The boogeyman of the performative reader
By Henry Max | October 8When you think of the term ‘performative reading,’ what do you picture? If you’re like me, it’s probably someone sitting in a coffee shop, wearing a chunky sweater, boots and wiry glasses, reading “The Bell Jar,” “Infinite Jest” or “The Metamorphosis, sipping matcha. The connotation is certainly not a positive one. The term “performative reading” has popped up in the last five or so years with the growth of celebrity book clubs and the influence of ‘BookTok.’ People are becoming inclined to signal that they read, and more importantly, have good taste, in the hopes of accruing social capital. This has gamified the practice of reading and, specifically, reading for pleasure, which is already precipitously declining among America’s youth.
