Be a Cactus Podcast

About Be a Cactus Podcast

Help for resistant writers, working to bloom. Library censorship news. victoriawaddle.substack.com (https://victoriawaddle.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Victoria Waddle

Category

arts · fiction

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Jun 2024

Latest episode

18 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

81 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Oct 2026

   Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams and Why I Can’t Stop Reading Nonfiction

   The Future of Nonfiction? Over the next few months, I’d like to discuss some ‘of the moment’ nonfiction I’ve been reading. I say discuss rather than review because I find them all to be good, worthwhile books. Yet, I’ve borrowed these books from the library rather than bought them because I know about their subjects from reading legacy media stories and some paid-subscription to political Substacks. But I want a peek behind the curtain at the players (politicians and billionaires), which these books offer. I still buy other kinds of nonfiction frequently, usually books that look at a historical moment (think Erik Larson’s work as a type— a few of my reviews are here (https://schoollibrarylady.com/2016/05/28/adult-books-for-teens-nonfiction-dead-wake/), here (https://schoollibrarylady.com/2015/06/28/adult-books-for-teens-common-core-nonfiction-in-the-garden-of-beasts/), and here (https://schoollibrarylady.com/2013/09/26/adult-books-for-teens-common-core-the-devil-in-the-white-city/)) or something newsworthy that I’m not seeing in legacy media (think John Green’s Everything is Tuberculosis (https://victoriawaddle.substack.com/p/john-greens-everything-is-tuberculosis?r=6c2wx) as a type). Recently, I’ve realized that another reason I put all these current issues books on hold—and then stop reading whatever else I am making my way through (right now The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai)—is because I’m looking for the part where they discuss the possibility that things will be all right. Of course, action—letters, phone calls, canvassing, donations—is what moves the needle, but reading is, I suppose, a way of holding the constant state of anxiety in check. Of taking a measure. I know nonfiction sales are trending downward. Last week, author Leigh Stein (https://substack.com/profile/976983-leigh-stein) discussed in her post “losers v. victims: on declining nonfiction book sales (https://leighstein.substack.com/p/losers-v-victims?r=6c2wx&utm_medium=ios)” how authors and publishers should market work by asking what is the book going to give the reader that they can’t already get on the internet for free? I pay for lots of legacy media and several political Substacks, so I’m not getting the info for free on the internet. But I’m not buying the books I borrow from the library. I wonder if my behavior is common. (Do you do this? Leave a comment, please!) Last week in her newsletter The Bottom Line (analysis of the publishing business, partly free, partly paywalled), Jane Friedman (https://substack.com/profile/14647-jane-friedman) included the premium article “Where Nonfiction Is Struggling Right Now and Where It Can Grow.” She summarizes thoughts from Circana’s Kristen McLean at the Association of American Literary Agents’ People of Publishing conference. McLean notes that some of the decline in nonfiction is just cyclical, but that some of the interest has gone elsewhere. “‘[T]he sustained decline in print adult nonfiction reflects volume that has gone to audio, podcasts, short-form news, and other types of reference.’” This is in line with my serious increase of consuming short-form news over the last ten years. Kathleen Schmidt (https://substack.com/profile/1047126-kathleen-schmidt) also took up the topic in her Publishing Confidential newsletter this past week with Nonfiction isn’t the Problem: Publishers must understand how and why audiences consume information. The goalposts are constantly shifting (https://kathleenschmidt.substack.com/p/nonfiction-isnt-the-problem?r=6c2wx&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web). (I’m not sure whether this is paywalled.) If the industry wants the nonfiction market to recover, they must change the way they publish it. This requires analyzing how nonfiction audiences consume entertainment. It also requires an open mind: Maybe it’s not about fully rejecting a nonfiction proposal/memoir, but about molding the content so it aligns with how consumers will discover it. Microdramas have done this with short video episodes, and podcasts have found they’re more likely to be seen and heard through social media clips. The publishing industry’s response to weak nonfiction sales can’t be, “We’ll publish less of it.” or “We’ll only publish celebrity memoirs or people with huge platforms.” If other entertainment sectors can figure this out, so can publishing. I encourage you to read the entire article. Schmidt has some interesting and useful thoughts on memoir, which is the nonfiction most writers I know are working on. Thanks for reading Be a Cactus! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams As most readers know, the title of Wynn-Williams’s book comes from a famous line of The Great Gatsby: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” At our current moment, most everyone I know relates to the idea that the ultra rich are smashing up the world and the people in it. They deplore Mark Zuckerberg of Meta (Facebook) among others. So Careless People was destined to sell well; however, Meta itself seems to have catapulted it to the bestseller list by leaning on a nondisclosure agreement and not allowing Wynn-Williams to speak about the book at any of her promotional events. This created a lot of buzz and interest. (See Brooke Warner (https://substack.com/profile/12350944-brooke-warner)’s post A Field Guide to Increasing Book Sales by 300%: (https://brookewarner.substack.com/p/a-field-guide-to-increasing-book?r=6c2wx&utm_medium=ios)Facebook’s Massive Backfire Maneuver in Its Efforts to