“James Murphy, the lead singer for the band LCD Soundsystem, has this to say about his own reading experiences: ‘I actually want to write a treatise in defence of pretension… . I think the word pretension has become like the word ironic—just this catch-all term to distance people from interesting experiences and cultural engagement and possible embarrassment. Pretension can lead to other things. You know, the first time I read Gravity’s Rainbow, I did so because I thought it would make me seem cool. That was my original motivation. But now I’ve read it six times, and I find it hilarious and great and I understand it. You can’t be afraid to embarrass yourself sometimes.’ Young people often signal through their pretensions what they hope to become: they have discerned, maybe in a limited way, some good and they are pursuing it as best they can, given limited knowledge and experience. They see people whom they admire, or are in some way attracted to, and they try to copy the preferences of those paragons. Such copying can lead to more and more pretension; but in many cases the pretense becomes real: the tastes we aspire to often become our own tastes. (For better or worse: this happens with whiskey, cigarettes, drugs, and sweetbreads, as well as books, with wildly variable results.) That achievement comes by imitation is true, and importantly true. ‘Pretension can lead to other things’ is a wise word. But it is also true that we need eventually to grow out of reliance on signaling.”
— Alan Jacobs, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction
