Gender Queer is one of, if not the most banned book.
The news recently has been filled with stories about book bans. Some local residents don't want others to read what they don't like, and opportunist politicians jump on the bandwagon. Censorship is as old as free expression. However, as Newton's third law of motion teaches us, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Now, we are seeing opposing forces seeking to ban the book bans.
Minnesota recently passed a law designed to prohibit the practice of banning books. The legislation is headed, Access to Library Materials and Rights Protected. The legislators were not into writing detailed descriptions of the rights protected, stating succinctly “Book banning prohibited. A public library must not ban, remove, or otherwise restrict access to a book or other material based solely on its viewpoint or the messages, ideas, or opinions it conveys.” The remainder of the bill goes on to state that it applies to publicly supported libraries, and that residents can protest the use of books they find objectionable. What it does require is that review of banning requests follow a defined policy and the decisions be made by library professionals. The law also makes it clear that it does not interfere with the library's normal processes for removing books – shelf space, age, damage or obsolescence.
Governor Tim Walz posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, on signing the bill, reading: “Censorship has no place in our libraries. As a former teacher, I’m clear: We need to remember our history, not erase it.
“Today, I signed a bill into law putting an end to book bans based on ideology in Minnesota.”
Three other states have already passed ban-the-book-ban laws. Illinois led the way a year ago, followed by California a couple of months later, and Maryland two months ago. Several other states have similar laws on the docket but it is not clear whether they will be adopted.
Book banning laws or rules have mainly been promoted or enacted on a local level. However, efforts to ban books statewide have taken place in Florida and Idaho.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000
Forum, May 28:The Christ Child holding a crystal orb and surrounded by banderoles with devotional exhortations, on a leaf most probably from a Book of Hours, [Southern Netherlands, last decades of the fifteenth century]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000
Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000
Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000
Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Ribelles y Helip (José), Attributed to. An album comprising 33 finely executed watercolours of Spanish costume, bull-fighting scenes, and other genre subjects, [circa 1830]. £10,000-15,000