Silence Author Sarah Wynn-Williams (https://brookewarner.substack.com/p/a-field-guide-to-increasing-book?r=6c2wx&utm_medium=ios).) We want to get the book to find out what it is that Meta folks don’t want Wynn-Williams saying. Not Just Careless: Weird, Ethically Empty, and Morally Vacuous Wynn-Williams’s bosses at Facebook are so weird, ethically empty, and morally vacuous that I found myself absorbed in the details of their personalities when the truly significant element of the book is how Facebook has harmed people globally, including those in the United States: * Facebook employees were embedded in the Trump campaign in 2016. They targeted potential voters and sent ads that were, quite simply, full of lies. There were no Facebook employees embedded in the Clinton campaign because they didn’t allow it. * In 2017, lies on Facebook helped to incite a genocide against the minority ethnic group of Rohingya. * Facebook worked to get unblocked in China, according to Wynn-Williams, by proposing China-based partnerships, data collection of the Chinese people that would be handed over to the government, and censorship tools. There’s an entire chapter about this, and it’s worth borrowing the book just to read that. The details about Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Joel Kaplan (an ex-boyfriend of Sandberg’s from Harvard, who becomes Wynn-Williams’s boss) are, unfortunately, riveting. Zuckerberg is so completely conscienceless and free of all consequences that he can blame his assistants even when he forgets his own passport while traveling. He transforms from someone who doesn’t want attention to someone who craves it. The success of helping Trump campaign in 2016 leads him to consider his own run for president, but he can’t actually be bothered with ‘the people.’ He basically shrugs when an employee in another country ends up in jail due to company policy. He feels like a person who has no human feeling for others. Sheryl Sandberg comes off as bizarre and infantile. She has an assistant buy lingerie for the two of them. She demands that other people take care of her as if she were some sort of baby. She requires employees to sleep with her (by which I mean sleep, not have sex). In one sitting, she fires two makeup artists in China, leaving both in tears. She appears to exist in a perpetual tantrum. Wynn-Williams, who had previously known Sandberg by her ‘Lean In’ persona, soon sees that everyone else needs to lean in to Sandberg with obedience and “closeness.” Sandberg owes nothing in return. In the sexual harassment category of creepy coworkers/bosses, Wynn-Williams gives us the vice president of global policy and her manager, Joel Kaplan. (Kaplan is well-connected politically to Justice Antonin Scalia and George W. Bush.) He pushes up against Wynn-Williams at a work party and makes weird sexual comments. When she is recovering from a particularly traumatic childbirth experience that included a near-death-dealing amniotic fluid embolism, Kaplan emails her and demands weekly videoconferences, asking her where she’s bleeding from. In an internal Facebook investigation he is cleared of any wrongdoing. When Wynn-Williams ends up with a negative performance review, she comments that in her defense, she was in a coma for some of the period when she wasn’t quickly responsive. It’s these sort of workplace details that make this a can’t-look-away reading experience. At one point, Wynn-Williams says that she sees a woman having a seizure on the office floor while the bosses around her ignore her. So—it’s hard to overstate how outrageous the Facebook workplace is. One thing I wondered about was Wynn-William’s defense of working at Facebook. She believed it would be a positive, world-changing company, a powerful force for good. But how could she believe that—or, at least, continue to believe it? Is she just making excuses for herself? I let this question go after being gobsmacked by the narrative. I later read a review By Jessica Traynor in The Dial (https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/dont-be-evil-careless-people-review?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01M4GV9GCE4R9PDCXX3XWAG8HC&_kx=hjVdRLw1xlYW_BpUjBeHJT66ygHozgEpktNNW_FHWQc.U5D8ER), (“I Quit Big Tech.” So What? (http://bpujbehjt66yghozgepktnnw_fhwqc.u5d8er/)”) that deals with the question. [Note: Traynor’s review also deals with Claire Stapleton’s Don’t Be Evil, a book about Google.] “As a story of how Facebook’s moral core was whittled away by its entanglements with foreign governments it is also a salutary tale, but it raises the question — did Facebook have a moral core to begin with? How much can really be expected from a social media network established to rank women’s looks? But Wynn-Williams seems to have seen something entirely different. She deserves kudos for her foresight on the crucial nature of the company in shaping global affairs in the hellish decade that would follow, but I am still at a loss to understand her initial optimism.” “Without victim blaming (and Stapleton in particular pinpoints this as a tool of Google’s control of its workers), it’s hard not to ask: What did you expect? Who joins a tech company, or any corporation for that matter, expecting goodwill? Who moves, as Wynn-Williams did, from the UN into the private sector without understanding that this will entail some major compromises, moral and otherwise? And why do both of these books seem to grieve the degradation of these companies’ internal culture more than their disastrous impact on democracy, privacy and social discourse?” Alrighty! Thanks for being here! Next week is our Library and Banned Books News. If you missed last week’s, I included a review of Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park in the discussion of how it has been banned by using AI to make the call. Other nonfiction books I’ve discussed on current topics may also be of interest: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit victoriawaddle.substack.com (https://victoriawaddle.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   11 Oct 2026

