It’s an image that has been mocked and satirized incessantly on the Internet: a mustachioed, twentysomething man on the subway pulls out his book, cracks open the creaseless spine, and stares intently down at the page, one hand pensively tapping his chin—the very picture of erudition. You catch a glimpse of the cover—it’s The Sun Also Rises. (If you’re unlucky enough to go on a date with this man, he may ask if you’ve heard of it.)
But it’s a phenomenon that goes far beyond just the Performative Bro. It’s the Lit Girl from your liberal-arts college who can (and does, at every opportunity) recite Sylvia Plath poems. It’s the Finance Bro displaying the latest Malcolm Gladwell book on his Wayfair nightstand. It’s the dads reading about shipwrecks, the moms reading … well, whatever Reese or Oprah has just recommended.
