The National Endowment for the Arts selected 34 books this year for their Big Read, but of those books only one is actually about reading: Ray Bradbury's classic "Fahrenheit 451". A novel about how dangerous books can be, how the sharing of ideas disrupts the placid herd society, it also shows how vital they are for our humanity.
The Big Read book coincides perfectly with Banned Book Week, starting September 22, and provokes thought about the nature of "dangerous books". The common theme of frequent banned books is that they encourage reflection on some of the harder aspects of life. And while I personally don't agree with banning books, there is a truth to the idea that books are dangerous. They inspire new ideas and feeling, and can alter what you believe and how you see the world.
But the below SFF books take the inherent danger of reading to a new level. The books in these novels (how meta) are treacherous, and threaten our heroes with grievous bodily harm. So reader, be wary. These dangerous, dastardly books might change the way you approach reading.
The childhood classic, Ende's novel has his protagonist escaping into the book he's reading. Yet the escape from his real life troubles causes complications, as he forgets to lose parts of himself.
David finds himself transported into a land of fairy tales, and begins a quest to find the king and use his "Book of Lost Things" to get back home. But, like most fairy tales, the world is a dangerous place for children.
"My dear and unfortunate successor..."
In a novel about mysterious books and Vlad the Impaler, you wouldn't want to stumble upon these words. But as our narrator soon discovers, books hold power.
In Maas's addictive series, the oppressive king has burned most of the libraries in his realm and outlawed the study of the banned books. But when someone starts using the ancient runes to summon demons, the living find themselves ill-equipped to fight back.
If you don't recognize the name "Thursday Next", you are seriously missing out. And, in an alternate 1980s, she's the best hope of saving the plot of Jane Eyre from literary terrorists.
