BOISE, Idaho — Guru Donuts is holding a reading for banned books Thursday following the Nampa School Board (NSD) decision in early May to ban 22 books.
In a Facebook post, the doughnut shop said: "Join Story Forward to hear excerpts of banned books, along with original fiction, poetry, and nonfiction on theme at Guru Donuts in Downtown Boise on June 2, 2022 at 5 pm!"
The event is free and open to all ages, but comes with a warning of mature content. Guru Donuts will read excerpts from a few of the books banned by the Nampa School District.
Since the NSD made the decision to ban 22 books last month, there has been pushback from the community and students in the form of protests and reading lists made directly from the banned book list.
A local author and creative writing teacher, Christian Winn is hosting the event.
"It's just censorship in a way I don't believe in and a lot of people that I work with and around and teach, we kind of put our art on stage and on the page to fight this kind of relative oppression," Winn said.
Across the county, efforts have been made to remove books containing topics on sex and sexuality from libraries. The Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill in March that would have penalized librarians for distributing allegedly pornographic material to children, but the bill ultimately failed to pass.
The books that were targeted as offensive and will be permanently removed include: “Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini; “The Prince and the Dressmaker,” by Jen Wang; “Thirteen Reasons Why,” by Jay Asher; “The 57 Bus,” by Dashka Slater; “Looking for Alaska,” by John Green; “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison; “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood; to name a few.
'Banned Together: A Banned Book Reading and Dialogue' is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Guru Donuts in downtown Boise. Readings will begin around 5:30 p.m.
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