Tumblr crosspost (17 January 2021)

[anghraine]

One of the things that bothers me about the arguments that people should read ~real~ books, not (say) novel-length fanfics, is that I increasingly have a lot of reservations about the idea that people “should” be reading at all.

It feels weird to say (my MA is in literature!), and of course, if people are going to spout off about things without actually learning about them (via books or whatever else is accessible), that’s one thing. But this is generally used as a universal rather than particular argument, and … tbh there are other, equally valuable ways to spend your time, and it’s all tied up with really questionable ideas about literacy, anyway.

Again, it does depend on what sort of conversations you’re entering into—there are occasions where “doing the reading” is important (and not just in academia). But as a universal statement? No.