Society believes that books of every sort
are a poison to the brain and infect the mind with poor thoughts and too much intelligence. Books give people a key to knowledge and ideas beyond their general thoughts, which they believe can be quite dangerous.
Books to some are not valuable in price or quality, but it in the understanding and acknowledgement of the world around them. If knowledge is most valuable and desirable to a person, then maybe reading a book in this highly scrupulous society is worth any consequence they may face.