Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
How many books have you read so far this year? And how many books are you planning to read? According to Sonali Kulkarni, platforms are driving a discourse about books that is focused on quantity. On platforms like TikTok, you can find reading challenges that encourage people to read as much as possible, and videos featuring huge piles of "to be read" books. But even people who might not read a lot appear to be inclined to display a lot of books in the background of their videos, communicating that they are consuming — buying — a lot of books. Ultimately, this demonstrates how the practices of reading and rereading are impacted by neoliberal ideas, including the conviction that "more is better" and that reading a lot is linked to self-improvement.
How many books have you read so far this year? And how many books are you planning to read? According to Sonali Kulkarni, platforms are driving a discourse about books that is focused on quantity. On platforms like TikTok, you can find reading challenges that encourage people to read as much as possible, and videos featuring huge piles of "to be read" books. But even people who might not read a lot appear to be inclined to display a lot of books in the background of their videos, communicating that they are consuming — buying — a lot of books. Ultimately, this demonstrates how the practices of reading and rereading are impacted by neoliberal ideas, including the conviction that "more is better" and that reading a lot is linked to self-improvement.