   Banned in the USA Report; The Use of AI to Ban Books Including Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

   Hello Friends, It’s our week for ‘Library and Banned Books News,’ to which I don’t usually add an audio record. However, I’d like to make an exception this week because I want to include a book review in the discussion. We just finished up Banned Books Week yesterday with “Let Freedom Read Day.” During the week, PEN America published Banned in the USA: National Findings for the 2025-2026 School Year (https://pen.org/report/book-bans-spotlight-2026/). I encourage you to have a look at it. Meanwhile, I’d like to highlight some of the findings—including the fact that some school districts are using AI to select books to ban. We’ll discuss one of those books after looking at an AI prompt used in the McAllen Independent School District in Texas. Okay, let’s go. A Spotlight on School Book Bans (https://pen.org/report/book-bans-spotlight-2026/) from PEN America Banned in the USA: National Findings for the 2025-2026 School Year Show Continued Assault on Books in Public Schools Some of the key findings * Nearly 12,000 (11,982) books were banned in public schools during the 2025-2026 school year, according to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans. * The majority are YA books * 87% are fiction * The vast majority of recorded book bans this school year came from just two states: Texas and Florida. These states also have by far the most complete record of book bans, owing to public records requests from grassroots organizations, the Florida Freedom to Read Project (https://www.fftrp.org/) and the Texas Freedom to Read Project. (https://www.txftrp.org/) * This year saw a record number of unique titles banned — 7,370 titles — impacting the creative works of over 4,000 authors, illustrators and translators. * Over 4,500 of these were titles not previously recorded in PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans, the most new titles added to the index in a single year, illustrating the continued expansion of the book banning crisis. * This school year also saw the highest number of school districts (114) banning books in a single school year. Please read the report (https://pen.org/report/book-bans-spotlight-2026/) to see the additional political trends, the data and methodology used in the study, and the list of books banned for the first time (which, oddly, includes Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë). Thanks for reading Be a Cactus! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The Use of AI in Banning Books The report includes mention of the trend of using AI to ban books. Let’s look at that and at one specific book mentioned in the report: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. Here is an AI prompt provided by McAllen Independent School District in Texas in response to a public records request: Note that the novel passes the three-prongs of the Miller Test: it doesn’t appeal to prurient interests, does not depict sexual conduct in a patently offensive manner, and it has literary value. But it appears the AI is scraping any old opinion out there and then deeming it a necessary ban. Eleanor and Park was published in 2012. It was popular in my school library and we had tens of copies. I wrote the following in January 2014, partly because of the feedback some student ‘romance readers’ gave us. Although I called it a romance, I have found since that a closer genre is ‘love story,’ which doesn’t demand the couple be together at the end. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell Eleanor and Park is already popular with some of our readers of realistic teen fiction, but before Valentine’s Day rolls around, I’d like to introduce it to the rest of you who are looking for a good romance. It’s 1986 and the new school year has begun. When Eleanor tries to find a seat on the school bus, she is shut out. People seem to hate her for her appearance—she’s heavy, has long, wild, curly red hair, and dresses weird. People will go on to call her “Big Red” and mercilessly bully her in PE class. But on that first day, Park, who also thinks of himself as different-looking because he is half white and half Korean, finally lets Eleanor sit next to him, although he is very rude to her as he does, using the f-word. And so begins a lovely romance. No, you wouldn’t think so, but both Eleanor and Park are smart kids and can see past the exterior shells. Park realizes that Eleanor likes the comics he reads on the bus in the morning, so he sets copies on her seat each day. He knows that she would like the same punk music he does, if she could