Banned Books: How to read challenged books, ebooks for free, even in Florida

As more and more books are challenged, removed or banned from schools across the country — with Florida leading the way — some students and parents may be looking for ways to read what's being taken from them.

A concentrated effort by a few conservative groups across the country has led to a wave of challenged books nationwide, and according to nonprofit organization PEN America's 2023 report, nearly 40% of them happened in the Sunshine State. The challenged books were mostly those with any mention of LGBTQ+ people or experiences, Black histories or experiences that might make white students uncomfortable, and any mention of sexuality regardless of the quality of the work.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the  American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. "The last two years have been exhausting, frightening, outrage-inducing."

Any of the challenged or banned books can be bought in local bookstores or online, of course. But for the benefit of families without the means to pick them up, and to celebrate Banned Books Week (Oct. 1-7, 2023), here are some ways to seek out and read the viewpoints and histories that are being challenged.

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Libraries offer banned books

While local libraries also have seen an increase in book bans, with some even being defunded if librarians refused to capitulate, they are still the best place to go for young readers without pocket money and there's a much better chance of finding challenged and challenging works to expand your horizons there than in any Florida school.

If you have a valid library card, you also can use library apps such as Libby and Hoopla to borrow books and other media and download them directly to your mobile device.

Some libraries may be holding Banned Book Week events this week, check with your local library to find out.

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Online libraries offer banned book access, even if you're not local

In 2022, the Brooklyn Public Library offered free online library cards to anyone ages 13-21 anywhere in the U.S., allowing them access to their full ebook libraries and learning databases. Any books on their Books Unbanned List are always available without waiting. Thousands of people have signed up.

The Banned Book Club allows you to borrow available ebook and audiobook versions of books that have been banned in your area for free, temporary download through the Palace library app.

Online bookstores and catalogs may offer free banned books

The Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts, also contains about 41 million books and texts and you can borrow books for a limited time with a free account. They keep a list of available banned books here.

Project Gutenberg, which archives over 70,000 free ebooks that have fallen into public domain, has a dedicated page of banned books from the ALA's banned books list. None of them are modern, but you can find challenged classics such as Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," James Joyce's "Ulysees," Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" and more.

Other online ebook sites that have curated banned public-domain book collections for download include ManyBooks.net and Free-Ebooks.net. LibroVox offers free public-domain audiobooks. Again, most of the available books are dated but they're still showing up on banned book lists, such as "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman and "Candide" by Voltaire.

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The New Republic Banned Books Tour 2023 may bring banned books to you

The New Republic has partnered with other groups such as the American Federation of Teachers, the African American Policy Forum, Bookshop.org and more to send a bookmobile full of banned books to states with the highest incidents of banning. The TNR Banned Books Tour will hit Florida cities to hand out books and accept donations.

• Oct. 7, Daytona Beach: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., John H. Dickerson Community Center, 308 Dr. MLK Jr. Blvd.

• Oct. 9, Miami: Noon to 4 p.m., Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables

• Oct. 10, Tallahassee: 1 to 5 p.m., Common Ground Books,128 N Bronough St., Tallahassee

• Oct. 11, Jacksonville: 4 to 6:30 p.m., The Church of Oakland, 1025 Jessie St.

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Get banned books from Little Free Libraries

You know those little colorful free book boxes around the neighborhood? Some of them may have banned books in them.

In response to the recent surges in book bans in Duval County and across the U.S., the Little Free Library, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding book access through a global network of free book exchange boxes, partnered with a San Francisco-based ad agency to launch The Unbanned Book Club. New, specially branded Little Free Libraries are being placed around the Jacksonville area, filled with banned books provided by HarperCollins and Penguin Random House.

But around the country, people who own and maintain Little Free Libraries (called stewards) have been getting around local book bans for years by providing banned books. If you download the free Little Free Libraries app (iOS | Android) and tap Search, you can enter your location, a distance range, and then tap the special indicators for the filter Banned Books. You'll get a list of locations that are either participating in the program or whose stewards regularly add their own banned books to their mix.

Get them free (you pay postage) from BannedBooksUSA.org

A new organization, Banned Books USA, in conjunction with Electric Literature, a non-profit organization that promotes inclusivity and accessibility to literature, and Bookshop.org, an online bookseller that financially supports independent bookstores, now offers one book from its extensive list of challenged, removed or banned books to any Florida resident for free, you just pay the postage.

One book per person. One dollar for every order will be donated to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, and 10% of the cover price will be donated to support independent bookstores in Florida.

Win a free banned book from Penguin Random House

Penguin Random House is helping the Freedom to Read Foundation, PEN America, and Little Free Library hand out copies of banned books, but they're also giving away free books to 200 winners in their Banned Books Giveaway for Fall 2023. You have till midnight Oct. 31 to enter.

Banned book? Watch the movie or TV show instead

If you can't read the book, why not watch it? Many of the best and most-banned books have been made into movies and binge-worthy TV shows such as "13 Reasons Why," "Handmaids' Tale," "The Hate U Give," "The Diary of Anne Frank" and more.

Here’s a list of TV shows, series or movies based on books removed from school library shelves in Florida.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Banned in Florida? Online bookstores, libraries offer free banned books