The Bittersweet Freedom of Reading

Dua Lipa’s latest venture, The Manifesto Library, has drawn praise for its bold stance against censorship and book bans. Located in the basement of Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal, this library boasts an impressive collection of 100 banned titles that challenge power, censorship, exclusion, and dominant narratives.

However, upon closer inspection, The Manifesto Library reveals itself to be a complex, even contradictory beast. Visitors must purchase timed-entry tickets, which doubles as a voucher toward a book purchase – a price that’s just over 15 euros. This may seem like a minor inconvenience, but it’s a telling detail in an era where access to books has never been easier.

The irony is not lost on the public discourse around book bans. While activists and advocacy groups circulate detailed lists of texts deemed objectionable, new laws in several states have broadened the definition of sensitive material. The result is a surge in restrictions: PEN America recorded 6,870 instances of new restrictions during the 2024-25 school year.

These bans have far-reaching consequences for authors, educators, and students. Lesser-known authors see their work cut off from the educational market, while educators face harassment for teaching controversial books. Students receive a clear message about which stories their community considers dirty or deviant.

Meanwhile, most readers live in an era of unprecedented access to books. Publishers released over 640,000 titles in 2025, a 6.6 percent increase from the previous year. Book prices have lagged behind inflation, and digital-lending programs have eliminated the obstacle of physical distance. In this age of next-day shipping, a teen who wants to get hold of a banned book has never had more avenues for doing so.

The censors and anti-censors engage in fundamentally expressive acts, each limited in their ability to reshape the opposing reality. The contemporary media environment makes out-and-out suppression a rare occurrence, but it’s precisely this atmosphere that fuels the tensions between those who advocate for freedom of expression and those who seek to restrict it.

Dua Lipa’s project is a timely reminder that the battle for free reading is not just about access; it’s also about power and control. As we continue to grapple with these complexities, one thing becomes clear: the freedom to read is no longer a straightforward issue. It’s a messy, multifaceted problem that requires us to rethink our assumptions about what it means to have access to literature.

The Manifesto Library may seem like a beacon of hope in this battle, but ultimately, it serves as a mirror held up to our own contradictions. We must confront the reality that even with unprecedented access to books, we are still grappling with the fundamental question: who gets to control the narrative?