Review #2 – New York Public Library Insta Novels
Classic literature can often feel daunting or out of reach for many readers. The unfamiliar language and historical context may lead some to overlook these significant works in favour of more contemporary authors. Yet, these stories have shaped the foundations of literature as we know it today—and continue to offer themes, ideas, and insights that remain deeply relevant for modern readers. It was these long-past authors who challenged the boundaries of their time, often subverting gender roles and social expectations to create works that resonated deeply with their audiences. Their courage and innovation paved the way for the literature we enjoy today—where freedom of expression thrives, and voices can be heard beyond society’s attempts to define who we should be.
Image source: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/08/20/nypl-insta-novels?utm_campaign=instanovels
Even though classic literature is readily accessible and free through platforms like Project Gutenberg, a new project has sought to bring these classic stories, such as The Yellow Wallpaper, Alice in Wonderland, A Christmas Carol, The Metamorphosis, and The Raven to modern audiences through the publication of these stories on the social media platform of Instagram. A collaboration between The New York Public Library and advertising and creative agency, Mother in New York, has reimagined these classic stories in a format for modern readers. (Lobash, 2019) states the aim of the project is to ‘make great stories available even more widely’. Readers are given instructions to navigate to the stories highlights of the New York Public Library Instagram page to select which story to read. Instructions are given on how to turn the ‘pages’ forward and back, as well as how to hold the page in place while reading. While Instagram is a widely used and intuitive platform, providing simple instructions offers helpful guidance for those less familiar with its features. This initiative pushes back against a lingering nostalgia for print and the persistent idea that digital reading somehow dilutes literary engagement. Instead, it embraces the affordances of digital platforms to reach audiences who might otherwise never interact with canonical texts. Readers can hold down the screen to pause on a paragraph or let the story unfold at its own pace, offering a rhythm that mimics scrolling—a gesture more natural to many young users than flipping a page. By meeting readers where they are—on social media—it reclaims literature as accessible and democratic. In doing so, it opens up new avenues for engagement and interpretation. We might liken it to the revolution of the Gutenberg printing press, which opened up access of information to many that were denied beforehand. How might using technology open up opportunities for access to those who might never pick up a book or enter a library?
There is also an implicit challenge here to notions of literary authority and ownership. The texts in the Insta Novels series are public domain works, but their visual reinvention—through motion graphics, bold typography, and expressive illustration—makes them feel fresh, urgent, and alive. The graphics used in The Yellow Wallpaper Insta novel mimic the theme in the text, of the woman trying to break free, however a certain amount of visual literacy skills is needed to be able to effectively analyse and read this type of communication. That said, the project does raise important questions about literacy and comprehension in digital spaces.
With the explosive growth in the use of social media in technology, a new set of vernaculars has also arrived. Phrases such as ‘zombie scrolling,’ and ‘doom scrolling’ have been used to describe the emotion and motion of our endless interaction on social media. (The Newport Institute, 2024) describes an estimated average that in a single day, phone users scroll through 300 feet of content. If this is the case, what will make these Insta Novels stand out? Will readers take in what they read? (Dyson & Haselgrove, 2000) explored research from the University of Reading that observed that reading comprehension declined when students scrolled, which is in contrast to the focus when reading stationary chunks of text. However, is scroll reading better than no reading? Will even the smallest engagement with the text by a reader help keep the stories alive for a new generation? Rather than ask whether digital platforms “cheapen” literature, it asks: what new possibilities emerge when we reimagine the book not as an object, but as an experience?
References
Dyson, M.C. & Haselgrove, M. (2000). The effects of reading speed and reading patterns on the understanding of text read from screen. Journal of Research in Reading, 23 (2), 210-223.
Lobash, L. A. (2019, August 22). Read NYPL Insta Novels. The New York Public Library. https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/08/20/nypl-insta-novels?utm_campaign=instanovels
Newport Institute (2024, October 10). 8 Danger Signs of Zombie Scrolling and How to Protect Yourself. https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/zombie_scrolling/