really enjoyed reading this! yes, intellectualism has been aestheticized; yes, celebrities are all angling for their literary it girl cred in addition to their hot girl cred…but I just can't get too upset about all of this? like is it bad to perform your reading taste if you're…still reading…good books?
it's so fascinating and weird to me that people are stressed about how GOODREADS GOALS are leading to UNHEALTHY READING COMPARISONS…aesthetic BOOKSTAGRAM POSTS are leading to JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER…but these aren't problems created by the internet! these are problems created by humans, and it's still very possible to read seriously and intensively and deeply and post cute selfies and still genuinely enjoy literature
Ah I’ve been noodling on this for a while, thank you for putting it into words!!! And for all those people saying books are like SHEIN, please remember that public libraries exist! Use them! (I know that takes the performative element away a bit but I have a rule where I have to read a library copy of a book before I consider buying it and as someone who has moved a lot it is a 10/10 helpful method for building a book collection I genuinely love/will joyfully reread)
I have the same "rule" for myself and my children. Public libraries play a huge role in our communities and it's incredibly sad to see so many of them closing their doors over the past decade. We need to keep supporting them as much as possible. 🙏
i GASPED when you dropped the statistic that 46% of people reported reading zero books. being on the bookish side of the internet, my perspective has been poisoned by the "reading for the vibes" crowd. even if it's just for the vibes, who cares?? at least they're reading!
I loved your take on celeb book clubs, too! great post :)
Loved this! While it’s always important to consider our consumer habits it really gets under my skin when people put the burden of over consumption on populations that are not even part of the larger issue. Reading is a heavily female dominated pastime and it just feels like another blow at women’s hobbies to deem reading as “overconsumption” when there are much bigger fish to fry. And perhaps the story unravels there… “the women are reading, better take ‘em down a notch.”
I LOVED this. Had no idea Dua Lipa had a book club. It also seems that the celebrities who start literary/intellectual endeavors are more private and removed from drama/gossip. So they need something to make them multidimensional! I used to get so annoyed by Kaia's livestreams but I think you just changed my mind—more people should read and it's kind of awesome that celebrities are helping with that.
being on the gossip side of hollywood is so messy. I see the celebs who have book clubs as the ones who have their eye on the long game- as they should. And Dua's book club, Service95 does great recommendations
"reading BETTER be so hot, because apparently some of you CAN’T HACK IT!" This line though...
Both love it and find it completely accurate. This whole topic makes me think of way back before the printing press and people 'litterally' didn't know how to read. Which on the biblical topic is why so many people followed the Catholic church blindly, because they were. They weren't actually reading the bible for themselves because they didn't know how. With the digital emergence, and barely measurable attention spans, we may be getting into similar territory.
Here for the aesthetic and crowded bookshelves of unreliable female narrators. Bonus for the cute outfits and home decor.
loved this essay!!!! agree with so many points - almost feels like being a "book lover" is kind of like the new being "into astrology". but overall it's a net positive bc at least we're all reading more and supporting long form content in the age of tiktok?
sidenote - really need the list of books you read last year!
I had no idea there were celebrity book clubs. The only one I knew of was Oprah’s book club which I don’t even know if she still does that. It’s hard for me to keep up with a club so I just follow some of my fav YouTubers and take screenshots of things that look interesting. I’m not mad about celebs promoting books, the literacy rate in this new generation is embarrassing low compared to other generations and if they get them to read then I’m all for it.
I wrote about luxury houses discovering books club for a German newspaper last year, really wanted to hate it but ended up reading almost every book they recommended (because most of the big houses also hired the right people to take care of the book selection) and felt so seen when I discovered your article – it really seems like intellect is the new influence(r). Thank you for this!
It's great that people are reading more, but at the same time I'm doubtful that people are actually engaging with the literature in a meaningful way or if it's just to fulfill an aesthetic. The Sally Rooney phenomenon makes my head spin though--is this really what we consider literary in our time? She herself is an interesting case study on this point. All she does is signal that she knows things and has read things herself but I hardly get the indication that she has synthesized that into anything new or meaningful. "Normal People" was so hard for me to finish, so I'm confused by the acclaim it's received. I don't want to come off as a snob about it but the quality of what were are calling "literature" is declining quickly.
if you like her, that’s fine! Great for you. I consume all kinds of entertainment and often enjoy all kinds of entertainment, and usually prefer “low brow” stuff. There are great writers that aren’t “literary,” but my issue with her is I find her writing to be very surface level and neoliberal. She makes surface level observations about what she sees but does not critically analyze it or craft it into any interesting narrative I couldn’t have gotten from a twitter feed. I personally just find her writing to be extremely dull, but that’s just me. It’s important to be critical of what is called literature. It literally shapes our collective conscious.
