Books are cool, again
Why reading is flourishing in the algorithm age
Happy Independence Day! Hope you’re coping with the heat. I’m taking some time off this week to enjoy it. Heading to church to watch the footie in a mo, so I won’t be much good for anything tomorrow.
My sister sent me Jeanette Winterson’s post on Huw Edwards’ comeback via Substack. I saw he’d launched his free newsletter (from 12 to 820 subscribers already). People are curious. Posts on Burnham, devolution, friendship, remorse.
He’ll use it as a space for mental health campaigning, ‘overcoming trauma’ and to “take tentative steps, such as publishing these posts, to make modest progress.”
He likes having a platform. I’m all for free speech, but it’s too soon, imo.
“How can young people find any moral compass in this life when we have so few leaders in politics, in tech, in business, with any values at all?”, Jeanette said. She’s been thinking about it all, but also noticing, among young people, a good old-fashioned revival.
“Young people are starting to read books again. And that gives me hope.”
I don’t think they ever stopped. Julieta’s always loved reading - from dog-eared bedtime stories, Hastings Library, to a bookshelf crammed with YA thrillers. She has all the Harry Potters, David Walliams, Robin Stevens, Enid Blyton. The Mr Men collection (thanks, sis!). At uni, she’s reading (and enjoying) policy textbooks.
We were in Waterstones Brighton yesterday – really busy. I bought All Fours by Miranda July and we had a look round the YA section. She said all the books on the table look the same. “They’ve all got cartoonish covers with a 700-year-old man on the front. It’s really boring.” She’s their target market and she hates the design. The one that caught her eye was a black & red horror novel.
Later on, while she was trying on vintage clothes in Urban Outfitters, I curled up on their dog-eared sofa and read Love Poems by Rupi Kaur. Gorgeous book. Sent some screenshots to my sister.
They have a curated book section next to the changing room – wellness journals, poetry, cookbooks. One copy left of Burn After Writing by Sharon Jones – an anti-social media journal, which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. The hashtag #burnafterwriting has had over 80 million views on TikTok, so it’s helping with the book sales…
I left UO feeling rested and inspired - not often I can say that about shopping! They’ve got it right. Experience economy - when you’re happy and relaxed you buy stuff ;) Afterwards, we popped into Zara. Awful. One giant sale rack. Screaming lights, no seats. We walked out again.
My sister’s noticed this trend in younger to midlife men reading books & papers in coffeeshops. Also girls Julieta’s age. I told J about the boys and she rolled her eyes. “Have you not seen Performative Guys Reading New York on TikTok? Parody contests. Men carrying books, Walkmans, matchas, tote bags. It’s hilarious - just had an hour down that rabbit hole.
At least they’re making an effort!
YES to reading more books in cafes - feels good and it’s a conversation starter. Can’t say I’ve ever interrupted someone’s scroll…
Are you staying up for the match? We have the pace to win if we can manage the altitude. We’ve not had long enough to acclimatise though, so Mexico has a massive advantage… on home turf.