Image Credit: Jade (Reproduction/Pinterest)

One of the latest trends to go viral, particularly on TikTok, is the concept of “performative reading”. Performative reading is defined by The Guardian as the act of reading to project a certain image, often to appear intellectual or cultured, rather than for personal enjoyment. In an age where the attention span is decreasing and the majority of people prefer short content, the trend of performative reading is redefining the way books are shared and consumed as an immersive experience and as a part of a personal brand to share online. However much a performative reader may enjoy the act of reading itself, they most likely enjoy the cultured aesthetic that this hobby creates around it even more so. While this trend has some positive consequences on the internet community of readers, as it allows individuals to share their passion, it can also raise some negative aspects, like comparison and the creation of stereotypes. 

Performative reading on TikTok isn’t just about reading a book, it’s about the aesthetic and the persona you can build around what you read and how you read it. It is possible to distinguish three main categories of online performative readers: the “booktok girlie”, who usually reads romance or fantasy novels, with a feminine, girlish aesthetic, annotating books with colour-coded sticky tabs, and who is usually associated with a more shallow way of reading; the ‘intellectual reader’, who usually reads books by Sylvia Plath, Joan Didion and Albert Camus, who appears more academic, and is usually associated with a more vintage and “dark academia aesthetic”;  and the ‘real authentic reader’, who calls out people for not critically engaging with real, intellectual books and for reading just for the status that it gives them. It is usually the last category that critiques people online who read in a more aesthetic and performative way, maybe by reading outside in a park or on a balcony. However, without realising it, all three categories are, in a sense, performing a role on the internet, each one distinct from the others.

But why do people want to show they read? Readers do not share their love for books online only to gain that intellectual and cultural clout, but also, by identifying as readers and making their hobby part of their identity, they feel part of a special community that divides the non-readers from the readers. However great it can feel to be part of an online group that shares the same interests, there are some potential risks. The first being the gatekeeping of the identity of ‘reader’: because of this performative identity that has been created of the ‘real reader’, it is always more common to see media content that suggests ‘10 books that every real reader has to read once in their life’ or ‘if you haven’t read this books you are not a real reader’. 

With this idea of gatekeeping, the second problem emerges: the possible and frequent comparison with ‘booktokers’. Due to the amount of content that they share every day with all the new trending books they have read that are stored in their gigantic and colourful libraries, it is easy for one to start comparing themselves to this kind of persona and lifestyle – this is something that could potentially distance themselves from their hobby of reading. In mentioning the colourful libraries of ‘booktokers’ (typically full of different editions of the same book and with mostly books that still haven’t been read), the third problem that arises is the overconsumption, which is a problem that is present for every category of products. In this case, the “over-buying” of books can contribute to the phenomenon called “retail therapy”, where the action of purchasing books becomes more about acquiring new things, as new or limited editions, rather than engaging with the content of the books. Overconsumption also has environmental consequences, as carbon emissions, the use of natural resources and energy consumption, in order to satisfy consumer demand. When all these books are produced and bought in multiple editions or formats (hardback, paperback, audiobook, ebook…) and then kept only for their aesthetic purposes, they add up in terms of environmental cost. 

As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest criticisms of ‘booktok’ specifically, that is also present within ‘booktube’ or ‘bookstagram’ (respectively content about books on YouTube and Instagram), is the romanticisation and aestheticisation of reading with pretty books, pretty bookshelves, or bookish gadgets. Most of the critics come from the false assumption that those who focus on the aesthetic of reading and of books don’t actually care about reading, without knowing if their assumptions are true. On social media, the first language that has to be used isn’t the spoken one, but the visual one. In order to attract people and to make them engage with their content, ‘booktokers’ have to make sure that their videos, posts, or stories are visually appealing, ultimately because that is what keeps their followers and non-followers engaged. The act of being performative and aesthetically pleasing while reading is part of their personal brand, which shows not only who they want people to think they are, but who they themselves want to be, in order to gain a sense of control over and to avoid criticism about what they read and how they read.

In conclusion, performative reading, in particular on social media, has both positive and negative aspects: it can be used as an act to pretend to be who you are not and it can also lead to comparisons with other readers. Whilst it helps increase the amount of young readers, even if they start for the intellectual status reading gives, it also helps to build a community of people who share the same passion.