Banned Books Week – Of Mice and Men

Did you know that 56% of book challenges take place at public libraries? Libraries which are supposed to represent the communities which they serve. Libraries which are supposed to be places of acceptance and information.

It doesn’t make sense to me that people ask libraries–the public forum for books and information–to ban books. But maybe I’m the backwards one. It’s highly likely. This wouldn’t be the first time.

Here’s the thing. Libraries are magical places. They hold all the books I’ve ever wanted. And if my library doesn’t hold the book I want, there’s a high chance that they have digital access to it. That’s why they’re so amazing. They hold all the stories I could want to read. And they hold information. They hold the secrets to watercolor and acrylic art. To knitting and crocheting. To the lives of great opera composers and presidents and inventors.

To limit libraries’ choice in what books they stock is to take away their power to represent and educate the community they represent.

Of Mice and Men is one of the most-frequently challenged books in history. It has been banned from libraries around the world for various reasons. The most common reasons for Of Mice and Men’s challenges are profanity and taking the Lord’s name in vain.

I’ve already said my peace on taking God’s name in vain, but I will address the issue of profanity. In pretty much the same level-headed, calm manner I’ve used all week in my defense of not banning books. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ A BOOK WITH CURSING IN IT, THEN JUST DON’T READ IT. Okay? Okay.

Good, now that we’ve cleared that up.

I love Steinbeck. He was brilliant. His writing was emotional and heavy and hard. I’ve never met a Steinbeck I didn’t like. I will admit that when I first read The Pearl when I was in high school, I didn’t enjoy it. But once I got a feel from Steinbeck and his writing, I fell in love with it.

Steinbeck has always just spoken to me in ways that few authors have.

Once, a challenge against Steinbeck listed he was “known to have an anti-business attitude” and he was “very questionable as to his patriotism,” which sounds pretty timely to me. Right? Like right now “questionable patriotism” and business practices seem to be big topics in news media today. Maybe Steinbeck was just a forward thinker. (He was.) Maybe he was just planning ahead for the 2010’s (he wasn’t.)

Steinbeck will always hold a special place in my heart. He was the first serious author I read. He was the first serious author I fell in love with. The Pearl was really the first time I’d read a classic author and thought “I could really get into this.”

And then I met Of Mice and Men and I thought “Oh my God (instance of taking the Lord’s name in vain redacted so as not to offend blog banners), this is the most incredible book I’ve ever read.” I read it all in one weekend. And I cried my eyes out. And I got really frustrated. And it was one of the first books I connected with on an emotional level in a long time (that wasn’t Harry Potter.)

Of Mice and Men was the first book that helped me realize my love of historical fiction (even though it was contemporary at the time it was written.) It also was the first book to help me realize how much I love a book that makes me cry. It’s the book that really shaped who I am as a reader, I think. It revealed to me the experience I hoped to share with books. And for that I will always be grateful.

So, Mr. Steinbeck. Curse all you want, take the Lord’s name in vain, be anti-business and have questionable patriotism. I don’t mind. I just want to thank you for the books that changed my life and shaped me as a reader.

You will always have a spot on my shelf, even if everybody in the world bans you.

Yours,
The Plucky Reader