Meet The Writers


Here, you'll find info about the creators of this blog!

We are three university students who started this blog to spread information about banned books. We have asked ourselves a few questions to help readers of this blog get a better understanding of who we are.


Hello!
My name is Ella, and I’ve always liked to read, for as long as I can remember. I absolutely love to immerse myself in a story and to travel into the world of a book. My favorite genres include classics and literary fiction. Some of my favorite banned books are probably The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Ulysses by James Joyce. Each has impacted me a lot in its own way, and it’s very strange to think that at some point in history, both books were actually being actively suppressed and kept from readers. I also love the works of Virginia Woolf and the Brontë sisters. Any book of theirs, banned or not, is almost guaranteed to receive a sky-high Goodreads rating from me. (Basically just make it a beautifully written, feminist historical drama, and I’m probably sold.) From time to time I do like to dip my toes into something more modern, though, and when I do I usually turn to two authors who I know will always have my back when it comes to a good story (that will probably also break me a little); Donna Tartt and Kazuo Ishiguro.



Hello!
My name is Alice and, nowadays, I love to read. It is a terrific experience that allows people to explore new worlds and get submerged in something other than their own reality. However, when I was younger, reading was something I associated with school and homework. I detested it. It wasn’t until around 2015 that I really started to enjoy reading. My favorite banned book is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I love dystopian novels. That’s where my love for reading came from. The first book series that I read was The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Newt💔 RIP. I still mourn to this day. Moving on, one of my favorite books of all time is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It is a beautiful story about the aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo, who is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. The story progresses as Evelyn tells a reporter about her life as an upcoming Hollywood actress and how she grew her fame. The main thing in the book is Evelyn’s relationship with Celia St. James, exploring their sexualities and coming to terms with who they are. I love this book because the idea of love as something dangerous, as something that you have to fight for, is so prominent. It’s truly beautiful and real. I struggled with realizing that Evelyn Hugo wasn’t an actual person, I found myself wanting to look her up but coming up short. Oh well.



Hello!
My name is Sofie, and I am one of the three students who started this project to spread information about banned books. I have had a passion for literature since I was a child; however, growing up in a country that does not actively ban books, this discourse did not come to my attention until later when I began exploring more genres and becoming a part of the book community online, which raised this question. Throughout the years, my reading has been a way for me to find new ways to think and perceive the world; it has opened many new mindsets and perspectives that I have learned from. However, as I began working on this project, I realised that most of my favourite novels are actually banned or challenged in some countries, for instance, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Book Thief by Markus Suzak, and Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum. Sometimes, this makes me distressed, knowing that books I loved and learned from are pulled from people’s hands; they won’t have the chance to read them, or at least not without censorship and losing the wisdom within the novels. Still, I cannot place myself fully behind not banning books, thinking there must be good reasons behind this. Perhaps I believe too much in the good of people, or perhaps there are some benefits, but that is something I wish to dig deeper into and hopefully find somewhat of an answer. However, some other favourites of mine that are not banned or censored are: A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir, Film for Her by Orion Carloto and Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

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