A. Radke: It's been some time since I read it so I wasn't entirely sure how sincere he was in his seeming praise!

Poor people use libraries. Rich people shut them down because they don't *want* poor people to read.

Poor people also read. It is a harmful classist stereotype to think otherwise, and we should have moved past it by now.

Whatever "Red" has in their library, it doesn't include The Great Gatsby:

This is exactly what I was going to say! This dude really thinks rich people live in Jay Gatsby’s mansion.

Whereas there was a thing not long ago about rich folks buying basically painted cardboard for fake bookshelves! Or cultivated spreads of books they don't read in order to "look smart." The bespectacled guy here was close to "getting" it.

He got it perfectly well. The books were for display and visual impressiveness only. But unlike some people today, Gatsby probably didn’t color-code his books because he’s trying to look rich and well-read, not provide “a pop of color.”

It's been some time since I read it so I wasn't entirely sure how sincere he was in his seeming praise!

He’s complimenting Gatsby for going above and beyond to create a good-looking illusion.

Yeah, the line about not cutting the pages means Gatsby didn't read them.

Even in F. Scott's time, it was likely lots cheaper to buy low-value books by the yard than to pay for custom fake spines.

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