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And to assume a lot of readers who participate heavily in social media do not read classics, or "serious lit", is a wrong assumption. Every read-a-thon I see people reading classics, or searching out books from POC or diversity to expand their horizons and give all authors a voice.
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I took another look at the article, and I don’t think this is quite the point. In your first point, you identified the switch in tone in the Jezebel article, which I think occurs with this:
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And why does the “throw Gatsby in the garbage” stuff get louder every year? I suspect it’s because these arguments are not really about what high school students should read; they’re about how these adults feel about their current reading habits. And because some of these Fitzgerald-haters aren’t simply readers, they are Book People.
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I have to say I also see a fair amount of Gatsby-bashing even here at MR, so I do think it’s a thing. The whole classics aren’t relevant, they’re hard to read, kids shouldn’t have to read them bit. Also the one where people don’t like books with unlikeable protagonists.
So I’ve got two points, and one is that it’s the internet. The irony of an article in an on-line magazine deploring what others discuss online is huge. Everyone’s got a platform, should they choose to use it. To me, the article doesn’t say that people who participate in social media don’t read classics; it’s more that those who don’t read classics participate in social media. Eh. Some do, some don’t in both camps and I’m not seeing any penetrating insight with this.
In essence I agree with her about the classics and those who don’t like them; the problem is the Book People appellation, which is where she loses the high ground. High-hatting people isn’t going to convince them to give
The Scarlet Letter a try. She’d have been better off writing two articles; one about the canon and campaigns against it and a second, funny and not sneering, article about Book People, because some of what she cited could stand mockery. A hashtag #amreading? I cringed.