Books Are Inherently Political: It's Why They Are Burned and Banned

Graphic design: A woman absorbed in a book, with a burning shelf of books in the background.
Luz Media

Whether you’re an active reader who constantly engages in bookish online spaces like “booktok” and “booksta” or you’re a casual reader, you’ve likely heard someone say, “Keep politics out of my books!” at one point or another. This statement is usually uttered when readers are confronted about the kind of authors they support or about the lack of diversity in their reading.

However, it’s impossible to “keep politics out of books” when the very act of reading is political in itself. Throughout history, literacy has been connected to radical change, freedom, and social mobility.


Image by expertbooksmuggler on Instagram

Image by expertbooksmuggler on Instagram

Reading books isn’t just a means of entertainment, escapism, or education, it can also be an act of activism. No political movement in history would’ve happened without educated people or a means to educate others and inspire action.

This is why many bookstores, libraries, and activists create and share reading lists to support movements. For example, with the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, Palestinian stories and authors are constantly being highlighted in bookish spaces to raise awareness and educate people. Efforts like #ReadPalestine week, organized by Publishers for Palestine, is just one example, but individual content creators also share recommendations.

In celebration of World Book Day, we discuss a few reasons why reading is and will always be political.

Stories are a reflection of reality and human experience

At no point in time have war, disease, hunger, poverty, racism, injustice, etc., not been a part of our reality and human experience. Authors know these things either in theory or because they’ve lived them themselves. As a result, they inform their stories and are reflected in them. This is how, as readers, we’re exposed to an incredibly diverse range of human experiences through the books we pick.

It doesn’t matter if the stories are based in the real world or fantasy worlds, writers write what they know. Their experiences and knowledge of the world are always found in the stories they create in one way or another, and isn’t everything in our lives either caused by or affected by politics? Politics are involved even in the books we don’t have access to, or limited access to, because book banning, despite constitutional amendments that were supposed to protect against that practice, still exists and is flourishing.

Authors pour political elements into their works, whether to expose an aspect of our reality for its ugliness or to reimagine it. For example, “The Hunger Games” books aren’t just about a young girl trying to save her little sister. They’re about totalitarian governments, genocide, political repression, poverty, surveillance, revolution, sacrifice to achieve societal change, and more.

Books offer political expression and inspire action

Political expression can be found in all kinds of books. Yes, even romance books. Love stories involve all kinds of characters and depict all kinds of relationships. They also reflect the qualities of ideal partners, which are highly influenced by society. Whether it’s people from different social classes falling in love, interracial relationships, and more, authors can and do explore social issues through their characters’ relationships.

Of course, political expression can be positive or negative. While stories can imagine a more just world to provide comfort and hope, perspective, or criticism of the issues that plague us, they can also reinforce, promote, or even seek to rationalize those issues.

Why? Because it doesn’t matter what the intention of the author is, reading is learning. Instead of learning to uphold harmful political views, values, beliefs, or even stereotypes, we should learn to challenge and dismantle them. What better way to do that than through books? Reading can make a difference in who we are and what we believe, being aware of that fact is a lot more productive than trying to separate reading from politics.

diverse selection of books

Image by bookedwithrook on Instagram

Image by bookedwithrook on Instagram

Therefore, banning a book that explores one aspect of a relationship while allowing books that explore another is, in and of itself, a form of selective indoctrination. The selection of books can teach us to uphold harmful political views, values, beliefs, and stereotypes while offering no other perspective that challenges any of these views.

Reading and politics: an unbreakable union

While reading is often done for entertainment or relaxation, many seek how to gain more empathy in books. Books allow us to explore experiences and perspectives that we wouldn’t otherwise have access to. That exposure can affect us deeply and inform the way we approach not only other people but also our contributions to society. Authoritarian regimes know this and have used book burning throughout history.

Today’s book banning is akin to piles of burned books reduced to ashes.

Books communicate things about their authors and the world as it was at the time they were written. The very act of choosing a book is political. For example, choosing to read books that champion diverse stories when the publishing world is so white can be a political act. While books can provide comfort, enjoyment, relief, joy, and more, they’re also one of the many ways we can use our agency to affect change.

Books are one of the many vehicles through which we exercise our power to influence our community. On this World Book Day, let’s think more critically about the kind of stories we consume and recommend to others, and let’s vow to use books to promote diverse experiences, understanding, kindness, and positive change.

Long shot of Donald Trump giving speech on stage

At the latest Donald Trump rally, held on October 27 in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe sparked controversy and widespread backlash with a series of degrading “jokes” and remarks about Latinos, more specifically Puerto Ricans, as well as Black, and Jewish people. The rally, intended as a high-energy event to bolster Trump’s final campaign push, was overshadowed by Hinchcliffe’s inflammatory and racist jokes that many felt crossed the line.


