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commonly banned books in America- what do you notice about the reasons they are banned? 
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What would make you fight for a book?
I would fight for any book as a matter of principle, however if it promoted topics such as rape/sexism/racism/homophobia as a good thing, I would feel disinclined to fight for such a book. However, that is not to say that I would not fight for a book that has a different opinion from my own, say, a political or religious difference to my own beliefs. Rape, sexism, racism, and homophobia are fundamentally awful things, and I would fight against their promotion as good ones, but a difference in opinion is not something I would fight against like many governments would

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What would make you fight for a book?
I would fight for a book if the author had an important message to get across to readers. I think that if the message is one that people would want to see, then it should be shown to those who are interested in it. A book that shows someones creativity in a way that avoids my previous criteria for books that i would choose to ban.

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What would make you fight for a book?
Fighting for a book is similar to fighting for freedom of speech. Preventing people from publishing or presenting their views prevents proper debate and reasoning. There are very few books I would not fight to keep available. However there are certain books, books that have actually changed opinions, or mark a significant time in history or a significant belief, that I would fight not only to keep available, but to keep remembered.

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What would make you fight for a book?
I would fight for the book if it did not contain any reason to appropriate to ban it. Such inappropriate aspects include being racist towards a certain race, is highly sexist to a gender and included sadistic plots such as characters mercilessly others. Another reason I would fight for a book is if it is one of my favourite books. Books which I have become attached to the characters and loved the plot include the Harry Potter series. If these books are banned then, I will happily fight to stop the ban.

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What would make me fight for a book?
I would fight for a book as long as it is does not contain the features aforementioned in the reasons for me banning a book. Books are an incredible way of transferring knowledge, creativity and ideas to the reader, and banning one for no reason seems unreasonable, so would fight for any book, even if it does not interest me, as long as it does not contain the features for me banning a book.

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If you had to make a list of what constituted a reason for banning a book/s what would be on it?
If i had to have reasons as to why i would ban a book or books, they would be these:
- If a book was making references too often to inappropriate language or actions.
- If a book was to talk with the opinion or view about murderous events or terrorist actions being a good thing.
- If a book was to talk in a way that discriminated a type of sexuality, nationality, or ethnic races and religions.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Throughout history some of the biggest changes in society have been influenced by books. The Communist Manifesto and The Republic influenced the political views of their era, along with The Federalist Papers which helped create America's economy, to The Canterbury Tales, which opened up literature to a whole new class of people, and 1984 and Brave new world, some of the first dystopias which taught people to question the views given to them by those in power, and even the most prominent religions on the planet are all based on holy books. Clearly books have had a great influence on society and the people within society. The world simply wouldn't be the same if we did not share our views and ideas, and even if we did not simply tell stories

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What would make you fight for a book?
I would fight for a book if it included an important message that is very meaningful to me. Whether it be something i can relate to and connect with a lot or something i find very interesting regardless if i agree with the message or not.

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If you had to make a list of what constituted a reason for banning a book/s what would be on it?
If a book was based on discrimination against different nationalities, religions, races, sexuality, genders etc. I would ban the book as it would promote these types of behaviors.

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What would make you fight for a book?
I would fight for any book that has an important message, regardless of what that message was or whether I agreed with it. Banning books is bad, and the most common reason for banning a book it not agreeing with its message, but I think that banning a book with a message you disagree with only proves that the argument for your views isn't as strong, since you are taking such drastic action. I also think that others have a right to their opinion (and a right to try and convince others of it) so don't ban their books.

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What would make me fight for a book?
Under any circumstances I would fight for a book, as long as the book did not meet my criteria for a book to be banned. I do not believe any book should be banned, but I would only voice my opinion if I believed the banning of the book to be unethical. Books are symbols of knowledge and creativity because they contain both. I would fight for a book purely for the world to retain that knowledge and creativity.

