So, I’m pretty sure that this is ragebait, and as a fully grown adult I should roll my eyes, get off social media and go back to my books. Instead I’ve chosen to take the bait.
Most of my friends have told me, at least once, that they think I will judge them for: the type of books they read, the format in which they read those books, or the speed at which they read said books. I’m here to tell you babe, and let me hold your hand when I say this, I do not care at all. I asked because I was hoping we had read some of the same books and we could talk about them.
I suppose the type of book issue is a bit my fault, I mostly read classics – or at least quite old books for a really long time. This is not some high-brow-I’m-classy choice. It was because they are in the public domain. I’m legitimately just broke. Now do I appreciate the turns of phrase and prose of older classic novels? Absolutely. Does it also exist in “modern” novels? Absolutely. Does it even have to exist for me to love a piece? Nope.
I have no idea where the format thing came from, I suppose it is not odd for me to have a paperback in my purse, and I do obviously love my home library but I also have a kindle, and a kobo, and an audible account. Heck, one of the most common recommendations I make to people is The Magnus Archives which isn’t any of these things, it’s a freaking podcast.
As far as speed goes, the only person who has to worry about me complaining (about that) is my dad. And I only complain to him because I want him to finish it faster so we can debrief.
So imagine my surprise when I scroll on this lady talking about how there’s no way those of us who read over 100 books a year cannot possibly have retained anything and how we are ‘overconsuming’ books (which is not a thing at all). While I’m here ranting btw. A bought book is a book that’s not in a landfill, i legit do not care if its just a shelf ornament.
Look, I’m going to try not to be rude here but, reading is a skill. The speed at which you read and your ability to comprehend is controllable. [Book Rec: How to Read A Book: Mortimer J. Adler] So this argument is basically: “I have decided that my level of reading is the correct one, and anyone better than me, no matter how much work they put in to be better than me is morally compromised, or lying”. I don’t want to know what they think of those who read less than them.
I have at the point of writing this read 121 books this year (2026) between the physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks in my collection. Some of these books are quite long and took me a lot of time to read, and some of them were well under 100 pages. I remember all of them, not that it matters much as most of what I read is for pleasure in that moment.
I read slower when it is for school/work. I try harder to actually retain all the information in whatever it is that I am reading. I re-read and highlight and take notes as I have to. But positing that I should read like that for pleasure is ridiculous. If I forget some, or even all, of a book I was reading for pleasure two years ago, that’s fine. It served its purpose and entertained me two years ago. I don’t need to remember that the curtains were blue in that one novel that one time in 2024. I mean, do you remember every beat of every TV show, movie or YouTube video that you watched this year? What about YouTube Shorts or Instagram reels? TikTok? Or did you put it on to kill some time because you were bored?
All this to say, that’s an incredibly lame hot take, and those who make it are overconsuming social media bullsh*t and need to go outside and touch some grass.