Today's #VelshiBannedBookClub#Velshifeature is "The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze" by Derrick Barnes. It follows a gifted Black athlete navigating racism, identity, and ambition. Barnes says framing sports as uniquely unifying lets white Americans “escape harsh realities Black Americans face." #Velshi

“Books are about, fundamentally, what it means to be human,” says “We Were Liars” author @elockhartbooks.bsky.social #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

What do the authors of “The Day the Books Disappeared”, @joannahowrites.bsky.social and @carolinekpritchard.bsky.social, say to those who argue a certain book might be too advanced for a child? Do not "underestimate the brilliance of young people”. #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

Today's #VelshiBannedBookClub features the blueprint of all romantic novels, "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Author Elaine Castillo says Austen's seminal work deepens us as readers. It's why her profound literary legacy is so enduring for readers and authors alike.

Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” has a lot to tell us about culture today, including why reading is so important. UCSB professor Julie Carlson & author @kierstenwhite.bsky.social say, “Reading is where the creature discovers feeling and thought, & the history of the world.” #VelshiBannedBookClub

"Teens are dealing with issues of love, body image, mental health, and identity, whether parents want them to or not," says @jenniferniven.bsky.social. Literature helps them "to find themselves and to realize they are not alone...even if the adults don't want to talk about it." #VelshiBannedBookClub

Today’s #VelshiBannedBookClub feature, “Breathless” by @jenniferniven.bsky.social#VelshiBannedBookClub is an exploration of how to find yourself after experiencing your first devastating loss as a young person. It's about choosing your voice, your future, and yourself. Niven joins me at noon EST. Don't miss it!

What does the uptick in censorship & book bans mean for authors today? “The Knife and the Butterfly” author Ashley Hope Pérez says, “the biggest obstacle...the temptation to shrink or constrain the range of experiences authors explore in the hope of not being banned.” #VelshiBannedBookClub

Today's #VelshiBannedBookClub feature, “The Knife and the Butterfly” by Ashley Hope Pérez, is a reminder of just how much novels can create a sense of empathy. It tells the story of two teenagers, members of rival gangs, and the single act of violence that connects them forever. Tune in at noon EST!

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist @lynseyaddario.bsky.social has put herself in danger to capture the dark realities of war many times. She joins me at 12p ET to discuss the competing demands of her journalism and her family as captured in a brand new documentary. #Velshi

“All My Rage” is predominantly an immigrant story, but those feelings of wanting to belong and of finding yourself? According to author Sabaa Tahir, “they’re universal.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

"Trump & Republicans have unleashed this unprecedented extremism on the American people from the very beginning," says @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social. "We're talking about an assault on the rule of law, an assault on the American way of life, and an assault, of course, on democracy itself." #Velshi

"Maybe they think they have enough of the levers of power that it no longer matters what people think,” says fascism scholar Jason Stanley of the Trump Administration. But he also says, the more extreme the messaging gets, the more forcefully civil society will push back. #NoKings #Velshi

"Maybe they think they have enough of the levers of power that it no longer matters what people think,” says fascism scholar Jason Stanley of the Trump Administration. But he also says, the more extreme the messaging gets, the more forcefully civil society will push back. #NoKings #Velshi

The dystopian world that M.T. Anderson created in his novel “Feed” feels eerily similar to the world we live in right now. “You can feel the way the cognition is changing, we’re being rewired by [the technology we use & consume].” How does Anderson fight it? “Books.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

Today's #VelshiBannedBookClub spotlight is "Feed" by M.T. Anderson, our most alarmingly prescient dystopian feature to date. Written before the advent of social media, it warns of the dark effects of high-tech consumerism. Join us at 12p ET!