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List o things that would make me ban a book.
- If the book contains material that is offensive to any race, religion, gender, culture or common belief.
- If the book contains material that is inappropriate and reveals concepts such as pornography, rape, 🤬 and other obscene idealogies in a positive light.
- If it contains information that is historically or factually incorrect.(in a non-fiction book)

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If you had to make a list of what constituted a reason for banning for banning a book what would be on it?

-A book should be banned if it is:

- Racist towards a certain race or alludes to racist comments and includes past events which may deeply offended the race. Also comments on the stereotypes of the race should make the book banned.
- Contains inappropriate content such as semi-pornographic, high levels of swearing
- Sexist  towards another gender and should be banned if it alludes to sexism and has humour of stereotypes of the gender in poor taste.
- Is 🤬 and includes sadistic comments which attacks most cultures and religion

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What would make me fight for a book?
If there was a particular book that was going to be banned that I felt strongly about, I would fight for it. It it portrayed a key message that would be a beneficial insight for society, I would fight for it. If it appeals to me personally, I would fight for it. If it conveyed key moments from our past to help us change our future, I would fight for it. However the written form of a book could die and the idea and memory of it would live on so even if these books were banned I would be able to retain the knowledge of them.

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What reasons are there for banning a book?
Personally I see no reasons for banning a book. While the content of books can be considered offensive to some, it's important to recognize that some opinions I have today could have been considered offensive, or in the very least unconventional, at some point in the past. Shutting up different points of view only puts off argument, it does not prevent it. It's important to have some form of debate over ideas and opinions, otherwise there is no way of establishing justice and fair treatment.
Concurrently, I can personally understand that books and literature are a powerful medium. At times, it's easy to want ot get rid of a book or a piece of writing that has language that you disagree with, or find intensely offensive toward something you believe in. This is commonly done because words have the power to insight action, and in fear of violence or even death, there should be debate over what classifies as freedom of speech and what classifies as a hate speech, soemthing justifiably feared.

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If I had to list the things that would make me ban a book, I would put:
- Damaging Content to people or groups (obscene libel)
- If it was inaccurate, and its inaccuracy was damaging to the public
- Books that promoted sexism, racism, rape, homophobia, etc. as a good thing

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What would make you fight for a book?

If in some case, a book is being banned, there are several things that would make me fight for it. One may be that a book is trying to publicise an idea or a message, that has good will. Messages or ideas, that belong to this category include things such as spreading the news of world-wide problems in order to have society not repeat these problems. This message may be beneficial to society, as with it a change could occur. My second reason for fighting for a book, would be if I had a deep interest in the book and I had enjoyed reading it. If the reason for banning an interesting book, is due to it, going against cultural teachings, then I will be very willing to protect it.

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What would make you fight for a book?
To be entirely honest, I would be most inclined to "fight" for a book carrying personal value - for example discussing issues heavily interlinked with circumstances present in the environment I live in, or evocative in the sense of, once again, private experiences. However,  I would also be willing to support unbiased literature carrying significance, through creatively evoking emotions and discussing themes related to achieving a fair, civilised system and social order. This would encompass writing raising issues, and urging for recognition and contemplation of them, rather than manipulating into taking on the intended and desired viewpoint.

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I would fight for a book if it had something in it that meant a lot to me. If it had some ideas that i related to, then i would fight to have it be unbanned. I am not a huge fan of reading so it would have to be really important to make my fight for it.

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What would make you fight for a book?

The only thing that would make me fight for a book would be if the book provided scientific reasoning that has been proved true, yet it disagrees with the common beliefs of the time meaning that is is widely unaccepted by the majority of people.

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What would make you fight for a book?

If the book had a positive message that would be beneficial and influential to society, I would fight for it.

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What would make you fight for a book?

I would fight for a book if i believed that it contained a story or an opinion that, while possibly not fitting into everyones ideologies, was an opinion that needed to be heard. Whether it be portrayed through a story or simply someone voicing what they want to say, I think listening to everyones opinion is required to maintain a balanced society.

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Why would I ban a book?
Books that contain obvious hate speech towards a minority should be banned. Books that openly encourage law breaking could possibly be banned depending on the nature of the law being broken. Books that are overly graphic should not be banned per say, but maybe restricted. I would also ban a book if it glorified a horrific event such as the holocaust

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Why would I fight for a book?