This is interesting indeed. A while back we were discussing at work whether or not the paper form of the book was going to die and some of us protested and said: "NEVER!". In my short survey I found that most people preferred holding physical books while on the beach on holiday and generally. I for once am really happy to see this rise in people, especially young people reading. It always makes me very happy to see people read in public spaces.
I really do pray physical books never go out. but I didn't think they will because people love to collect things. and although it's cringe, books are. great accessory and conversation starter
Thank you for this piece! I agree that if reading is trendy and hot, I’m all for it. I fight the capitalistic impulse to buy books by utilizing my public library or browsing my fav thrift store. Reading should be accessible to everyone!
yes I totally agree. I live in a smaller German city so getting the best books in the library isn't always an option. so for now it's amazon. also I will admit I love the feeling of building a collection, but its a habit I am most earnestly trying to curb!
In tandem is the ‘hot boy reading’ phenomenon that was a big cultural moment of 2023 (have heard it brought up on a few podcasts lately too) - my timelines might not match up but I think the performative reading lens has been pushed to the forefront by that + the success of emma cline’s the guest…
I've had the guest sitting on my shelf for a year now. my brain thinks it'll die if it reads a book during its 'hype' phase. but I think this is the summer for it
really enjoyed reading this! yes, intellectualism has been aestheticized; yes, celebrities are all angling for their literary it girl cred in addition to their hot girl cred…but I just can't get too upset about all of this? like is it bad to perform your reading taste if you're…still reading…good books?
it's so fascinating and weird to me that people are stressed about how GOODREADS GOALS are leading to UNHEALTHY READING COMPARISONS…aesthetic BOOKSTAGRAM POSTS are leading to JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER…but these aren't problems created by the internet! these are problems created by humans, and it's still very possible to read seriously and intensively and deeply and post cute selfies and still genuinely enjoy literature
my thoughts exactly. such low stakes issues that dont compare to the issue of people not reading. let people have high Goodreads goals by all means!
Ah I’ve been noodling on this for a while, thank you for putting it into words!!! And for all those people saying books are like SHEIN, please remember that public libraries exist! Use them! (I know that takes the performative element away a bit but I have a rule where I have to read a library copy of a book before I consider buying it and as someone who has moved a lot it is a 10/10 helpful method for building a book collection I genuinely love/will joyfully reread)
I have the same "rule" for myself and my children. Public libraries play a huge role in our communities and it's incredibly sad to see so many of them closing their doors over the past decade. We need to keep supporting them as much as possible. 🙏
i GASPED when you dropped the statistic that 46% of people reported reading zero books. being on the bookish side of the internet, my perspective has been poisoned by the "reading for the vibes" crowd. even if it's just for the vibes, who cares?? at least they're reading!
I loved your take on celeb book clubs, too! great post :)
yeah people really dont read, and I dont think enough people realize this! and thank you :)
Yo same. Did nothing my book-ish a month was way outside the norm.
Loved this! While it’s always important to consider our consumer habits it really gets under my skin when people put the burden of over consumption on populations that are not even part of the larger issue. Reading is a heavily female dominated pastime and it just feels like another blow at women’s hobbies to deem reading as “overconsumption” when there are much bigger fish to fry. And perhaps the story unravels there… “the women are reading, better take ‘em down a notch.”
Thank you for this important essay!
didnt even think of this pov and I completely agree. thanks for sharing :)
I LOVED this. Had no idea Dua Lipa had a book club. It also seems that the celebrities who start literary/intellectual endeavors are more private and removed from drama/gossip. So they need something to make them multidimensional! I used to get so annoyed by Kaia's livestreams but I think you just changed my mind—more people should read and it's kind of awesome that celebrities are helping with that.
being on the gossip side of hollywood is so messy. I see the celebs who have book clubs as the ones who have their eye on the long game- as they should. And Dua's book club, Service95 does great recommendations
"reading BETTER be so hot, because apparently some of you CAN’T HACK IT!" This line though...