"The erasure of history is a way of unmooring us from what we know to be true, until suddenly the very idea of fact is somehow challenged," says @alexgibneyfilm.bsky.social of George Orwell's ever-relevant warnings against authoritarianism. "It's a very bleak vision of the future." #Velshi

PEN America's new report says book bans have become "rampant and common." Legendary author and member of the #VelshiBannedBookClub Stephen King has been singled out as the most banned author for the 2024-2025 school year. #VELSHI

PEN America's new banned book list is out, showing an alarming number of books being pulled off shelves. PEN America President @jennyboylan.bsky.social joined the #VelshiBannedBookClub to warn against this new normal. “We’re only as strong as our tolerance for stories we don’t agree with.” #VELSHI

“We stopped being able to have conversations, and when you can’t have conversations, you ban books,” says Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy. Roy argues “books are so subversive” that in the mere act of banning them, “you show your own weakness.” #VelshiBannedBookClub

Why is “1984” so important to read today? “Because patterns repeat … It becomes relevant over and over again,” says @veronicarothbooks.com, author of the “Divergent” series #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

Why are children’s books so important? Co-author of the “The 1619 Project: Born on the Water” Renée Watson has the answer. “Reading is a form of listening” and listening to others’ stories is crucial #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

The great @stephenking.bsky.social has advice for every single member of the #VelshiBannedBookClub#Velshi “Run to the library or to the bookstore and find out what they don't want you to read.” #Velshi

You want to know what the king of horror thinks of humanity? @stephenking.bsky.social says, "You can call me a romantic if you want to, but I think that most people are inherently good, and they try to do their best.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

What could be better than a #VelshiBannedBookClub meeting with the singular @egangoonsquad.bsky.social? A #VelshiBannedBookClub meeting on Gothic classic “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier *with* @egangoonsquad.bsky.social#VelshiBannedBookClub#VelshiBannedBookClub#VelshiVelshi 📚

Why is fantasy such an important and popular genre? “Cemetery Boys” author @aidenschmaiden.bsky.social says when “we’re talking about heavy stuff [...] it eases it a little bit with a little magic and mystery and mayhem.” #VelshiBannedBookClub #Velshi www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

"Let's be more intentional about how we reach kids that are marginalized…Let’s ask more of ourselves,” says author Abdi Nazemian, whose award-winning novel 'Like A Love Story,' is now banned across Utah public schools. "I want to focus on the best of history, not the worst.” #VelshiBannedBookClub

Why is it so crucial to fight bans and preserve access to literature? The lawsuits help “in a myriad of ways,” says author @iamgmjohnson.bsky.social. "At first I thought they were trying to ban my story, but then I realized they never read my story…Our books are actually saving lives.” #Velshi

A new report from @everylibrary.bsky.social breaks down 130+ bills targeting books and libraries this year. "All Boys Aren't Blue" author @iamgmjohnson.bsky.social returns to the #VelshiBannedBookClub on the ever-important fight for the freedom to read and how to support literature and education.

“This concept of progress, justice, and trust has been part of Black Americans’ history from the beginning,” says “This Is My America” author @kimjohnson.bsky.social. Where else can you find it? In Johnson’s book. #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

Tracy Beaumont is a determined teenager fighting for justice when both her brother and father face wrongful murder accusations. “This Is My America” by @kimjohnson.bsky.social offers a powerful look at systemic racism and the flaws within the justice system. Tune in to this week’s #VBBC at 12pET.

Everyone loves a good zombie book, & @maxbrooks.bsky.social author of ‘World War Z’, knows why. “It is human nature for us to tune out [real danger] to save our psyche. But if you give it a veneer of something fictional, like zombies, you can explore all the real factors.” #VelshiBannedBookClub

I think it's really important for every kid to be able to see him or herself in books…that lets a kid know that ‘I'm not alone,’” says award-winning children's author Kevin Henkes. It's equally “important for kids to see kids who are not like themselves…to learn about empathy.” #VelshiBannedBookClub

“The scary thing about ‘Animal Farm’ is how relevant it remains in the exact same way,” says @teaobreht.bsky.social ,author of the foreword for the 75th anniversary edition of ‘Animal Farm’, “forces us to ask timeless questions of ourselves.” #VelshiBannedBookClub www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

Talk about L is for LEAP. How “Pride Puppy!” - a children’s alphabet book - came to the center of a SCOTUS case w/ high stakes for access to books & education, involves "a pretty disturbing interpretation," says @robinstevenson.bsky.social. The "backlash is such evidence of need for these books."

