Why You Absolutely Must Read Those Banned Books

Here's a thought that keeps me up at night and trust me, it takes a lot to keep a book devourer like me from her beloved reading time. Somewhere out there, a group of people decided that you shouldn't be allowed to read certain books. That someone, somewhere, sat down and said: "No. That story is too dangerous. That idea is too powerful. That truth is too uncomfortable."

And honestly? That's exactly why you need to read them.

Banned books aren't banned because they're bad. They're banned because they're brilliant. They ask hard questions. They hold up mirrors we'd rather not look into. They give voices to people who have been told, repeatedly, to stay quiet. And the moment someone tries to take a book off a shelf, it becomes the most important book in the room.

The American Library Association reported that in 2025 alone, over 5,600 books were banned from libraries across the United States,  the highest number ever recorded since tracking began in 1990. Let that sink in for a moment while you sip your cuppa. We are living through the greatest wave of literary censorship in modern history, and it's happening right now.

So what kinds of books are making people so nervous? Oh, you'll love this list. We're talking about Harry Potter  banned for "glorifying magic and the occult." We're talking about The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, challenged repeatedly for "sexual overtones," which is a bit rich given that it's actually a warning about what happens when women lose their rights. To Kill a Mockingbird has been pulled from shelves. The Hunger Games  a series literally about the dangers of authoritarian control has been challenged for being "anti-family." You genuinely could not make this up.

These aren't fringe novels. These are the books that shaped generations of readers. They're the stories that made us think, made us uncomfortable, made us grow.

Here at The Phantom Paragrapher, we've always believed that a challenging read is a gift. Some of the most important books I've ever devoured have been ones that made me squirm, question, and see the world through someone else's entirely different set of eyes. That's not dangerous that's the whole point of literature.

When a book is banned, it's almost always because it tells a truth that someone with power finds inconvenient. Books about racism, about LGBTQ+ lives, about abuse, about women's autonomy, about political oppression — these books exist because those experiences are real. Banning the book doesn't make the reality disappear. It just makes it harder for the people living that reality to feel seen.

And then there's the young reader argument  the idea that we must "protect" children from these stories. But here's what I've learned after years of reviewing books for every age group: teenagers especially are hungry for stories that reflect the complexity of real life. They're not fragile. They're perceptive, empathetic, and far more capable of handling difficult themes than we give them credit for, especially when they have a trusted adult to talk it through with.

So here's my challenge to you, my fellow book lovers: go find a banned book and read it this month. Head over to The Phantom Paragrapher and search our reviews  you might be surprised how many of the books on that list we've already explored together. Browse the Highly Recommended Reads you'll find titles there that have faced challenges and restrictions elsewhere in the world.

Every time you read a banned book, you're doing something quietly radical. You're saying: I get to decide what I think. I get to choose what I read. No one gets to do my thinking for me.

And really, isn't that what all the best books have always been about?

Happy reading, phantoms. Stay curious, stay brave, and never let anyone tell you a story is too dangerous to tell. 📚👻