Flying Dog Brewery, Curious Iguana celebrate Banned Books Week

Sep. 21—In a year shaping up to be a record-setting one for the number of attempts to restrict and censor books, Frederick-based businesses Flying Dog Brewery and Curious Iguana are celebrating Banned Books Week.

Curious Iguana, a bookshop on North Market Street, held its first "book fair for grownups" at Frederick Social on Tuesday night, showcasing books frequently banned and challenged at schools, universities and public libraries.

Meanwhile, Flying Dog has launched a "takeover" of Little Free Libraries in communities across Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., supplying them with books that are often restricted.

"If you're offended by different world views and controversial ideas out of fear and ignorance, you're the problem, not books and freedom of expression," Flying Dog CEO Jim Caruso said in a press release from the brewery. "Ban censors, not books."

Banned Books Week was founded in 1982 by Judith Krug, a First Amendment and library activist. It is sponsored by a coalition of organizations — including PFLAG, the National Book Foundation, the American Library Association and Amnesty International USA — the annual event celebrates the "freedom to read," according to its website.

With three months remaining in 2022, the number of attempts nationwide to ban or restrict books is on track to surpass the record number of attempts reported last year, according to data from the American Library Association.

The American Library Association documented 729 attempts to ban or restrict books last year — the highest number since the organization started compiling a banned books list more than 20 years ago. The attempts targeted 1,597 titles.

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 of this year, the association has documented 681 attempts to ban or restrict books, including 1,651 titles.

Many of the targeted books include LGBTQ+ content, such as "Gender Queer" — a graphic novel memoir by Maia Kobabe about coming out as nonbinary and asexual — and "Lawn Boy," a novel by Jonathan Evison.

Other targeted books address racism and police violence, like "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas, which was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Still others explore both racial and queer identities, like "All Boys Aren't Blue," a memoir by George Johnson, which describes their experience growing up Black and queer.

Bonnie Monnier, the marketing and events manager for Curious Iguana, said the display of 33 banned and challenged books at Frederick Social on Tuesday included some that are relatively new and others that have been frequent targets over the years, such as Anne Frank's "The Diary of a Young Girl." Another, Art Spiegelman's "Maus," was banned in a Tennessee school system this year.

Other titles on sale from the banned and challenged table on Tuesday included ""How to Be an Antiracist," "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," "The Color Purple" and "This Book is Gay."

People lined up at Frederick Social to peruse books and drink craft beverages.

There is certainly a movement to further marginalize communities that are already marginalized, Marlene England, who runs Curious Iguana with her husband, Tom England, said in an interview.

"Everyone should be able to see themselves in the books they're reading, and nobody should be able to decide what someone should and should not read," she said.

Earlier this week, Flying Dog placed hundreds of banned books at little libraries in Frederick, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Alexandria and Arlington in Virginia.

Flying Dog — which has won lawsuits in North Carolina, Colorado and Michigan for restrictions on the brewery's provocative beer labels and slogans — purchased many of the books at a discount from Curious Iguana.

In Frederick, banned books can be found in book stalls by Baker Park, Max Kehne Memorial Park and MOM's Organic Market on Buckeystown Pike.

Editor Andy Schotz contributed to this story.

Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier