John Grisham may be one of the most successful writers, right, but he still has hopes for his books. That is, he wants them all to be banned. Yes, for real.
Grisham revealed his hope when he stopped by “The View” on Tuesday to promote his latest book, “The Boys from Biloxi: A Legal Thriller.” During the interview, the acclaimed author discusses his writing process, why he doesn’t write sex scenes (that’s because of a combination of input from his wife and mother) and more. But during the conversation, host Sarah Haines sought input from Grisham on increasing efforts to ban books in schools in recent years.
“Oh, I like banned books. I wish all my books could be banned,” Grisham replied.
The table laughed, earning a laugh from Grisham himself, but really, he was as serious as he said. And there’s a very simple reason why he wants to see his life’s work banned.
“Once banned you sell too many books,” he continued. “Once a book is banned, it becomes famous, and then it can sell more books for a long period of time. That’s why I want all my books to be banned.”
Grisham then admitted that his books passed It has been banned in some places in the country – particularly in prisons. The author noted that his books are banned in the Texas state prison system, and were “once banned in Guantanamo,” though he never learned why on any count.
Taking the issue more seriously, Haines asked him about it, although Grisham said that it could be dangerous to ban books on a large scale.
“Once you start banning books, it is a slippery slope. Where does it stop? Who bans? What are the motives of the people imposing sanctions? It’s just a mess, and we shouldn’t be doing that.”