CONSTANCE RIVERA | Grievances | CONTACT
Emily Stevens (26) has boldly declared to friends that these holidays she will reclaim her long- lost identity as a reader, despite not having finished a book since Twilight series took the world by storm in the 2010s.
Armed with a freshly purchased paperback of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love—carefully staged next to a soy latte and an almond croissant for a candid Instagram shot—Emily is determined to broadcast her new ‘reading era’. This, despite the fact that her
most recent literary accomplishment involved reading the subtitles of her Netflix show.
“I’ve just been so busy lately, but I’m really making time to read again,” she insists, conveniently omitting the fact that the last book she opened was New Moon, which she reportedly never even finished after getting distracted by Jacob and Bella fan art on Tumblr.
“I just know I’m going to finish this one,” she insists, conveniently forgetting she said the same thing about The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k, which now serves as a coaster.
Her friends remain dubious. “She’ll get halfway through a chapter, then decide she’ll just watch the TV adaptation,” says her housemate.
While her reading goals seem optimistic, Emily’s bookshelf will continue to thrive aesthetically, with Dolly Alderton now nestled between Atomic Habits and an unopened Where the Crawdads Sing.