Both love it and find it completely accurate. This whole topic makes me think of way back before the printing press and people 'litterally' didn't know how to read. Which on the biblical topic is why so many people followed the Catholic church blindly, because they were. They weren't actually reading the bible for themselves because they didn't know how. With the digital emergence, and barely measurable attention spans, we may be getting into similar territory.
Here for the aesthetic and crowded bookshelves of unreliable female narrators. Bonus for the cute outfits and home decor.
I didnt think of this connection. sooo smart! and yes I love anything packaged aesthetically. life is hard, lets have fun :)
loved this essay!!!! agree with so many points - almost feels like being a "book lover" is kind of like the new being "into astrology". but overall it's a net positive bc at least we're all reading more and supporting long form content in the age of tiktok?
sidenote - really need the list of books you read last year!
exactly!
I had no idea there were celebrity book clubs. The only one I knew of was Oprah’s book club which I don’t even know if she still does that. It’s hard for me to keep up with a club so I just follow some of my fav YouTubers and take screenshots of things that look interesting. I’m not mad about celebs promoting books, the literacy rate in this new generation is embarrassing low compared to other generations and if they get them to read then I’m all for it.
So embarrassingly low. A lot of people are saying they don’t know about these book clubs. Perhaps a post is in order !
I wrote about luxury houses discovering books club for a German newspaper last year, really wanted to hate it but ended up reading almost every book they recommended (because most of the big houses also hired the right people to take care of the book selection) and felt so seen when I discovered your article – it really seems like intellect is the new influence(r). Thank you for this!
this is so cool. could you please share the link? I live in Germany!
It's great that people are reading more, but at the same time I'm doubtful that people are actually engaging with the literature in a meaningful way or if it's just to fulfill an aesthetic. The Sally Rooney phenomenon makes my head spin though--is this really what we consider literary in our time? She herself is an interesting case study on this point. All she does is signal that she knows things and has read things herself but I hardly get the indication that she has synthesized that into anything new or meaningful. "Normal People" was so hard for me to finish, so I'm confused by the acclaim it's received. I don't want to come off as a snob about it but the quality of what were are calling "literature" is declining quickly.
well you are coming across as a snob
if you like her, that’s fine! Great for you. I consume all kinds of entertainment and often enjoy all kinds of entertainment, and usually prefer “low brow” stuff. There are great writers that aren’t “literary,” but my issue with her is I find her writing to be very surface level and neoliberal. She makes surface level observations about what she sees but does not critically analyze it or craft it into any interesting narrative I couldn’t have gotten from a twitter feed. I personally just find her writing to be extremely dull, but that’s just me. It’s important to be critical of what is called literature. It literally shapes our collective conscious.
loved this essay, reminds me of Mina Le's video on the hotgirlification of reading which resonates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxDd8ocpcHk
thanks for the link. gotta check it out!
This is interesting indeed. A while back we were discussing at work whether or not the paper form of the book was going to die and some of us protested and said: "NEVER!". In my short survey I found that most people preferred holding physical books while on the beach on holiday and generally. I for once am really happy to see this rise in people, especially young people reading. It always makes me very happy to see people read in public spaces.
I really do pray physical books never go out. but I didn't think they will because people love to collect things. and although it's cringe, books are. great accessory and conversation starter
True! Can you imagine the horror of books not being made. I actually think I’d cry everyday lol.
Thank you for this piece! I agree that if reading is trendy and hot, I’m all for it. I fight the capitalistic impulse to buy books by utilizing my public library or browsing my fav thrift store. Reading should be accessible to everyone!
yes I totally agree. I live in a smaller German city so getting the best books in the library isn't always an option. so for now it's amazon. also I will admit I love the feeling of building a collection, but its a habit I am most earnestly trying to curb!
i loved it even more then second time i read it! your brain is fab <3
thank you substack bestie ;)
In tandem is the ‘hot boy reading’ phenomenon that was a big cultural moment of 2023 (have heard it brought up on a few podcasts lately too) - my timelines might not match up but I think the performative reading lens has been pushed to the forefront by that + the success of emma cline’s the guest…
There used to be a “hot guys reading” IG acc. Where girls would take pics of hot guys reading in public... it was a very strange and creepy time.
I miss all the good stuff :(
I've had the guest sitting on my shelf for a year now. my brain thinks it'll die if it reads a book during its 'hype' phase. but I think this is the summer for it
Such a good insightful read!! Thank you 🤍
Thanks for reading. Also I’m a fan ;)
Ah no way, thank you! Absolutely a fan as well <3