afford to buy it. So he makes tapes for her. And they talk about everything they have in common, growing close. What it takes Park much longer to realize is that Eleanor’s home life is a nightmare. Eleanor’s dad is out of the picture. He just doesn’t have any interest in his many children. Eleanor’s beautiful but egoless and beaten-down mom has married Richie—an abusive, perverted, foul-mouthed jerk who won’t allow a door on the bathroom (for starters). They are poor, and Eleanor’s strange taste in clothes is partly due to the fact that there is no money to buy anything except ill-fitting thrift-shop attire. She, her brothers and sister all walk on thin ice daily, hiding from Richie and waiting for him to explode. Which he does with some frequency. The thing about this novel that is so sweet—and so tough—is that Park and Eleanor know that their love has come very early in life. It’s not likely to last ‘forever.’ But what they share is worth having, even if they seem destined for unavoidable heartache. High school housekeeping: One of my coworkers made the astute observation that there are two camps of teen readers when it comes to Eleanor and Park. Although this is a bestseller and super-popular book, we have had several teens bring it back and tell us they couldn’t get into it, didn’t like it. These are mostly girls who are looking for romance books. In talking to them, we generally find that they like formula romance—they liked Simone Elkeles (https://schoollibrarylady.com/2011/06/09/perfect-chemistry/)’ and Susane Colasanti’s (https://schoollibrarylady.com/2013/12/12/waiting-for-you/) books. They want the forever part and sometimes more—teens who stay together forever while becoming brilliant artists or scientists. Oh, and rich, of course. If you are a romance reader, I want to encourage you to try Eleanor and Park (and The Fault in Our Stars (https://schoollibrarylady.com/2012/11/05/ontario-teens-read-2012-2013-ms-waddle-talking-up-the-fault-in-our-stars/), of course). Seeing examples of teens who treat one another well in difficult circumstances is a way of becoming that kind of person—of finding an example of love that respects the individual with all his or her quirks. It’s also a way of facing reality and learning that, painful though it is, to have loved and have lost is often worth it. In fact, it may well enrich your life. *** Notice the try ‘something a bit uncomfortable’ suggestion at the end of the review. Having these kinds of books in the school library matters! Teens are becoming adults; they will arrive at that milestone very soon. (Girls will be going to colleges and universities with their own versions of the Cornell 7, for god’s sake.) They have to deal with difficult issues and need to have an awareness of danger in the world. They need to look for the helpers, as Mr. Rogers (and his mom) remind us. Books and Navigating Tough Topics This is a theme I come back to a lot. Here’s a link to an easy-to-read article that hits the main point and has a nice analogy comparing YA novels to being inoculated against a disease. Books Can Help Teens Navigate Tough Topics in Ways Their Parents Can’t (Exclusive Essay) (https://people.com/banning-ya-books-misses-the-reason-they-exist-exclusive-essay-12074369) from People Magazine Like many adults, I’d assumed teenagers must be protected from the world’s cruelties as long as possible. But teenagers are already living with hard things, and it’s this reality that makes young adult literature so necessary — and why it’s under siege. The same topics that would earn an adult novel praise as serious and important can be viewed as gratuitous or even irresponsible in Young Adult. I’m not the only pearl-clutching parent, as countless book-banning campaigns (https://people.com/hilarie-burton-on-how-to-combat-book-banning-exclusive-11823019) can attest. But this response is a fundamental misreading of the genre and of its audience. YA books that depict death, mental illness, sexual violence and predatory relationships aren’t lurid pulp, and they aren’t tainting childhoods. It’s the opposite. They are protective. When we are inoculated against a disease, we are exposed to a small, harmless dose of something dangerous. From this exposure, our bodies learn how to effectively respond to the real thing. In the same way, YA lets teenagers encounter dangerous situations and hard truths in a safe, controlled environment. These books trust their readers. A little break for fun: This article (It’s (https://nwitimes.com/news/state-regional/indiana/article_ee89a7a4-479d-5c2e-9d08-c542ee72806c.html) (https://nwitimes.com/news/state-regional/indiana/article_ee89a7a4-479d-5c2e-9d08-c542ee72806c.html)Banned