The Books Briefing: Social Media for Bibliophiles
Social media is probably not the first medium most bibliophiles think of when they consider their favorite ways to read literature. The digital-literary debate usually surrounds the virtues of light-in-weight-but-not-choices e-readers versus the meditative pleasures of holding a physical book. When it comes to platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, readers might be skeptical of how services best known for viral memes, influencer culture, and nasty online feuds can also be home to poetry, short stories, and diaristic entries worthy of literary and cultural analysis.
“Insta poets” like Rupi Kaur have breathed new life into the genre by creating aesthetically attempts to find out what happened to the private citizens who’ve been called out on Twitter for offensive or controversial tweets. Ronson “vividly warns about the power of angry mobs online but ultimately misdiagnoses what drives the modern cycles of indignation,” according to ’s Spencer Kornhaber.
