It's Been a Minute Have we lost the art of reading?
Nov 14, 2025
Join Andrew Limbong, host of NPR's Book of the Day, and cultural critic Princess Weekes as they dive into the modern misinterpretations of classic literature. They discuss Trump's ironic Gatsby-themed party and what that reveals about our reading culture. Explore how personal biases shape our understanding of texts, from Lolita to Wuthering Heights. They also tackle the influence of online communities like BookTok and emphasize the importance of deeper literary engagement. It's a thought-provoking conversation on how we read—and misread—great books.
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When Themes Become Party Aesthetics
- President Trump's Great Gatsby party showed how cultural references can be stripped of their critique and turned into celebration of the very things the book condemns.
- Misreading classics can reveal more about present-day values than about the original work.
Defending Gatsby Parties
- Princess Weekes admits she initially defended Gatsby parties as fun dress-up events despite their ironic politics.
- She later recognized celebrating excess can clash with the novel's critique but still saw social enjoyment as a valid reason.
Lolita's Misread Moral
- Nabokov's Lolita is often mistaken as endorsing pedophilia because of packaging and surface reading.
- Princess Weekes emphasizes the novel actually indicts the protagonist's predatory behavior.
