New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- Mary Beard has been popping up on social media feeds this past week saying she "cannot bear the phrase 'I love reading'." She contextualises it to explain that such frivolous lines undermine an act of learning to think about the world and see it differently, and that if we "relegate it to the wellbeing section of our lives, we're really underestimating it". I'd disagree to an extent-because you can love something that's hard and complicated, and wellness is also about attempting to become a better version of oneself-but I do understand where she's coming from.

Her annoyance comes from radio hosts' light-hearted questions to authors. Social media has turned reading into showboating-performing what one is "reading now"...