Books Week. Here’s what Indiana author John Green had to say about it) (https://nwitimes.com/news/state-regional/indiana/article_ee89a7a4-479d-5c2e-9d08-c542ee72806c.html) has a fun embedded video on weird book bans. (In fairness, I’ll add that some of the books were only challenged and then kept on the shelves, so not banned. But the reasons for the challenges are pretty funny.) Includes The Wizard of Oz and Charlotte’s Web. The Individual States California Fresno leaders sound alarm over possible privatization of county libraries (https://abc30.com/post/fresno-leaders-sound-alarm-possible-privatization-county-libraries/19887097/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PW-NL-PW+Daily) from ABC News Residents are being encouraged to attend the Oct. 20 Board of Supervisors meeting to express their feelings about the privatization option. Colorado As Book Bans Persist Nationwide, Anythink Libraries Keeps Challenged Books Accessible Across Colorado (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929451942/en/As-Book-Bans-Persist-Nationwide-Anythink-Libraries-Keeps-Challenged-Books-Accessible-Across-Colorado) from Business Wire During Banned Books Week, Oct. 4-10, Anythink is highlighting its Freedom to Read Collection (https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anythinklibraries.org%2Fresource%2Fpalace-project-freedom-to-read-collection%2F&esheet=54612479&newsitemid=20260929451942&lan=en-US&anchor=Freedom+to+Read+Collection&index=2&md5=7242ac68fe97a1f0cc55ef6f1509d6cb), a free digital collection that gives Colorado residents ages 13 and older access to ebooks and audiobooks that have been banned, challenged or restricted in schools and libraries nationwide. Indiana It’s Banned Books Week. Here’s what Indiana author John Green had to say about it (https://nwitimes.com/news/state-regional/indiana/article_ee89a7a4-479d-5c2e-9d08-c542ee72806c.html) “Banned Book Week is super important because it brings awareness to the cause of intellectual freedom in the United States, which I think is core to civic life. Authors get a lot of credit for fighting against censorship, but the real heroes of the story are always the teachers and librarians who are working very hard to curate collections of books and build curricula that actually meet students’ needs,” Green told IndyStar. “I want to be sure to center the people who are actually doing the work. It’s a difficult time to be a teacher or a librarian, especially in a state like Indiana where book bans have become so common, but that work is more important than ever.” New York New York Librarians Reveal How Book Bans Imperil Their Work (https://www.nyclu.org/commentary/new-york-librarians-reveal-how-book-bans-imperil-their-work) from NYCLU (ACLU of New York) The Right to Read Coalition, which includes the New York Civil Liberties Union and PEN America, just released a survey of 323 school library aides/media specialists, public librarians, and public school educators across nine regions of the state. Here’s what they had to say about how the threat of book bans impacts them and the work they do – a stress that Governor Hochul could alleviate by signing the Freedom to Read Act into law. Discussion includes: * Pressure to Self-Censor * Hostility Towards Marginalized Groups * Resilience in the Face of Threats Oregon Oregon library book challenges rise 20% with focus on protected groups (https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2026/09/30/challenged-books-in-oregon-in-2025/92012310007/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PW-NL-PW+Daily) from the Statesman Journal Challenges to library and school materials in Oregon remain near historic highs, with challenges continuing to target materials involving protected-class content, according to a report released Sept. 29 (https://www.oregon.gov/library/libraries/Documents/Miscellaneous/2026.oifc.annual.report.pdf). The Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse, operated by the State Library of Oregon, documented 75 challenges to library and school materials, programs, and services between July 1, 2025, and June 30, including 60 “official challenges,” a 20% increase from the previous year. Utah Utah Bans 7 More Books From All Public Schools; 44 Titles Now Banned Statewide (https://bookriot.com/utah-bans-44-books-statewide/) from Book Riot The new books added to the list are House of Earth and Blood (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1635577020/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1635577020) by Sarah J. Maas, Identical (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416950060/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1416950060) by