Authenticity by Bookshelf

Possessing physical copies of books for display on shelves as ‘trophies’ is apparently a thing. It's one of the explanations that's given as to why sales of print books have increased 10-14% in most English-speaking markets over the last few years.

But so, too, it seems is 'bookshelf wealth' - yes, it's big on TikTok. '"Bookshelf wealth" refers to displaying books you've really read', and doing so in a 'loveably messy' way, rather than as color-coordinated props arranged to convey a certain look.

It's yet another way of showing you are 'authentic', to be placed alongside all the others at a time when so much art and culture is not just technologically reproduced (cf. Walter Benjamin), but technologically produced.