Before answering the above-stated question, let us delve into the real-life experiences of a reader. Being a reader myself, I am aware of the pure joy of reading a book and discussing it. For the past few months, or should I say years? I have seen people, including myself, getting an urge to read a certain number of books and try out foreign literature that has been glorified through so many attempts.
Well, certainly there is nothing wrong about deciding the number of books that you want to read and trying out versatile literature, it becomes problematic when reading a particular number of books becomes a norm or an obligatory compulsion that you must achieve as a reader. As apparently observed in this trend, reading classic literature gives people a sense of supremacy. Certain writers having books on grave issues in society, like sexual abuse, rape, and stalking, are seen as “dark romances” and promoted at such an alarming rate. There is an increasing trend of people circulating their opinions as facts. It is immensely important to understand that different people like different authors, and one’s dislike does not make a book unacceptable to others.
Apart from the diabolical part of Bookstagram, there is another side that has introduced many readers to such talented writers that were earlier invisible. Having the voice to speak also promotes reading culture among youngsters.
Well, the toxicity of Bookstagram depends on how much we let people’s opinions consume us. It is high time to go back to our simple definition of a reader, i.e. if you read, you are a reader. So, the next time you read a book, do not look at the number of pages you have finished. Instead, absorb the pleasure of being on that page and let the inner child reader in you enjoy. Ask yourself, am I really enjoying this book, or is it just some social standard of a reader set by Bookstagram?