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This Viral Video Game Is Changing the Face of Voter Outreach

In 2024, voting campaigns have evolved greatly, to say the least. Creativity is now the name of the game and tongue-in-cheek humor is expertly leveraged to drive action. One example of that is Bop the Bigot, a revival of a viral game created in 2016 by Bazta Arpaio, an Arizona activist group, as part of a campaign to unseat Maricopa County’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio lost his re-election to Paul Penzone that year.

The game has now been updated for the current election cycle and relaunched by On Point Studios, with new features added to enable players to find out what’s on their ballot, confirm voter status, and register to vote.

Much like its former 2016 version, the game allows users to take out their political frustrations by virtually “bopping” GOP candidates in the head. It’s very similar to whack-a-mole, except the mole is replaced by former President Donald Trump, Ohio’s Senator J. D. Vance, and Kevin Roberts, President of the Heritage Foundation, which is spearheading Project 2025.

cartoon renditions of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance around a Bop the Bigot logoPromotional image provided by On Point Studios.

B. Loewe, Director of On Point Studios, came up with the concept for this game when working as the Communications Director at Bazta Arpaio in 2016, and is the executive producer of this revamped version. In the first version of the game, Bop the Bigot players used a chancla (flip flop) to “bop” the characters, tapping into Latino culture by leaning on the childhood experience of being set right by a flying chancla from a fed-up mother or grandmother.

This year, the chancla is replaced by a more current element, a green coconut, referencing Kamala Harris’ coconut tree meme. There are also side characters like “the couch,” cat ladies, and more coconuts. All references to jokes about Vice-Presidential candidate Vance, or insults Vance has made about women on the campaign trail.

Another new addition is that Harris’ laugh is immortalized as the game-over sound effect, an unexpected detail that adds even more humor and levity to the game.

cartoon renditions of Donald Trump, Kevin Roberts, and J.D. Vance around a Bop the Bigot logoPromotional image provided by On Point Studios.

Bop the Bigot, which is playable on desktop and mobile, is intended not just as a way to vent political frustrations, but also as a tool for activism and securing voter engagement.

For example, the game supports the work of Mexican Neidi Dominguez Zamorano, Founding Executive Director of the non-profit organization Organized Power in Numbers by using the “game over” screen to prompt players to donate to it and support their efforts.

Organized Power in Numbers is focused on empowering workers in the South and Southwest of the U.S. through collective action and comprehensive campaigns. Their mission is to create a large-scale movement that challenges the status quo and advocates for workers' rights, and racial and economic justice.

Currently, Dominguez Zamorano is leading worker outreach to 2 million working-class voters in the South and Southwest through doorknocking, texting, and calls with the help of local groups in North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, and more.

“We have been blown away by the enthusiastic reception for the video game. We knew we wanted to be part of its creative approach because our movement needs more fun and laughter. We need more ways to connect with nuestra gente so we can feel joy among all the absurdity we witness every day,” Dominguez Zamorano shared with Luz Media via email.

“Our people are gente trabajadora and we deserve to feel uplifted even in our toughest moments. We are deeply involved in the South and Southwest so we know what’s at stake in this election and we’re happy this can be a resource to mobilize, raise spirits, and get out the vote," she concluded.

Dominguez Zamorano is a committed activist for immigrants and workers' rights, known for her strategist skills and expertise. She played a key role in the campaign to win DACA and has also held roles in major campaigns, including as Deputy National States Director for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. In addition to her work with Organized Power in Numbers, Dominguez Zamorano is serving as a Senior Advisor to Mijente’s Fuera Trump Initiative.

Grassroots efforts like these have taken on new life in 2024, with Bop the Bigot adding to the larger, ongoing fight against political apathy and disinformation. Just as it did during the 2016 race, the video game uses humor to soften the serious task at hand—getting people to the polls.

"We want the game to be a fun and comical outlet for anyone who’s been insulted, frustrated, or harmed by Trump in the past and everyone who is ready to move forward as a country after election day," explained Loewe in a press release. "The proposals in Project 2025 and the beliefs of Trump and Vance aren’t just weird, they’re truly harmful. We wanted to give people a humorous and peaceful way to smack down their racism and sexism. We hope it makes people laugh and also feel empowered and motivated to get to the polls on or before election day."

With a mix of satire, sharp political critique, and nostalgia, the game is a call to action. The upcoming election, which is getting closer by the minute, has sparked fierce activism and creative yet grounded initiatives like these aim to ensure voters are engaged, especially young Latinos and disenfranchised groups.