Show Notes
When does wellness become a problem? This week on The Bibliofilles, we're diving into one of the most urgent cultural conversations of the moment looks maxing and optimisation culture and exploring it through the lens of literature.
From viral influencers using extreme methods to "engineer" attractiveness, to the Fitbit-ification of reading via Goodreads targets, we unpack how the obsession with maximising every aspect of life is quietly making us miserable and why fiction saw it all coming.
👇 All books mentioned are linked below 👇
Rouge by Mona Awad 👉 https://amzn.to/4uBKo73
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 👉 https://amzn.to/44gkf2Z
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 👉 https://amzn.to/4fOQddP
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 👉 https://amzn.to/4ozSWdn
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood 👉 https://amzn.to/4ovIFPe
Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding 👉 https://amzn.to/4oAQ9At
Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy 👉 https://amzn.to/4uOMOiV
We also discuss the backlash to Steven Bartlett optimisation obsession, the incel-to-mainstream pipeline of looks culture, and why reading itself has been infected by optimisation thinking.
Perfect for: fans of feminist literary criticism, cultural commentary, book recommendations, and anyone who's ever felt exhausted by the pressure to self-optimise.
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