Review by MunsterEater -- The Banned Book about Love

This forum is for volunteer reviews by members of our review team. These reviews are done voluntarily by the reviewers and are published in this forum, separate from the official professional reviews. These reviews are kept separate primarily because the same book may be reviewed by many different reviewers.
Post Reply
User avatar
MunsterEater
Posts: 12
Joined: 31 Oct 2016, 00:25
Bookshelf Size: 2
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-munstereater.html
Latest Review: "The Banned Book about Love" by Scott Hughes

Review by MunsterEater -- The Banned Book about Love

Post by MunsterEater »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Banned Book about Love" by Scott Hughes.]
Book Cover
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


The Banned Book about Love is a non-fiction booklet written by Scott Hughes. The booklet, just about 21 pages, is about hatred and love (if we're getting nitty-gritty here). The booklet was removed from Amazon despite its positive reviews (by those who read it) and reaching the #1 bestseller in the Philosophy category. So no, the title isn’t trying to seem edgy or dramatic (I thought so, first impressions and all. Before I read the blurb). It was reported based on the cover, according to the author, which makes me wonder what the original cover was.

I was eight pages in the booklet and I must say, it had an impact on me. The author explains the futility of hate; it is just an easy emotion to hold on to. It does make things better, it does not bring any change, it only sits and burns the more one feeds their self-righteous rage. Love is different, love is hard. “Love is then like trying to make money. Let me ask you: which is easier?” the author asks.

Not going to lie, hate is much easier.

But hate is futile. It produces cruel and sadistic words written on a screen or wherever it can be seen. The author explains that hate does not produce a change because it is easier to feel hate than it is to put in effort towards eradicating the thing we hate. It is easier to hate than it is to work and create actual change. The amount of research and red tape that one would have to go through to create an impact of any kind is so long and arduous that hatred fizzles out at the sheer boredom of it all.

Hate is unproductive, arrogant and even lazy.

On the flip-side, Love, the author explains, does not (and should not) blind us to the crimes of others. It does not mean we allow them to hurt us or to hurt others. The author loves people and does not want people to suffer. That does not mean they should not be punished for their crimes.

The author has one or two humorous moments in the book and I enjoyed their diction. There was a friendliness in the book’s tone. It was like talking to a friend who held a mindset so different from your own. So here they are explaining it to you, they’re not trying to convert you or anything, they just want you to understand where they are coming from and why they believe the things they believe.

I would give The Banned Book about Love a rating of four out of four. It was such a short book but had a great impact on me which makes it excellent in my eyes. I would recommend others to give it a chance. It is something I would reread on occasion just to make sure the impact stays and I never just 'hate' with such ease. I’m not saying I love everyone now (I doubt that would ever happen) but it made me less likely to join the hate brigade.

******
The Banned Book about Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like MunsterEater's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "The Banned Book about Love" by Scott Hughes
Post Reply

Return to “Volunteer Reviews”