(Photo by: Lansing Library, Banned Books Display, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

“A book is a loaded gun.” These are the words of Ray Bradbury, straight from his most famous novel, “Fahrenheit 451,” a dystopian tale about a world where books are outlawed and burnt by “firemen.”

Although we are far from living in that kind of society, it is no secret that attempts to suppress certain literature continue to grow with each passing year.

This week, Billington Library will host talks on banned books, including, “Let’s Talk Twilight” on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 12:15 p.m. and “From Comic Senate Hearings to Mangadex Decimation” on Wednesday at Noon.

ABC News reports that “there were 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts in the 2024-2025 school year… According to the report, which was released on Wednesday ahead of Banned Books Week (Oct. 5 to 11), Florida had the highest number of book bans with 2,304, followed by Texas with 1,781 bans and Tennessee with 1,622.”

In light of these alarming statistics, there is one thing ordinary people like you and I can do to combat censorship: talk about it.

– Makenna Daugherty