“Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.”
That’s the theme of this year’s Banned Books Week October 4-10 highlighting the value of free and open access to information.
The annual event brings together the entire book community—librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types—in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.
Locally, the SLO Friends of the Library has put together a special display in the downtown San Luis Obispo City/County Library that features “banned” or “challenged” books. You can browse the books in the Friends Bookstore beginning Saturday, October 3.
The books, which have been donated to the Friends, will be available until the organization runs out.
What are the most challenged books?
Most books are described as “challenged” rather than “banned,” and they usually deal with subjects such as race, gender and sexuality.
The state of California has granted local autonomy to libraries, supporting access to books that “offer teachable moments for readers of all ages and expand our understanding of people with different backgrounds, ideas and beliefs.”
All kinds of titles have been challenged in the past: Fifty Shades of Grey, Tropic of Cancer, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, for example.
Other titles might surprise you: The Kite Runner, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Diary of Anne Frank, and three of the Harry Potter books.
Every year the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles a list of the “Most Challenged Books” in order to inform the public about censorship. The most common justifications are claims of illegal obscenity for minors, the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes, and topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice.
Of the 4,235 unique titles that were challenged or banned in 2025, here are the ALA’s top 11 most frequently targeted:
- Sold by Patricia McCormick
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
- Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
- Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
- Identical by Ellen Hopkins
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout