--- title: The Book Censor's Library: 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 description: Find out why "The Book Censor's Library" is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. canonical: https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2024/7172827/the-book-censors-library/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-11-13T13:13:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-03T00:42:50.059Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'The Book Censor's Library' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 og:description: Here's why it made the list og:url: https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2024/7172827/the-book-censors-library/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc35e226cf29e805/698a8d0e929fad6aabc01f5a/The-Book-Censors-Library-Bothayna-Al-Essa.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'The Book Censor's Library' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'The Book Censor's Library' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 twitter:description: Here's why it made the list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc35e226cf29e805/698a8d0e929fad6aabc01f5a/The-Book-Censors-Library-Bothayna-Al-Essa.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 13, 2024 # The Book Censor's Library by [Shannon Carlin](https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/) ## Shannon Carlin Carlin is a contributor for TIME.  [National Book Award finalist](https://www.nationalbook.org/2024-national-book-awards-finalists-announced/) Bothayna Al-Essa’s 2021 novel, _The Book Censor's Library,_ newly translated from the original Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain, is a Kafkaesque satire set in a near future where most [books have been banned](https://time.com/collection/time100-voices/6315724/banned-books-library-access/). Yet, despite strict warnings, the titular book censor finds himself collecting, instead of seizing, novels that allude to the “forbidden trinity of God, government, and sex.” His newfound love for reading leads him down a rabbit hole where he comes upon the “Cancers,” a ragtag group of librarians, pirate booksellers, and book lovers fighting back against government oppression. They look to him to be their man on the inside. _The Book Censor’s Library_ is a rallying cry for bibliophiles everywhere. **Buy Now:** _The Book Censor's Library_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781632063342) | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4emSEzZ) | [Barnes & Noble](https://fave.co/4ek92RM) These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2024/7172827/the-book-censors-library/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2024/7172827/the-book-censors-library/"},"headline":"The Book Censor's Library","datePublished":"2024-11-13T13:13:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:42:50.059Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2024/7172827/the-book-censors-library/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc35e226cf29e805/698a8d0e929fad6aabc01f5a/The-Book-Censors-Library-Bothayna-Al-Essa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Carlin","jobTitle":"Carlin is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/"}],"creator":"Shannon Carlin","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc35e226cf29e805/698a8d0e929fad6aabc01f5a/The-Book-Censors-Library-Bothayna-Al-Essa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2024/7172827/the-book-censors-library/","name":"The Book Censor's Library"}}]}] ```