Read Banned Books This Week and Every Week
During Banned Books Week and beyond, take a stand against censorship and read a greater diversity of stories.
“Let Freedom Read!” This is a sentiment we champion at Da Shop: Books + Curiosities every day of the year, and it’s also the theme of Banned Books Week 2023. A national campaign to protect readers’ rights to explore and express ideas through the reading and sharing of books, Banned Books Week is especially meaningful to us book lovers in Hawai‘i, where our vital cultural stories include the Indigenous, queer, and marginalized voices being challenged today.
We firmly believe in the power of books to broaden the borders of our intellectual worlds. In today’s polarizing climate so quick to call out “controversial” titles, it’s crucial we say NO to censorship and instead uplift and amplify books penned by marginalized writers sharing stories about their own lived experiences, cultures and identities. Bookstores and libraries are meant to be safe and inclusive spaces for everyone, and despite outside pressures to challenge and ban certain texts, we will continue to stand up for all stories.
Join us at Da Shop: Books + Curiosities as we celebrate Banned Books Week from Oct. 1–7. And learn more about some of the most challenged and banned books, many of which you can find on the shelves of our bookstore.
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Gender Queer
by Maia Kobabe
Ranked #1 in the list of Most Challenged Books of 2022, Gender Queer is an unforgettable graphic memoir by Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns. What began as a way for Kobabe to explain eir identity as nonbinary and asexual to eir family evolved and was published as a moving and unflinching portrait of self-identity and coming out. From encountering adolescence to grappling with crushes and cliques to untangling eir understanding of gender and sexuality, Kobabe has created a fearless graphic memoir that’s also been banned in more states than any other book. It’s high time we change this.
SEE ALSO: 5 LGBTQIA+ Books to Celebrate Pride Month
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Kapaemahu
by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, and Joe Wilson
A top pick by our booksellers, Kapaemahu tells the mo‘olelo of the māhū who sailed from Tahiti to Hawai‘i, and the four boulders they imbued with sacred healing powers that reside in Waikīkī today. It’s a beautifully written and illustrated picture book perfect for families to read together while affording parents the opportunity to share with keiki an important Indigenous Hawaiian story with a queer and non-binary focus. And despite challenges to the book as an LGBTQ+ title, Kapaemahu continues to be read and adored widely in Hawai‘i and beyond.
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Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Atwood
Well before the award-winning, eponymous series launched on Hulu, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood had already attracted an extensive and hungry readership. Published in 1985, the novel portrays a not-too-distant dystopian future in which declining birth rates drive to power a patriarchal republic that forces women to become Handmaids, bearing children for the Commanders in charge. As a top 30 most banned and challenged book in the last decade, The Handmaid’s Tale centers one woman’s journey to survive despite the evil worldly forces pushing down on her. It’s a 21st century classic that should be read widely (maybe even before you watch the TV series).
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Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is a powerful middle grade graphic memoir depicting Marjane Satrapi’s years growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. As religious extremism runs rampant, Satrapi and her family flee briefly to Europe, only to return to Iran and learn the government has declared war against Iraq. The graphic memoir follows Satrapi’s journey through fear and fury, rebellion and revolt, all in gripping panels of stunning artwork. What a tiny few have deemed a “controversial book” is in fact one of the most profound and original accounts of growing up amidst political oppression and deserves attention from young and adult readers alike.
SEE ALSO: 5 Notable Women Writers and Changemakers
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
Ho‘onani: Hula Warrior
by Heather Gale
Another beloved picture book for our keiki readers, Ho‘onani: Hula Warrior tells the true story of young Ho‘onani who identifies as neither wahine nor kane in their quest to lead the all-male hālau hula at school. It’s an emotional and empowering story that sheds light on Hawaiian culture and the topics of gender fluidity and belonging. Despite challenges to the book issued by parents in St. Augustine, Florida, Ho‘onani: Hula Warrior was ultimately allowed to remain on library shelves—and will remain on the shelves at Da Shop for our bookish community to appreciate.
Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
A banned book and a National Book Award winner? That’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It’s the story of a Native American teenager and budding cartoonist known as Junior who must navigate two different worlds, one on the Spokane Indian Reservation where he lives and the other inside the halls of an all-white public high school. Interspersed throughout the text are 65 comic illustrations imbuing the novel with artistic richness and diverse, engaging content. Ranked as the #1 most banned and challenged book in 2010–2019, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has fielded critique of its depictions of poverty, bullying, violence, and sexuality, all of which are integral to the very important story being told.
Da Shop: Books + Curiosities, 3565 Harding Ave., open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (808) 421-9460, dashophnl.com, @dashophnl
