Mary Beard on the Booker Prize judging panel: “I cannot bear the phrase ‘I really love reading'”

Classicist Mary Beard has caused a rift in the reading – dare I say book loving – community with a statement she recently made on the Booker Prize judging panel. In a clip uploaded to the official Booker Prize Instagram account, Beard proclaimed, “I cannot bear the phrase ‘I really love reading'”. Beard of course qualified her statement, but I feel like the damage has already been done, and the knee-jerk reactionists sort-of have a point.

“I cannot bear the phrase ‘I really love reading'”

Before I get into it, here’s what Mary Beard said in full:

I cannot bear the phrase “I really love reading” and I cannot bear when I hear on Radio 4 in the morning, “what book first sparked your love of reading?” And I think this is to undermine and underrate reading, that’s why I don’t like the phrase.

I get all kinds of pleasure from reading, I have a passion, in some sense, for reading, but reading is more essential to humanity now than just saying, “oh I really love it,” you know, like I might love golf or something like that.

Reading is about how to be you and how to think about the world, and if we relegate it to the wellbeing section of our lives, we’re really underestimating it. I challenge anybody to say they feel better after they have read Kafka. I don’t believe they have, right? That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be reading Kafka, does it? And some of these books are not, I think, going to feel better. They’re going to make you see the world differently, and that’s not about love.

And so we’re not removing any necessary nuance or context, here’s the clip (which, it has to be said, is taken from a longer panel, but it’s safe to say that Beard’s quote stands along without need for additional context):

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An exclusionary outlook

Let’s get into it then, shall we? The obvious is Mary’s opening, inflammatory statement: “I cannot bear the phrase ‘I really love reading'”. It comes across as exclusionary, elitist and pretentious. She is suggesting that reading is not something we should love; it should be something we endure in order to better ourselves, to learn about the world, to enrich our minds. She is suggesting that to love something is to see it as solely a wellness activity, which to me seems so profoundly misinformed.

I’d argue it’s a case of semantics, but if Mary Beard doesn’t understand semantics, then what hope do we have as a human species? Is she suggesting that the feeling of love is merely the feeling of fuzzy happiness? That we cannot love things that challenge us, that invite us to think critically, that offer an alternative world view? Love and wellbeing are two very different concepts, and while both are perfectly reasonable reasons for picking up a book, they do not exist in exclusivity of each other.

All reading matters

I do understand what Beard is trying to say. That reading is so far more important than simply being an activity we do to pass the time or improve our mental wellbeing. But in saying it – particularly in saying it in the way that she has – it’s impossible to read her point of view as anything other than elitist.

It suggests that unless you’re reading classic, challenging literature, your reading doesn’t count. It’s a punch down on those of us who enjoy reading romantic comedy, thrillers, romantasy. It’s a punch down on anyone who enjoys reading for escapism.

Beard even says herself that reading is more essential to humanity now. When literacy rates are still so low (in the UK, nearly one fifth of adults are functionally illiterate, and more than 1 in 10 children between the ages of 5 and 18 do not own a single book), we cannot afford to be snobbish about what people are reading and the reasons why they are reading. Whether you’re picking up Franz Kafka, Jane Austen or Sarah J Maas, you are still reading. You are still consuming the written word, and that still counts for something.

Reflective of the Booker Prize

The Booker Prize already presents itself as rather pretentious; the books it chooses are heavily in the literary fiction category, and they aren’t the types of books you typically see being promoted across Bookstagram or Booktok. That in itself is not an issue. Different types of books exist and different types of books deserve to be celebrated. And not every book is for every person – that’s fine too. But Beard’s comment doubles down on the implied notion that not all books are worthy, which in turn suggests that not all readers are worthy.

The Booker Prize doesn’t celebrate the books that top the charts. In its own words, it celebrates books that “change the way we see the world, surprise us and challenge our certainties”. They are the sentiments that Beard was talking about, but doesn’t this mean she also suggests that we shouldn’t love the books shortlisted for the Booker Prize?

In truth, I want to say that Beard chose her words very poorly. But Mary Beard is one of the most intelligent women in the country, so Mary Beard knew exactly what she wanted to say. And that’s the problem. She meant that she hates the phrase “I really love reading”. She meant that we shouldn’t be reading for pleasure, for wellness, for pure enjoyment. And when speaking on an official Booker Prize panel, her words then become intrinsically tied to the Booker Prize itself.

You should really love reading

I really love reading. Since I was old enough to pick up a book with my chubby baby hands, I’ve loved books, words, reading and everything that comes along with it. Given that only one in three children will say they enjoy reading, that’s something that should be celebrated alone.

There are many aspects to reading, and we can love it for different reasons. Loving reading for escapism, and as a “wellbeing” activity, as Beard wants to put it, is a valid reason as any. And contrary to what Beard suggests, you can love reading for the very reason that it challenges you, that it makes you think and that it offers a different outlook on the world. The subject matter you’re reading about doesn’t have to be pleasant and saccharine for you to love it. You can love the words, the prose, the way the writer uses language to express a complex thought or emotion. You can love the way words look on a page, you can love grammar and punctuation.

Frankly, any type of love for reading should be celebrated. If you’re picking up a book – any book – you should feel good about yourself. You shouldn’t be made to feel any less of a reader if that book isn’t deemed academic or important. Yes, reading is more essential than ever. And while there’s always a place for authors like Kafka, there’s a place for all books. Whether you’re reading Freida McFadden or Charles Dickens, you’re still enriching yourself by engaging in literature. Nobody should make you feel like less of a reader for what you read or why you read it.