If a book would create a positive message then I would fight for it not to be banned. If the only things getting it banned were someone's prejudices, then I wouldn't thin that it should be banned. For example, if someone believed that a book with 'hints of homosexuality' in it should be banned because they don't believe that it's right, then that is something I would object to.

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What would make you fight for a book?
If a book contains or focuses on important ideas which all people should know, it should not be band. Also if a book contains a point of view which is different from yours, it should not be banned.

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List of reasons for banning a book:
1. If it constitutes inappropriate themes that have no connection to history or reality
2. If it attacks someone personally or a group of people or demographic based on gender, race, intellectual ability, or sexual orientation.
3. If a book is extremely traumatic and from a third person perspective because it has no basis or truth or personal experience.

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Why I would ban a book:
If I had the power to ban a book, it would seem obvious to ban a book whose message I disagree with. Banning religious texts seems like a good place to start, but personally I'd start with any books that have bad grammar because they're terrible, I mean, seriously Stephanie Meyer? Did you even go to school? But seriously speaking, I wouldn't ban religious texts, since the rebellious among us would immediately side with whatever I banned and I couldn't prove them wrong, because it'd be against the law to show them the book... Also, pick the wrong religion and whatever god is real would send me straight to Hel, or Hades or whatever for banning them. I'd probably ban books that I like, because then after they get unbanned they'll be super famous for getting banned and that'd be cool. Yeah, IDK, there's positives and negatives for banning any book.

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If you had to make a list of what constituted a reason for banning a book, what would be in it?

- Any non fictional books that discuss inhumane topics that have happened in real life.
- Non fictional books that provides a false sense of reality (by this I mean statements that have no evidence to back them up or any credible resources.)

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If you had to make a list of what constituted a reason for banning a book/s what would be on it?

While I believe banning books isn't necessarily correct, there are several reasons I would consider banning books. This would include books radically promoting, glorifying and encouraging hatred, violence, self-destructive behaviors as well as inaccurately presenting information as fact in order to manipulate the audience.

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If you had to make a list of what constituted a reason for a book/s what would be on it?

There are certain situations in which banning a book/s becomes acceptable. Throughout history books have often been banned for their teachings.

1. Their teachings may be disagreed with in terms of religion or other aspects such as political ideologies.

2. Their teachings may be considered offensive in terms of race, religion, skin colour or political ideologies.

3. Their teachings may be considered harmful to certain groups of people or audiences.

Therefore, often the influence that a book has on its reader forms a basis for its banning. If the book has no power; influence, there is no reason to ban it.

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Personally, I dont think any books should really be banned. Although some books may have discriminative messages, I still think that it is fiction. If the author them self is being discriminative, then that is not OK, but if a character or setting in the book shows that, it is OK.

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What constitutes banning a book?

- Sexual content
- Extreme violence
-Specific political ideologies
-Racism/Sexism
-Political proganda

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Why would I ban a book?

If there had to be books banned, it would be books that enforced negative ideologies. Because books are so powerful, they have the ability to encourage certain ideas and thoughts, so if a book was encouraging homophobia, sexism, racism etc, I believe that they should be banned. If a book has the ability to incite things like hate crimes then they should not be available to the general public.

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If you had to make a list of what constituted a reason for banning books what would be on it?
If books enforced certain ideas such as:
-Discrimination e.g Racism/Sexism
-Violence
-Propaganda
-Rape
-Homophobia

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Books are an effective way of visually representing an idea so that it can be shared on a major scale. They hold an immense amount of power in that they leave an effect, whether lasting or short, which impacts the way they see the world or their emotions.

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Why should books be banned?
Books should be banned if they contain:
-hate speech
-false information
-encourage people to commit crime

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What Would Make You Fight For A Book?

