H/T to MaryfromMarin!
Our literary past is under assault. Trigger warnings are being slapped on reissued classics. Long-dead writers are being called out for offending contemporary sensibilities. And sensitivity readers are relentlessly filleting books of anything that upsets their identitarian worldview.
In February, the PC ghouls went for Roald Dahl, making ‘hundreds of changes’ to his beloved children’s books. Then, just days later, it emerged they had sanded off the edges of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels.
It didn’t stop there. In March, it was reported that Agatha Christie’s novels had been reworked to remove offensive language, such as insults and references to ethnicity. Two months later, Dr Emily Zobel Marshall, reader in postcolonial studies at Leeds Beckett University, called out Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit children’s books for cultural appropriation. And then, a couple of weeks ago, the cancel-culture vultures circled PG Wodehouse for the second time in about two months, before announcing that all new editions of his novels were to be given a trigger warning due to their ‘outdated language, themes or characterisations’.
I now bitterly mourn my large paperback library that was lost during the basement water backup in 2014. I had a large collection of Agatha Christie, Mary Stewart, Ian Fleming and many others. I wonder if books like Fahrenheit 451 will disappear.
It is therefore incumbent upon us to buy up as many of the originals as we can, before they disappear completely. Many people have told me they are doing just this. It can cost as little or as much as you feel you want to spend. Indeed, you can pick up old trade paperbacks (complete and unabridged) for next to nothing.
Buying old books is now a political act. And your personal library (even if it only runs to a couple of shelves) is no longer meaningless beyond your front door. If publishers and institutions want to distort our past, by bending its stories to fit this morning’s trendy narrative, then we should be angry enough to set it straight again. And home is the best place to do so.
This is why we have to hoard our old books, and movies on tape/DVD. This article is about books, but movies like Life of Brian and Blazing Saddles will soon be edited (if not already) to remove segments that the woke find problematic. Examples:
If these woke editors have their way, history will be white-washed, and comedy will die.
Stella's Place 
I’m so glad I built up my own collection of children’s books–including classic ones–from my years of teaching. I wouldn’t let go of them NOW for any amount of money.
And I have most of my personal favorites from my entire life; many were gifts from my parents. Grateful!!!
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My daughter has all of the old children’s books – including those that were mine and her father’s too! She has a HUGE library!
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Excellent! My daughter will inherit all of mine. In the meantime, I still read them, over and over!
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I have also bought copies of some of my favorites. Amazon often has gently used books for very good prices.
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Completely agree. Library book sales are also good places to frequent. Libraries often get rid of GOOD books in order to make room for the trash they are currently preferring and promoting.
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I used to frequent my local library a lot more than I do now. Thanks for the reminder!
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Glad I bought all my P. G. Wodehouse books before they started bowdlerizing them.
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These are the same people who wail that DeSantis is “banning” books.
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Off and on over the decades, I have made concerted efforts to build my library. This reminds me to pick up any books from Mom’s house too – now that she’s passed.
Biggest problem for me is storing them safe from silverfish and other destroyers, so majority of mine are sealed in plastic and placed in waterproof boxes with boric acid powder between times I have them out for reading.
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