Ellen Hopkins, Kingdom of the Cursed (https://bookriot.com/p/click/camref:1101lkCeo/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thriftbooks.com%2Fw%2Fthe-shadow-cursed-king-epic-fantasy-with-soft-romantic-aesthetic-for-fans-of-sarah-j-maas-rebecca-yarros-and-jennifer-l-armentrout%2F55948990%2F?partner=thriftbooks) by Kerri Maniscalco, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419719602/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1419719602) by Jesse Andrews, Perfect (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416983252/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1416983252) by Ellen Hopkins, Storm and Fury (https://bookriot.com/p/click/camref:1101lkCeo/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thriftbooks.com%2Fw%2Fthe-harbinger-series-set-of-3-books-storm-and-fury-rage-and-ruin-grace-and-glory_jennifer-l-armentrout%2F55223141%2F?partner=thriftbooks) by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765387573/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0765387573) by V.E. Schwab. Utah passed one of the strictest bills related to books in public schools in 2024. House Bill 29 (https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0029.html) (HB 29) allows parents to challenge books they deem “sensitive material,” and it also outright bans books from all public schools in the state if those books have been deemed “objective sensitive material” or “pornographic” per state code in at least three public school districts or two public school districts and five charter schools statewide. The bill took effect on July 1, 2024, and it started with 13 titles (https://bookriot.com/utah-book-ban/). What is important to understand about the law is that, despite claims this is about “local control,” (https://bookriot.com/the-lie-of-local-control-in-book-censorship/) schools in the state are forced to follow the decisions made in other districts. … two school districts in the whole state account for the vast majority of bans. Looking specifically at the seven new banned titles, they primarily came from three school districts: Davis, Jordan, and Tooele. The article includes a list of all 44 banned titles. For this Utah school board, book ban decisions are now considered ‘routine’ business — no public discussion necessary (https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2026/09/28/davis-school-board-doesnt-need/) from the Salt Lake Tribune The Davis School District sees so many book removals, state officials determined its board doesn’t need to publicly discuss appeal decisions. Book banning has become so “routine” in the Davis School District (https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2026/05/14/nearly-all-utah-book-bans/), state officials concluded its school board doesn’t need to publicly discuss appeals that get sent their way. The issue came before the Utah State Board of Education after Davis school board members decided April 7 to support banning Chuck Palahniuk’s (Paula Nick) 1996 novel “Fight Club” from all Davis schools — but didn’t discuss it. More specifically, the board didn’t state aloud its “rationale” for agreeing to remove the book, which Utah law — and the district’s own policy — requires them to do…. The district also bans books relatively frequently, contributing to more statewide book bans (https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2026/05/14/nearly-all-utah-book-bans/) than any other in the state. Since January, more than 35 titles have been challenged (https://www.davis.k12.ut.us/page/sensitive-materials-review/) in the district for allegedly containing prohibited content under Utah’s sensitive materials law. … “They have appeared as consent items, because they had become a routine part of the board’s work, not as any attempt to avoid transparency,” [Assistant Superintendent Logan] Toone told state board members Sept. 3. According to Robert’s Rules of Order (https://robertsrules.com/) (a standard for conducting fair meetings that the Davis school board follows), consent agenda items must be both routine business and noncontroversial. … [D]espite counsel from an assistant attorney general that book bans should be considered controversial and do not belong on consent agendas — state board members decided the opposite. Thanks for being here and for supporting the freedom to read! Please like, leave a comment and share! Next week is our book review/discussion. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit victoriawaddle.substack.com (https://victoriawaddle.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   4 Oct 2026

