Reading was on the rise, but TikTok has now branded the act of flipping through a book in public as "performative". But if posting about reading inspires more young people to pick up a book, it can't be a bad thing, writes Herald columnist Marissa MacWhirter.

A few weeks ago, I found myself in the throes of a late summer melancholy spiral. To distract from my own thoughts, I trotted off to the bookshop for a little treat, and masochist that I am, decided now was the perfect time to finally read Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life.

The novel was released 10 years ago but, thanks to social media and celebrity endorsement, its popularity is enduring. I will spare you the details, but the cult appeal of the 720-page tome is rooted in its brutal and unflinching “trauma porn” plot and prose. Pop star Dua Lipa is a superfan. Actor Matt Bomer voices the new audiobook. Dior featured the novel in its Book Tote Club.

Before embarking on the journey, I snap a picture and post it on my Instagram story. “Wish me luck!”

Now, with a hundred pages to go, microtears in my elbows from holding its weight above my head nearly every night, and disturbing flashbacks to some of its more harrowing scenes, I feel duped. I thought everyone had suffered through this book, but now I look around suspiciously and wonder if it was all performative. After the tears I have shed over this torturous page-turner, I feel utterly betrayed.

The concept of “performative reading” has been on the rise since 2021. Fuelled by TikTok, the concept is that the twenty-something sitting at a café sipping a matcha and flicking through a copy of The Bell Jar........

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