@malindalo.bsky.social book ‘Last Night at the Telegraph Club’ has been targeted for bans across the country. “Many people get clues about who they are from reading books,” says Lo. “It’s important to remember that every teenage has their own experience behind them” #VelshiBannedBookClub

'We do have to find, in these years, a balance between protecting ourselves and protecting freedom of speech more widely,” says author and essayist Valeria Luiselli. “It's a fear we have to just swim against because otherwise it'll be a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. #VelshiBannedBookClub#Velshi#Velshi

@iamgmjohnson.bsky.social author of “All Boys Aren’t Blue” is prepared to fight for their book, books everywhere, & all readers. The banning & the commentary won’t stop them. “I am built with a different type of will & a different type of ancestor watching over me.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

Publishers are joining in the fight against book banning. The CEO of Macmillan, Jon Yaged, says, “The battlefront is really everywhere there's a school, everywhere there's a library, every community. Someone's got to say something, & the publishers are starting to say something.” #Velshi

‘The Great Gatsby’ has been inspiring creatives for 100 years. Author Claire Anderson Wheeler (‘The Gatsby Gambit’) & playwright Martyna Majok (‘Gatsby: An American Myth') explain why it’s still “one of the most potent translations of the American mentality.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

Why is reading important? Why is access to literature important? @jennyboylan.bsky.social, author of “Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs” has the answer: “An education is supposed to prepare you for the world.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...

A theme in “You Must Take Part in Revolution” by @melissakchan.bsky.social & @badiucao.bsky.social is freedom. “There's a toll,” says Chan, “you should stand up to authoritarianism, but each person decides how they will do so, & there is a concurrent cost to that.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

Lawrence Wright spent years trying to get into his subjects’ heads. His latest work, “The Human Scale,” a novel set in the West Bank, allowed him to do just that. “No matter where the reader is coming from, he has to encounter the opposite and see the world through that perspective.” #Velshi

Sanders' Oligarchy Tour is drawing record crowds across America, with many feeling the economy is rigged against them. “It used to be the case that social mobility was the rule in America—today it’s basically a coin flip,” says Matthew Desmond. #Velshi

Dystopian YA novels are as beloved as they are often under attack. Why? “Young people have always, always, spoken out against injustice,” says ‘Internment’ author @samiraahmed.bsky.social, just like the 17-year-old protagonist in her book. #VelshiBannedBookClub#Velshi#Velshi

Ukrainians strive to secure their future & preserve their history. “The weight of history is really the motivating force for Ukrainians resisting today,” says author & journalist @yarotrof.bsky.social. “Ukrainians know they don’t have the luxury to cry right now. They need to keep resisting.”#Velshi

Much of Gone Girl is an exploration of appearance vs. reality. “I love the idea of who's in charge of a narrative, and I think that that is what we deal with every day of our lives,” says author @gillianflynn.bsky.social #VelshiBannedBookClub #Velshi

Two Idaho teenagers, a handful of authors, a tiny public library, and the nation’s largest publishers are suing the state of Idaho, pushing back against the state’s book ban that went into effect last summer. “We are the boots on the ground here in Idaho,” says 17-year-old Jerrick. #Velshi

Why does ‘The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963’ still resonate? It's a masterful exploration of trauma. Author Christopher Paul Curtis wanted to "show how young people try to deal with tragedies and see things in ways that we as adults don't see." #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub

Why is reading about people different from you so important? Manuel Muñoz, author of “The Consequences,” explains it in just a few words, “Once you hear a story, you can’t unhear it.” #Velshi #VelshiBannedBookClub