I am a part of lot of book communities on all possible media channels. Facebook, Goodreads, Online Clubs and I even follow Kitaabkhana ,the Doordarshan Youtube Book show. Yeah, chances are most of you haven't even heard of it.Wait, dont yet stereotype me as a nerd with yet another book tribute.
I adore books but I am not a crazy bookperson. I love books but I do not take a bank loan to buy books. I have a good enough collection and ofcourse I do keep a certain amount of my earnings aside to buy more. ( Currently though,I am not employed so I am being practical and tell my husband to keep a certain amount of his earnings so I can buy books! ;) anyways, the point being ,I do not go overboard when it comes to books... or clothes or anything. And this is not a growing-up lecture.
I have seen a lot of popular accounts across social media where books seem to be their sole/soul existence. Pictures of books on bed, on workdesks, next to coffee (the new sunset on Instagram), on their kids, holding up a vase, someone's boobs,dirty lingerie and in most cases a family..because,well, a peaceful household needs rationing for books too, I guess?
And then there are essays and tributes and loveletters written to books,authors and interestingly,characters. There are fan clubs for Holmes (Downey you can smile too), special courses held for how to behave like Jane and serious podcasts about how Scarlett O'Hara changed young American minds forever.
I am not against any of the above or maybe a teeny,something. I find it quirky yes, interesting ofcourse, but mostly,silly. Sorry. And after observing and following(now stopped) a lot of book-crazed people, I have understood that there are three categories -
show off
time pass
truly worthy
And as is the case with most art forms, the true book people fall only in the third category. Rest are about , 'how much I can spend', 'see my tall/long/wide/deep bookcase', 'arent these gazillion editions of Sense and Sensibilty I own fabulous?' ,'I wrote a review, I can expect a NYT call anytime now!'
Why are we overboard about everything? Why this need to make our life a showcase for the world?
I mean, its like if Modi says,'I am a NatGeo traveller'. Or if Obama ticks of his wishlist of places he visited. Yes you guys are travellers because a) you have the money b) you are making more c) its part of your job....not necessarily your passion.
Just like that, I have a chin-on-hands expression when people show off their mahogany bookshelves of Chetan Bhagats and Mills and Boons. Or people who work for publications and show off their bedrooms, pantry and bathtubs full of books and put up a status saying 'achieved my wishlist, feel so blessd muaaahhh!'
Dude,where is the effort, the thinking process in reading,selecting a book? where is the passion? and dont convert passion to the bills at Crosswords. If you truly love Indian literature for example, you can be proud of yourself to get an old Premchand at a book sale. Or go to any lengths for an edition which is quite rare. Or have a collection of all books of an author whom you claim to be the biggest fan of. Not just their 'bestsellers'. Or maybe, not showing off.
Ok just, click that damn sunset if you feel bad now while I go back to my book which I am not gonna tell you about.
I adore books but I am not a crazy bookperson. I love books but I do not take a bank loan to buy books. I have a good enough collection and ofcourse I do keep a certain amount of my earnings aside to buy more. ( Currently though,I am not employed so I am being practical and tell my husband to keep a certain amount of his earnings so I can buy books! ;) anyways, the point being ,I do not go overboard when it comes to books... or clothes or anything. And this is not a growing-up lecture.
I have seen a lot of popular accounts across social media where books seem to be their sole/soul existence. Pictures of books on bed, on workdesks, next to coffee (the new sunset on Instagram), on their kids, holding up a vase, someone's boobs,dirty lingerie and in most cases a family..because,well, a peaceful household needs rationing for books too, I guess?
And then there are essays and tributes and loveletters written to books,authors and interestingly,characters. There are fan clubs for Holmes (Downey you can smile too), special courses held for how to behave like Jane and serious podcasts about how Scarlett O'Hara changed young American minds forever.
I am not against any of the above or maybe a teeny,something. I find it quirky yes, interesting ofcourse, but mostly,silly. Sorry. And after observing and following(now stopped) a lot of book-crazed people, I have understood that there are three categories -
show off
time pass
truly worthy
And as is the case with most art forms, the true book people fall only in the third category. Rest are about , 'how much I can spend', 'see my tall/long/wide/deep bookcase', 'arent these gazillion editions of Sense and Sensibilty I own fabulous?' ,'I wrote a review, I can expect a NYT call anytime now!'
Why are we overboard about everything? Why this need to make our life a showcase for the world?
I mean, its like if Modi says,'I am a NatGeo traveller'. Or if Obama ticks of his wishlist of places he visited. Yes you guys are travellers because a) you have the money b) you are making more c) its part of your job....not necessarily your passion.
Just like that, I have a chin-on-hands expression when people show off their mahogany bookshelves of Chetan Bhagats and Mills and Boons. Or people who work for publications and show off their bedrooms, pantry and bathtubs full of books and put up a status saying 'achieved my wishlist, feel so blessd muaaahhh!'
Dude,where is the effort, the thinking process in reading,selecting a book? where is the passion? and dont convert passion to the bills at Crosswords. If you truly love Indian literature for example, you can be proud of yourself to get an old Premchand at a book sale. Or go to any lengths for an edition which is quite rare. Or have a collection of all books of an author whom you claim to be the biggest fan of. Not just their 'bestsellers'. Or maybe, not showing off.
Ok just, click that damn sunset if you feel bad now while I go back to my book which I am not gonna tell you about.
Ha ha. I see your point, but then isn't most social media a projection of vanity (in varying degrees, of course)? To be honest, everyone is guilty of this except may be companies marketing themselves. It is either posting numerous selfies, or our cooking experiments, the fashion labels we own, or the beautiful pics we took when we visited numerous places, or our families and their antics or even how pious we are. Lol. and hey, I think it's ok for the presidents to check off their bucket list. We don't know them enough to judge if that is part of their passion other than politics. ;)
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note, this is what makes me apprehensive every time I think about reading/ buying books. Any bookstore/ library overwhelms me. I am not able to gauge what I like and I hate getting committed to a book I don't like. I have given up on reading! :(
Hi ..thanks for dropping by :) i am guilty too my dear so this post is partly self-rant. My point was not that social media is bad. Or that posting too much. Point is that there are so many bookstagram out there and it cringes me to see a vast majority with no clue about the book kept next to their coffee or pasta. So basically the book is just for photo purpose....and that i dont like. :)
DeleteWell no comments on politicians coz woh kahan hum kahan...theirs was just an example :)
dont give up on reading sweetie. Ironically even though I am cynical about bookstagram ,I have come to know about a lot of new authors and genres because of it. There are some really good,well read people on Insta/Twitter who help you know good books. Or if its too confusing Goodreads is there. I am no expert and definitely not well-read,but my tatses have improved a lot in the past few months. Cheers!
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