   Banned Books Week! Good News; Sold by Patricia McCormick; Keep Sweet

   Hello Friends, This is not our scheduled week for ‘Library and Banned Books News’. It is, however, Banned Books Week, an annual event highlighting the freedom to read. In the U.S., it’s promoted by the American Library Association. (Is there a Banned Books Read-in near you this week? Check the map. (https://maps.libro.fm/bannedbooksreadin/)) I know that Amnesty International also promotes it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banned_Books_Week)elsewhere. (http://elsewhere.if/) If you are outside the U.S., is it a thing where you are? I’m not going to give the run down of state library news and book challenges now since that’s scheduled for next week, but I want us to take a fun quiz, look at some good news concerning libraries and bans, and then discuss the most banned book of 2025, Sold by Patricia McCormack. (Careless People by Sarah Wynn- Williams has to wait until next time.) And then I’d like to follow up on how my own novel, Keep Sweet is connected to Sold’s theme as well as to the rise of patriarchy in the U.S. While it’s Not Good News, it’s a Fun Quiz PEN America posted an Instagram carousel (https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd17MGEl73W/?stkn=MTc2cTd5ZnB5cGhzdQ==)on Jeopardy’s recent “Restricted Reading in America” category, and we’ll see here how many we can name. If you are an Instagram user, you can use the link and then follow PEN there. Since I’ve read many YA books and follow book bans, this quiz was pretty low-hanging fruit for me. I’ll add the answers in a footnote. Thanks for reading Be a Cactus! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The U.S. Legislative Bills to Ban Books Nationwide are Probably Going to Fizzle Out Could Congress Create a National Book Ban? (https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/Could-Congress-Create-National-Book-Ban) From School Library Journal Misleading titles H.R. 7661: Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, H.R. 2616: Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act, and H.R. 8705: CHARLIE Act. The good news is noted at the end of the article: While all three measures represent a concerted effort by House Republicans to codify conservative federal restrictions on K–12 education, none has an easy path to becoming law. With the 2026 midterm elections approaching and most Senate legislation requiring 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, the proposals face significant hurdles before they could become national policy. Librarians are Getting the Opportunity to Tell Their Own Stories in Print and on Film LIBRARIANS on LIBRARIES (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/10/01/books/state-of-libraries-librarians.html?unlocked_article_code=1.F1E.wbsJ.cAM8WmVytXW2&smid=url-share) from the New York Times (gift article) We asked dozens of librarians about America’s libraries — what they provide, what they need to survive. These librarians want you to know that they don’t sit around reading all day. They want you to know about book bans and budget cuts, but also about career counseling and crafting groups and pop-up medical clinics. They want you to worry, the way they worry, about artificial intelligence, looming legislation and harassment of their staff. But most of all, they want you to know what the library really is: a safe place for people to gather around books, ideas and one another. Librarians Hit the Road (https://ilovelibraries.org/article/librarians-hit-the-road/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PW-NL-PW+Daily) from I Love Libraries Roadtrip Nation, (https://roadtripnation.com/roadtrip/beyond-books-documentary) the PBS documentary series that sends three people across the United States in an RV to explore what it means to build a career—and more importantly, a life—around the things you love, has dropped its new season, and libraries are at the forefront for a portion. In the two-episode arc, “Beyond Books,” (https://roadtripnation.com/roadtrip/beyond-books-documentary?tab=show) three aspiring librarians take a road trip to explore all the surprising, powerful, and essential roles libraries play in our communities today—online, in rural areas, and more. Along the way, they learn from community leaders and caretakers of knowledge just how vibrant and dynamic a career in libraries can be and discover the unique impact they each can bring when it comes to creating a space that’s truly for everyone. … “There’s a public misconception that librarians are gatekeepers of information because, historically, stacks had been closed and that’s how it was,“ Sam said. “But libraries haven’t been that way for many years now. In reality, we’re thought partners, we’re friends, and we’re in this together. Librarians are here to help the public wayfind, not to hold information back. That’s the message we’re still working to establish culturally.” And: I enjoyed this post on Banned Books Week (https://juliesniderauthor126.substack.com/p/celebrating-banned-books-week-2026?r=6c2wx&utm_medium=ios) by Julie Snider (https://substack.com/profile/241196268-julie-snider). Sold by patricia mccormick (https://substack.com/profile/14704817-patricia-mccormick) As I was a high school librarian for many years, I read a lot of young adult (YA) fiction so that I could ‘book talk’ it to students and classes who were coming in to check out books. It’s strange that Patricia McCormack’s Sold was the top banned book in 2025 because it was published in 2006. Nearly twenty years of helping and not hurting. (Huh. What could this really be about?) In a previous post, I discussed the novel in detail (https://victoriawaddle.substack.com/p/4-in-top-banned-books-sold?r=6c2wx): what it’s about, how I came to read it, and why it belongs in the school library: * Trafficking of girls (and boys) is a topic that seems to interest conservatives, a thing they claim to want to put an end to. (Remember the Pizzagate conspiracy theory?) * Information is power. The author interviewed trafficked girls and activists fighting for them to present this realistic portrayal. * Knowledge of these terrible but very real circumstances engenders