Book banning is a topic that makes my blood boil, so I was sure this would be a book I'd love to engage in. However, I just could not get into it, despite several attempts across several weeks. In this instance, it must just be a mismatch between the writing style and the reader, or perhaps right book, wrong (personal) time. Having said that. for society this is the perfect time for this book to be published. It needs to be on the radar and read by everyone involved in the process of banning books.

Given the huge presence of book banning and censorship in the news right now, it felt like an appropriate time to read about someone else's battle to fight against censorship in schools. Stifled Laughter is the memoir of the years that Claudia Johnson spent fighting an attempt by a Florida high school to ban Lysistrata and The Miller‘s Tale by Chaucer.

It was at times both enormously empowering and deeply frustrating to read this memoir. This particular instance of book banning happened in 1986. And here we are again, fighting the same battles, just on a much more national scale.

I really appreciate that Johnson took the time to talk about how difficult it was for her to fight back against this attempt to ban two texts from her local high school. She speaks of how it impacted her family and her friends. She talks about the backlash she received from it. Johnson doesn't hold back when she speaks of the difficulties, and the choices she had to make. And she still persevered. And when a second attempt came up, she had the knowledge and the tools to more successfully work to protect the First Amendment.

Her humor is balances well against the explanations of the more technical aspects of court proceedings and committee meetings that she attended to fight back against book banning. I greatly appreciate the work she has put in for her community and it makes me want to do more research for my own community that has had its own recent spate of censorship issues.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fulcrum Publishing for the ARC.

This was an interesting first hand look at combating censorship in schools. Telling the story of the author's fight starting the mid 80s and going through two different school districts, this book is extremely relevant today. Unfortunately not much has changed since these cases occurred. The same censorship battles are raging, with the same arguments against literature being given. This book helps put into perspective those facts, and shows some ways one can help if instances of censorship occur in their areas. A good read for anyone who has an interest in censorship, and protecting the First Amendment.

Stifled Laughter is a funny, important and relevant book for our time. This reprinting with a new introduction allows modern readers to see that the events that transpired when the book was originally published are even more connected to today.

I really enjoyed Claudia Johnson and her writing style that has a large amount of humor that helps to have a laugh while dealing with such huge issues. Johnson chronicles the effects of censorship and how everyone believed that they had the correct answer. As a teacher and lover of books, I felt that Johnson’s story was relatable and honest on how difficult it was.

Overall I really enjoyed Stifled Laughter and recommend it to book lovers!