I would probably fight for any book that was banned, but I would be especially inclined to fight for a book that was promoting a different way of seeing the world to the norm, or was exploring parts of life that some people may find troubling, e.g. Subcultures with fringe beliefs, alternative lifestyles. This is because I think it is important to see a range of perspectives on the world and I think that books are a good way of understanding those perspectives.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?

Books are powerful because they allow people to travel into entirely new worlds and exprience things that that wouldn't be able to in real life. The possibilities for what you can write are only limited by the authors imagination. This means that there will always be the right book for the right person.

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Why Would you Ban a Book?

I fundamentally don't think any book should be banned in a free society, but if someone put a gun to my head, I guess I would say texts that actively and explicity promoted facism, racism, etc.e.g. Mein Kampf

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Books are powerful because they hold information from all corners of the world. Anybody can write anything in a book. Whether it be fact or fiction. They can have information that people don't want other people to know.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Books are powerful because they are a way for an author to express their views of something and their creativity. Books are a way to show people your opinions and inform them of how your they should have the same opinion as you because it is better than another, but doing this through the theme that is showed in the book, by suggesting it and not actually stating it. Books are powerful as they are a way to present your creativity to the rest of the world with just words. This is what makes books powerful, they are just expressing yourself or someone else through words.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Books have the ability to mask morals and messages behind captivating stories. A reader's subconscious can absorb these morals and incorporate them into their everyday decisions. A book can express someones opinion in such a wide way that it can reach audiences from beyond their time. As a society, we teach our children morals through the literature we expose them too. Most, if not all, children's books have a message that leaves a lasting effect on the reader.

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What is it that makes books powerful?
It is not books but writing that is extremely powerful. Writing, if done well, has the ability to persuade readers into new ideologies, show them stories from different perspectives and generally change someones outlook on life.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Not books, but writing in general is powerful because the message within is tailored to the reader. Should a message be given as a speech, movie, etc., the reader is forced to take the message how it comes, but books allow a message to be given to a wide audience, while still allowing to message to be personal, since a person will read the book in their own unique way. Humans make snap judgments about others, and this creates prejudice, but with a book, a reader will create an opinion based on personality, and fill in the gaps with what suits them. This allows books to avoid prejudice by allowing readers to create their own image of the characters.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Books posses the ability to influence and enforce certain ideas, in a creative format. This allows to engage the intended audience, through creating a captivating presentation of the idea. A person is more likely to be guided and/or subconsciously manipulated while reading a novel, rather than information presented in a boring format.

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What is it that makes books Powerful?
Books are powerful because they can spread ideas. These ideas can often influence the public's opinion on major events. Also books can teach people and give them a better understanding of the world they live in.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?

Many books publicly enforce ideas or beliefs that may go against one's own culture or religion. A book that has a major topic enforcing homosexuality is an example of a book that goes against Christianity. Readers may then sway towards the beliefs of a book's idea, making books a powerful tool of persuasion.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?

Books are power because authors are able to discuss their viewpoints and beliefs of society. This is because they are described in a persuasive manner as a result of its vocabulary or grammatical structure. Due to this, the readers can be easily influenced by the author's message.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
I think that something that makes books powerful are the messages and key ideas that are shown through out the book. The author shows their points of view through the messages and ideas which allows you to see different topics from different perspectives.
It is interesting to see things from different perspectives even if you don't necessarily believe in them.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?

Books are powerful as they often contain the personal beliefs of the author. This means that these beliefs/messages are able to be passed around and distributed for the interpretations of the readers, even after the author's death. In this sense, books serves as a medium for the authors to express their beliefs on a widespread, and long-lasting scale. It gives the author power to express their beliefs to more people over a longer stretch of time, and is therefore powerful in definition.

If you had to make a list of what constituted a reason for banning a book/s what would be on it?

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Books are powerful because they contain the views and opinions of authors long after their death. Ideas within books spread and even once the copies themselves are burned, the content lives on. It is one of humanity's greatest skills to document thoughts and feelings. Anyone can write a story and other people can read it and gradually the dispersion of knowledge becomes uncontrollable. Therefore it is improbable to ban books because they are more than just pen on paper, they embody ideal and dystopian realities and our own fantasies.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?

