastries and dried dates thanks to my local supermarket’s Ramadan aisle. (Okay, I do have a bit more knowledge and personal relationship to this religion, but it’s not relevant to what I’m about to say and I was reminded yesterday by Auchan that Ramadan aisle time has come again).

For reasons that have nothing to do with my faith, I still don’t think I would have picked up this book if it had been called Maryam was a Dyke. And I would have missed out on something incredible.

Hijab Butch Blues only has the butch in common with Stone Butch Blues, from which it gets its name. Everything is else is new and shiny − especially to me, a person interested in religion and faith, interested in queerness, interested in anti-racism, but with wildly different experiences and characteristics as Lamya H.

This read was both engaging and instructive − I related to so much, and learnt so much about what I did not − cannot − relate to. It’s respectful of everyone and tells a story that needs to be heard again and again by people like me. I think Hijab Butch Blues is a memoir that works for absolutely everybody, always holds you by the hand without ever being condescending, and beautifully mixes the concrete, easy to grasp anecdotes and the more philosophical thinking that goes behind how these little stories were perceived and how they affected Lamya H to this day.

Honestly one of the best memoirs I’ve read, and one of my best reads of 2024 so far.

About the book: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/c08dd045-da79-4980-b2df-793ca92bd8dd

My review

Time to go back to good old crime novels, including a twist (lesbians. the twist is lesbians.).

I’ve already talked about how funnily enough, I consider most crime novels uplifting, as long as the grueling horrors aren’t too detailed. Their structure is very clear-cut and they’re not taking any risks, usually, following a very neat timeline of « oh no, someone died! », « oh no, things are getting worse! » (which may or may not include other people dying, or terrible family secrets being revealed, this novel being in the latter category), and « ah, justice has been brought! » (sometimes by murdering the murderer, because crime novels support the death penalty, i guess).

You’d think that with such a cookie-cutter scenario, thrillers wouldn’t be able to surprise me.

And yet!!

In Speak of the Devil, seven women find the body. They could all be the murderer. One of them is in a weird off and on again relationship with the local cop, Woman Number 8, who will investigate the case. And the seven women agree that, whoever committed that murder, they’ll all be in trouble if they don’t all cover for each other.

Except that the cop is smart, and the others make mistakes, and thinks will slowly unravel, and by the end of the novel, we won’t be sure what is even going on anymore.

~~The death penalty is extremely wrong! But also, whew, I’d also behead that guy.~~

Loads of content warnings because this is a feminist crime novel, including a beheading in the prologue, and horrific (and impressingly diverse) forms of abuse throughout the entire story.

On my website: https://alexsirac.com/speak-of-the-devil/