empathy. * Empathy may engender action. Many high school students form clubs, get a teacher to be their advisor, bring guest speakers, and raise funds to fight for good in the world. * High school activism is a foundation for a life of concern and goodwill for humankind. Even if a student doesn’t get to this step, they’ve done the first step: read the book. This week book critic Ron Charles (https://substack.com/profile/18176989-ron-charles) posted “What’s So Scary about This Book?” (https://roncharles.substack.com/p/whats-so-scary-about-this-book?r=6c2wx&utm_medium=ios) In which he includes a bit of chat with McCormick. Even while reading scores decline and teenagers drift away from books, activists have whipped up a moral panic about pornography in schools. As McCormick suggests, it’s a movement based on a particularly destructive kind of misreading. “Books aren’t being banned because of their content or their quality or their message,” she says. “People are taking a single page — and in the case of this book, it’s the page where the main character is sexually assaulted — and reading that out of context in a way that triggers or troubles people.” “I always say, ‘It’s supposed to be upsetting!’ You can’t write a book about child trafficking without having a scene like that in there. But it’s written from the point of view of a 13-year-old, so her language is not graphic. … and it isn’t pornographic.” “I can’t tell you how many schools have launched fundraising efforts after having read the book. It activates kids. It turns them into activists. And so we’re shutting off that opportunity.” Even more important, McCormick says that when she visits high schools to talk about Sold, a student will frequently take her aside or stand up in front of the group and say, “Something like this has happened to me.” “There’s a way in which reading about a girl in Nepal — like six degrees of separation — allows kids to see their own situation with empathy. And those kids can get help. … And when you think about what’s happening at Cornell right now, this is a book everybody needs to read.” Yes, I Did My Own Take— Keep Sweet I had a brief interview with Marla Miller about how I came to write (https://writersmama.substack.com/p/marla-miller-talks-to-authors-and-dd8?r=6c2wx&utm_medium=ios)Keep Sweet, (https://writersmama.substack.com/p/marla-miller-talks-to-authors-and-dd8?r=6c2wx&utm_medium=ios) the title of which I’d picked before the Netflix series on the FLDS cult and Warren Jeffs. I decided to stick with the title because, at that point, it was a good indicator of what the novel was about. (Please check it out!) I was told by agents that I needed to make the book less ‘adult’ (the protagonist being sexual abuse victim might be too much) and that I should give her a boyfriend. Ugh. That wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. Luckily, I found a small press publisher. This makes it hard to promote, but it’s an honest book, which matters to me. Everyone is probably thinking of the Cornell 7 just about now. The similarities are in the privileged men dominating women and girls. But there is also the concern about our government becoming enmeshed with Christian Nationalism. And we can see how mixing up the church and the state harms women. Check this article published only a few weeks ago: A Gender War Explodes in Utah Over the Courts, Abortion and Representation (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/us/politics/utah-mormon-women-abortion-redistricting.html?unlocked_article_code=1.F1E.zmFW.lrDaOJWs3RWz&smid=url-share) from the New York Times (gift article) But Utah is unique; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is patriarchal and dominates state politics. And as Utah’s women have spoken up, its male politicians, including Gov. Spencer Cox, who has made a national reputation on “disagreeing better,” have punished them. The women so far are unbowed. Emma Petty Addams, the co-executive director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, quoted church doctrine on the proper exercise of power (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/121?lang=eng&id=p39-p42#p39) to explain her group’s mission: “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.” For all the images of tradwives and momfluencers flooding television and social media from Utah, the reality playing out in the Beehive State is something quite different. Four years ago, Mormon Women sued the Legislature for refusing to enact a law that voters had passed (https://ballotpedia.org/Utah_Proposition_4,_Independent_Advisory_Commission_on_Redistricting_Initiative_(2018)) banning gerrymandering. As Salt Lake City grew bigger and bluer, that law was all but certain to yield a Democratic member in the state’s four-person House delegation. The state’s Supreme Court, with its first female majority, consistently and unanimously sided with the women. Utah’s Republican leaders, who command every statewide office and a supermajority in the Legislature, responded first with threats, and then by remaking the court. That’s right, they added men and took away the women’s voices. That’s current stuff, friends. Next, please grab Keep Sweet from your favorite bookseller. That supports me and my work here. Please like and comment! Thanks for being here! Happy banned books reading! P.S. In our very long discussion comments section about Theo of Golden and how much I disliked it (https://victoriawaddle.substack.com/p/theo-of-golden-worst-book-ive-read?r=6c2wx), a few people wished that I had given more plot/story info on John of John by Douglas Stuart, which I loved. Tema Frank (https://substack.com/profile/23537109-tema-frank) wrote a review of (https://temafrank.com/book-review-john-of-john-by-douglas-stuart/)John of John (https://temafrank.com/book-review-john-of-john-by-douglas-stuart/) that includes major plot points without giving away too much (https://temafrank.com/book-review-john-of-john-by-douglas-stuart/). Check it out! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit victoriawaddle.substack.com (https://victoriawaddle.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

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