Books are powerful because they have the ability to spread information and ideas to the general population. It makes them powerful because they are easily obtained, and the ideas are something that can be taken differently by every person. They have the ability to enforce someones opinion, or to change their mind about a certain topic.

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What is it that makes books so powerful?
Books are powerful primarily because of their ability to manipulate people's perceptions and beliefs via their content.  Authors may write about whatever they wish, and as books are easily accessible, their contents may be taken on by a large audience. This is especially powerful as governments do not have any power over what goes through an author's mind, and unless they specifically ban the book, over how the contents affect the general public.
Best of all, books have the ability to change perspectives via education or empathy, which I believe is one of the most powerful aspects of writing. A book can spark a rebellion, a fact the German Nazis recognised by burning mountains of potentially anti-establishment material.

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What Makes Books So Powerful?

Books are powerful because they are easy means to distribute ideas and moral positions to the public, sometimes somewhat covertly, as these ideas are just part of larger stories.

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What is it that makes books powerful?
The primary property that makes books powerful is the fact that they are able to contain information that is crafted from the beliefs, opinions and imagination of the author. A book however, has no power unless it is publicized. The fact that books are a form of writing that is mobile, common and readily available means that a book is able to give the beliefs, opinions and imagination of the author the ability and power to influence the beliefs and opinions of others.

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I have then added a list which deals with texts in a more global context.

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It's time to do some spring cleaning, dust off the bookshelf, and plot which stories to add to your reading list. Whether you're looking to discover a new author or find an unread title by an old favorite, these 25 books by women would be welcome additions to your collection.

Roxane Gay is a New York Times best-selling author who has written everything from novels to cultural essays to comic books-in short, she's a badass. Bad Feminist -a term she uses for herself-is her collection of personal essays (backed up with external sources) about the daily conflicts that women encounter being feminists in our complicated, culture-consuming world. She approaches each topic with a healthy balance of humor and criticism, acknowledging the messy, flawed nature of trying to live by an ever-changing set of feminist principles.

After Jesmyn Ward's second novel, Salvage the Bones, took home the National Book Award for Fiction in 2011, she turned to her own life for the 2013 memoir Men We Reaped. It's a devastating account of black lives lost to drugs, accidents, or suicide, all in her tiny Mississippi hometown. Telling the stories of five men she knew in reverse chronological order while weaving in chronological chapters about her own childhood and coming of age, it all leads to the heartbreaking death of her brother.

3. TEXT ME WHEN YOU GET HOME: THE EVOLUTION AND TRIUMPH OF MODERN FEMALE FRIENDSHIP // KAYLEEN SCHAEFER

Kayleen Schaefer admits early on in Text Me When You Get Home that she is a reformed mean girl. As someone who used to view other women solely as competition, her book about the incredible, complicated bonds of female friendship is relatable, familiar, and subverts the false notion that women are predisposed to hating each other.

Sonia Sanchez's 1998 collection of love poems is romantic and sexy. Her poems take various forms, including tanka and haiku, and with lines like "I breathe you and become high," Sanchez invites you to bask in their lovely brevity while entreating you to turn the page to the next one. The musicality of her poems ("i dreamt i was tangoing with / you, you held me so close / we were like the singing coming off the drums") is kinetic and shows why The New York Times once referred to her as "the spiritual mother of spoken word for a hip-hop generation." (Sanchez did, after all, dedicate this book to Tupac Shakur and his activist mother, Afeni Shakur.)

Adrienne Rich's collection of poems feels as relevant today as it must have when it was released in 1973. When it was announced she would split the National Book Award for poetry with Allen Ginsberg, Rich declined the award as an individual and instead accepted it on behalf of all women, speaking to the deeply feminist and political nature of her work. Her 2012 New York Times obituary called her "a poet of towering reputation and towering rage"; after reading the titular poem, it would be impossible to disagree.

