When discussing banned books, it’s easy to picture titles such as The Anarchist Cookbook, a book so controversial it is illegal to own a copy in the UK.
In fact, people have been sentenced to jail time as recently as 2021 for owning a copy without a good enough reason.
However, Goulburn Valley Libraries ran a week-long social media campaign to highlight some books banned around the world.
For five days straight, the GV Libraries Facebook page showcased a book a day that had been banned and explained the reasons why.
Program co-ordinator Bronwyn Cole said that it wasn’t just Goulburn Valley Libraries that celebrated.
“Banned Books Week is celebrated all around the world,” she said.
“Primarily you’ll find it gets a lot of attention in the US because they have different areas that will ban books for different reasons.
“They don’t have a national body to ban books, they do have a national body to try and stop the banning of books, so it gets a lot of focus in the US.”
But that doesn’t mean Australia hasn’t had its fair share of banning books.
“Over the years, Australia has banned a lot of books,” Ms Cole said.
“We (Australia) no longer do it very much, but back in the days, even Jackie Collins was too racy when she started writing.”
One post in particular got more attention online than the others, as it highlighted an unexpected tale.
“We were surprised by the amount of attention that The Lorax received in our social media, but it was never banned in Australia,” Ms Cole said.
“It was banned in California because they felt that it had an anti-logging theme and other parts of the US banned it for anti-capitalism.”
Another classic narrative that was banned was George Orwell’s 1984, which has strong anti-surveillance themes and a dystopian setting.
“A lot of the dystopian stuff that opened people’s eyes to the potential of government impact are on the list,” she said.
Full list of banned books highlighted by GV Libraries
- Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants books, due to complaints from parents about violent imagery.
- Ahn Do’s WeirDO books were temporarily banned in parts of the USA for race-related reasons.
- George Orwell's 1984 has been banned for reasons ranging from its anti-communist views to sexually explicit language.
- Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale, for vulgarity and sexual overtones.
- D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover was banned in Australia from 1929 to 1965 and the UK from 1929 to 1960 for allegations of obscenity.
- Dr Seuss’ The Lorax, for anti-logging and anti-capitalist themes.
All of these books and more banned literature can be borrowed at GV Libraries.