Growing up I was a serious reader, and it is because of this I feel entitled to assert that reading didn’t use to be a cool activity. I’m not saying life was like a cheesy 80s movie where the bully broke your glasses for having a book at recess. But it wasn’t cool. Until now?
Since the rise of — among other things — BookTok, anti-intellectualism, and the subsequent response that is performative intellectualism, reading has become a certifiable “it girl” hobby. An artfully worn novel has become a must-have inside any tote bag (it’s preferred that the cover goes with your outfit). Instagram photo dumps now contain snaps of curated pastel bookstacks. Everybody has a Substack. Celebrities are using bigger purses as to modestly pull out a socially relevant but not-yet-mainstream feminist memoir during a Vogue “What’s in my bag?” interview. There even have been whispers of literal “book stylists” being hired to select strategic works to best match a client’s personal brand.
I believe that reading is no longer just a hobby that many of us enjoy and grew up with; it has become a statement. Reading says: I’m intelligent. I’m introspective. I’m educated. I have the luxury of time. It has become a banner of intellect, discipline, curiosity, and a desire for self-improvement. I feel like it’s a Pink Pilates Princess (or esoteric Lana Del Rey) rebranding of the same message 2010s book fandom Tumblr was mocked for promoting: Because I read, I am better than you.
But it doesn’t just matter that you read, or how much, but what you’re reading. In this pseudo-intellectual influencer world, it feels like everyone is picking up the same names. Sally Rooney and Joan Didion have become absolute staples. If you want to hint at the idea that there’s something deeper and darker to you, there will be some Sylvia Plath, Donna Tartt, or maybe even some Franz Kafka and Fyodor Dostoevsky mixed in there. And you can’t forget the classics—Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, and anything by Jane Austen.
Reading has become trendy, which means genres, authors, and books themselves have become trends. If you have any doubts about what I’m saying, you can look at the evidence that never lies: consumerism. Coach recently released readable book keychains so that consumers can not only port around Jane Austen or Celeste Ng, but proudly on display as an accessory. Dior has similarly released a line of bags that pay (pretty in-your-face) homage to the covers of classics like Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Madame Bovary.
But here’s the real kicker—while it might be taking over online, in reality, reading for pleasure has been statistically declining, with one study finding an overall decline of 40% from 2003 to 2023. While it is true that social media could give reading as a hobby a well-needed boost, the elitism (or just plain snobbiness) with which it is discussed could serve as a barrier to entry.
My issue is that, like all social media does, we’re creating a performative culture around something that should be personally fulfilling and enjoyable. We know reading can be social –book clubs and literary criticisms since the dawn of the craft have shown us this. But it can also be deeply personal. When reading, all you truly have is yourself, your brain, and your book. People read differently, which is why they are able to pull different elements from texts, form unique analysis, and feel different things. It’s also why we all have different tastes.
The question I simply want to pose is whether the benefit of reading is lessened by the performance of it. When behaviors become performative, we put far too much stock in whatever we’re doing says about us. The reality is, it doesn’t have to say anything. It just has to make sense to you, and actual critical thinking matters far more than the objective difficulty of the material.
I personally have no insecurity about my reading comprehension, and I can confidently say that a lot of the books I have already mentioned are rather difficult reads. They are more time consuming than a fluffy romance or a formulaic fantasy, and mentally more strenuous. Depending on your day-to-day, it makes sense not to want to pick up Nihilist Russian literature or a collection of feminist essays.
In my opinion, to truly love and enjoy reading is to read diversely and deeply. If you need comfort, pick up an old young adult favorite. The next day, challenge yourself with a genre-defining classic. The night before I went off to college, I stayed up to reread Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, because that’s what I felt I needed to do. The books that will mean the most are the ones that widen your world, but they are also the ones that connect to it.
All reading is a good thing, but you should feel comfortable reading how you read, and not how the internet tells you makes you a “reader.” Forcing reading into your life can result in rapid burnout, disinterest, and a lifetime of carting around a book you’ve never opened because it’s been reduced to part of the outfit. Instead, fit reading into your life as much as you are able, and you will open up a world of possibility for yourself.