"Performative Reading", Book Entitlement, and More...

This past week I was out with a friend at a cafe, when she made a very interesting comment. As we walked past a girl sitting in an orange, fluffy chair in the corner of the room, she nudged me and said:

"Oh my god -- she's reading The Bell Jar in public!! That's so performative!"

"Oh yeah, haha," I laughed awkwardly, not thinking too much about it.

I came home later that day and thought about that comment. Performative reading. Upon further reflection, I'm annoyed that I didn't respond to her comment more thoughtfully.

Now, I adore my friend, but I do believe that it is comments like this that have led to a major lack of reading. For some reason there is copious judgement when it comes to reading and literature, and this disproportionately affects women more than men (but then again -- what else is new??).

Every day I see people get judged for what they read -- whether it's a romance, graphic novel, or magazine. It's like if you aren't reading a classic then you shouldn't even be allowed to read. Which, by the way, is ridiculous. People can (and should) read for a variety of reasons, and those reasons can be whatever they want. If a person is willing to read, and experiences the urge to pick up a book, then nobody should be making a backhanded, captious comment about it.

There is a strange sense of entitlement and prestige that some people have when it comes to reading. They think that the more complex the book, the more superior it makes them. As an English Literature major, there is nothing I despise more.

Some people love Shakespeare. I enjoy Shakespeare, I do. But reading that doesn't make me "more of a reader" than someone who reads Emily Henry. Guess what? I've read her books too.

I think we need to keep in mind that some people don't just read to learn or gain new information. Of course, this is an amazing reason to read, but it is not the only reason. Some people read to escape.

When faced with hardships and challenges like heartbreak, loss, and change, people often look to books to put themselves somewhere else for a while. Recently a family member of mine spent a long time in the hospital. My Mom spent many hours in waiting rooms and hospital rooms. In this time of sadness and hopelessness, do you know what she did?

She read romcoms.

That's right. She read silly, fluffy, gushy romantic comedies. And in doing so, she was able to escape from the circumstances and situations that she found herself in. I'm not sure Moby-Dick would've had the same effect.

A few years ago I found myself in a bit of a slump with both my life and my reading habits. You know what got me out of my reading slump? Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Yeah.

To go back to the main point of this post -- I don't really give a fuck that some girl was reading The Bell Jar in public. Maybe she was being performative. Maybe she wasn't. It doesn't matter either way.

The assumption shouldn't have been made that it was performative. Maybe she was trying to get into some classics. Maybe she thought it looked cool. Either way -- she was choosing to spend her time reading a book in public. She could have been on her phone, at the mall, or lying in her room doing nothing. Instead, she trekked out to a coffee shop, cracked open a (must-read) book, and started reading. Even if she was doing it to show off a "vibe" or whatever you want to call it, she was still reading. And this isn't something that we are seeing as much of these days.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we shouldn't judge what people read. It doesn't indicate a person's intelligence or abilities, and is also nobody's business. I'm sure there have been people in my university classes who laugh when I say I'd rather read life writing and horror novels than Russian literature, but to that I say: so what? I read what I can, am open to various genres and types, but at the end of the day these have always remained my favourites.

All books stimulate the brain, make use of the imagination, and provide some sort of feeling or experience to people -- whatever that may be. So think twice before making a snap-judgement about someone's choice of book.

Until next time,

Pisces Ponderings ♓