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Is it OK to read Infinite Jest in public? Why the internet hates ‘performative reading’

Posts mocking strangers for cracking open classics have become popular. So where are we supposed to read them?I consider no activity more luxurious than posting up at a bar solo with a good book. The creasing of a paperback in one hand, the weight of a wine glass in the other, the feeling of being alone in a crowd of people all make for a lovely evening. Or at least, I thought so, until recently, when two twentysomethings approached me during this ritual. “Are you reading alone?” one asked. “I could neverrrr,” the other said, and then uttered the universal mean girl slight: “I wish I had your confidence.”Reading in public – not cool. Or at least “performative reading”, as it’s been dubbed on social media, is worthy of ridicule. Continue reading...

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