I think at least a part of this has to do with neo-liberal "self-betternment" and marketability/self-branding through consumption. Why else would goodreads and other such sites be so popular? People seem to be turning books into these lists of achievements with time limits that they perform to meet some ideal norm of an "educated citizen".
It kind of kills the idea of reading for myself at least, because it just becomes a performance and a chore.
I can also see how this makes everything very superficial. People who never seem to get anything from the books they read are a mystery to me, but I suspect that many just read and not necessarily digest the reading or reflect on it much. Because it is consumption.
I think at least a part of this has to do with neo-liberal "self-betternment" and marketability/self-branding through consumption. Why else would goodreads and other such sites be so popular? People seem to be turning books into these lists of achievements with time limits that they perform to meet some ideal norm of an "educated citizen".
It kind of kills the idea of reading for myself at least, because it just becomes a performance and a chore.
I can also see how this makes everything very superficial. People who never seem to get anything from the books they read are a mystery to me, but I suspect that many just read and not necessarily digest the reading or reflect on it much. Because it is consumption.