Sharon Olds won a Pulitzer for 2012's Stag's Leap, but her first collection of poetry, Satan Says, from 1980, set the tone for her acclaimed career as a writer of incredibly personal poems who can tackle themes like sex, trauma, and abuse with honesty and aplomb. Fellow award-winning poet Marilyn Hacker called it "a daring and elegant first book," and its straightforward prose and frankness quickly made Satan Says college curriculum material.

Min Jin Lee's epic Pachinko was one of the most celebrated books of 2017, and with good reason. This novel, Lee's second, chronicles the lives of four generations of a Korean family who immigrate to Japan. Owning pachinko parlors, a slot-machine-style game popular in Japan, is one of the only ways for the Korean immigrants to rise in economic standing. Lee's ability to keep the reader captivated through each new generation is a testament to her ability to craft detailed and nuanced characters who resonate.

Yaa Gyasi's historical novel begins in the 18th century with two African sisters and follows the lives and struggles of multiple generations of their descendants. The family progresses forward one chapter at a time, each focusing on a different generation and contextualizing their lives based on where their family line was headed-one sister married a British official and stayed in Africa, while the other was captured and sold into American slavery. Each subsequent character is so incredibly well developed that closing their chapter and leaving them behind hurts a little every time.

The Animators, Kayla Rae Whitaker's 2017 debut novel, joins the pantheon of books about complex female friendship. The story focuses on the bond between two talented and creative women who meet in college and become successful collaborators as adults. The relationship between Sharon and Mel is as intense and messy as it is funny and inspirational, and their artistic failures and achievements can sometimes feel like a third friend.

Over the course of Hanya Yanagihara's 2015 novel, an unlikely crew of college friends-Jude, Willem, Malcolm, and JB-become such indelible characters that you'll be thinking about them long after you've finished reading. While each of the boys becomes wildly successful in his own field, there is a darkness that looms due to a mysterious past trauma suffered by Jude. Yanagihara, who uses this book to examine the role of male friendship, once described the novel as "a fairy tale set in a contemporary time and place"-but consider this fair warning: She is referring more to classic Grimm than Disney.

Acclaimed Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street came out in 1984. A coming of age story about a young Latina girl named Esperanza ("in Spanish my name means hope, in English it means too many letters") in Chicago, the book format follows Esperanza from her teenage years to adulthood. Cisneros weaves in stories about the robust Latin neighborhood around Esperanza, painting a vivid picture of life on Mango Street.

The National Book Awards named Nigerian writer Lesley Nneka Arimah one of their 5 Under 35 in 2017. The very first story in this debut collection, " The Future Looks Good," is so brilliantly crafted around the family history of a girl who is fumbling to open a locked door, it's nearly impossible to catch your breath until the spectacular end. Each subsequent story has a distinctive voice. NPR called her writing "defiantly original" with a range that goes from "nightmare fairy tale" to "post-apocalyptic hope."

If it were possible to bottle up the feeling of first love and put it into word form, Eleanor & Park would be the result. It's set in the '80s-meaning mixtapes on cassettes and having to wait to see your crush because there are no cell phones. Rowell writes beautifully about the first flutters of love. Her other books vary in theme from a fanfic writing college student to gay magicians, but her ability to capture that first love feeling remains one of her most magical qualities across all her books.

Robin Benway's novel about a pregnant, adopted teen searching for her biological siblings could have easily veered into the after-school special territory. Instead, its realistic dialogue and beautiful prose make this book a smart, "big-hearted and uplifting" read, and made it last year's National Book Award winner for young people's literature.

The Year of Magical Thinking is the painfully honest chronicle of Joan Didion's life the year following the sudden death of her husband. Known for her novels, screenplays, and essay collections like Slouching Towards Bethlehem, this deeply personal book is a raw glimpse into the realities of grief. Didion adapted Magical Thinking into a play that debuted on Broadway in 2007.

Jenny Han's first book in the series about teen Lara Jean Song Covey is so charming it's no wonder it's being adapted into a movie. Han writes incredibly authentic sister relationships: Lara Jean keeps the love letters she's written to the boys she's crushed on in a hat box, and when her younger sister mails them out, it sets off a series of perfect rom-com events.

