This is something I’ve been wondering about recently and I’m curious what others think. On social media I repeatedly see people calling themselves readers, or aspiring to be readers, like it’s an identity. This sounds weird to me. I like to read and I read a lot (by some definition of “a lot”), yet calling myself “a reader” would seem rather silly. To me reading is an activity, a hobby, not an identity.
Am I overthinking this? I acknowledge this might be a language barrier thing, as English is not my first language, so maybe to native English speakers this sounds more natural?
Or maybe this is an online thing? It does seem that nowadays people tend to identify strongly with their interests (like gamers, sports fans, Swifties etc), so maybe self-identifying as a reader is an expression of that tendency, to declare the belonging to a community?
I’m also curious to hear personal perspectives. Do you call yourself “a reader”? What does that mean to you?
by queeromancer
14 Comments
I think of a reader as someone who enjoys reading enough that they prioritize time for it.
Everyone is reader, you are always reading, and there is no clasification for me, for me there are book readers and non book readers 🤷
I read. I don’t identify as “a reader”, though. In much the same way as I don’t identify as “a driver” or “an eater”.
I agree with you that reading is an activity, not an identity — furthermore, it’s an activity you do for yourself, so you don’t necessarily need to let others know.
With that in mind, anyone who picks up and reads a book or graphic novel is a reader in my book.
In the context you’re giving, I’d imagine it’s like someone calling themselves a “movie buff” or a “foodie.” Basically, these people feel like they go more in-depth with the interest than most people. They consume a lot more and a lot more variety, they are interested in the surrounding discourse and are more interested in it as an art than as a consumer product.
But like everything else, this sort of thing is massively played up on social media. Most people don’t make reading books/watching movies/eating food their whole identity.
I think a question for you is why cant it be an identity?
The explanation is straight forward for people who do it as a habit or main interest. People who likes to read is a reader. People who likes to game a gamer. People who likes to bake is a baker. People who likes to hike is a hiker. One person with all 4 of these as their interest can identify as all of them. It’s okay to have hobbies as part of their identity.
If reader is becoming the new gamer someone needs to tell me, I can’t allow it
People do identify themselves by their hobbies because it’s what they do consistently. I call myself a runner and a reader because I enjoy running, and I enjoy reading. It gives insight into how they spend their time.
I wouldn’t call myself a swimmer. Even though I enjoy it I maybe do it once a year. It’s not really part of my life.
If you read books for pleasure, you’re welcome to consider yourself a reader. It’s no stranger than calling yourself a knitter, a runner, a gardener, a traveler, a writer, etc. I’ve been an avid reader since I learned how at age four, and yes, it’s a big part of my identity. It’s normal to be shaped by the things you love.
Someone who reads and identifies themselves as someone who reads.
I think it’s an online thing. I don’t know anyone in real life who identify themselves by their hobbies or interest.
I imagine a reader as someone who reads 300 books a year or like five a day. I’m not a reader. I read one book at a time, skill issue i suppose, and am nowhere near that much.
When did we start gatekeeping reading? You can read 1 book a yr and still be considered one.
Someone who takes time to read. It’s very easy not to these days, with our phones, social media, movies, TV, video games, family and social time.