Brit Bennett's 2016 debut novel, The Mothers, is about a young woman, Nadia, whose grief over her mother's recent suicide sends her down a path where she makes life-altering decisions that change the course of her future. Her ongoing relationships with her best friend, Aubrey, and the pastor's son, Luke, remind Nadia of what could have been had she made different choices.

Celebrated Native American writer Louise Erdrich has written 14 novels, including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist The Plague of Doves. In her 2012 novel The Round House-which was called "haunting" and "powerful" when it won the National Book Award for Fiction that year-the narrator shares the story of his struggle to make sense of and seek justice after the violent rape of his mother when he was 13 years old.

Former New York Times restaurant critic and Gourmet magazine editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl's 1998 memoir is infused with a lot of humor and truth telling. She writes openly about her mother's manic depression (and penchant for quirky culinary creations) and includes recipes throughout the book, which takes the reader through the various people who shaped her palate. Kirkus aptly described Tender as "A perfectly balanced stew of memories: not too sweet, not too tart."

Four years after her first book, Meaty, comedian Samantha Irby returned with a new collection in 2017. We Are Never Meeting in Real Life is filled with 20 candid and moving essays which Bust called "so vulnerable and fearless that they'll stop you in your tracks." Chronicling decidedly unfunny moments, like spreading her father's ashes or dealing with a sick pet, Irby manages to inflect her curmudgeonly humor and warmth into every scenario, leaving you unsure if you should laugh or cry.

The nine stories in Mia Alvar's 2015 debut collection center around the life of Filipinos, those in the Philippines as well as those who moved to the U.S. or Bahrain for work, as she and her family had in her childhood. "Many of Mia's stories are so plausible," BuzzFeed reviewed, "it's easy to forget her book is a work of fiction." One story, about an expat woman who begins to tutor a severely impaired young girl, provides such insight into the morally gray area that so many people find themselves in that you'll find yourself thinking about it long after you've set the book aside.

Tayari Jones's fourth novel, An American Marriage, was quickly chosen by Oprah as her next book club selection after it was released earlier this year. The novel is told from the alternating points of view of a newlywed couple, Celestial and Roy, and the man who introduced them, Andre. When Roy is falsely convicted and sent to prison, it irreparably damages their marriage. Jones's masterful storytelling is gripping, and as Oprah describes it, "It's a love story that also has a huge layer of suspense."

This 1975 collection by legendary screenwriter Nora Ephron is hilarious and very much of the time. Prior to writing and/or directing classic movies like When Harry Met Sally ..., Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail, Ephron was a journalist and essayist. Crazy Salad includes the famous "A Few Words About Breasts," which is Ephron's humorous musing on how different her life would be if her breasts were larger. The essays, described by Entertainment Weekly as "coiled with crabby wit and snide intelligence," offer a glimpse into the women's movement in the '70s.

This dreamy YA novel published in 2016, Nicola Yoon's follow-up to her debut, Everything, Everything, is about a matter-of-fact teenage girl who doesn't believe in fate or magic, but meets a winsome teen boy who shows her otherwise. With two POC protagonists tackling topics like deportation and the unique pressure of being the child of immigrants, this book manages to feel both current and timeless.

25. // G. WILLOW WILSON

When Marvel decided to make Ms. Marvel a Muslim, Pakistani-American teenager who lives in New Jersey-and had G. Willow Wilson, a Muslim woman, write the series-the world took notice. (The novel won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story in 2015.) Part My So-Called Life, part classic Peter Parker origin story, Wilson makes Kamala Khan's adventures balancing school, family, and her superpowers feel like the universal teen experience.

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It's time to do some spring cleaning, dust off the bookshelf, and plot which stories to add to your reading list. Whether you're looking to discover a new author or find an unread title by an old favorite, these 25 books by women would be welcome additions to your collection.

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Here is a list of the most commonly banned books in America- what do you notice about the reasons they are banned?