I’ve sometimes found myself browsing through other people’s recommended reads on their web pages. While this is usually fascinating because we get to peek into someone’s brain and track the subtle nuances that reveal who they are; it can also be intimidating. It’s great when we’re able to put our feelings aside because, if they took the time to put together a curated book list, then the least we can do is investigate a few reads.

I also share a curated book list based on memorable reads surrounding my time in undergrad and grad school, so I totally get it! We, as webmasters feel compelled to put together reading material that has helped to shape our lives in some profound way. We also feel motivated to open up that same kind of world that someone once did for us when we were searching for mirrors or reflections of our soul.

These bookshelves can be used, as a guide that just may expand one’s literary repertoire by offering an escape, leaving you captivated or challenging your thought process. These digs can inspire or open up self reflection and are mostly meant to stimulate, although sometimes they can inadvertently end up weighing down your readers. What begins as an invitation to read may become an obligation to perform but this needn’t be the case.

Readers may feel pressure to keep up with all of these reads but there is a pressure brewing for the curators of these book lists, as well. My goal is not to just present books that peddle my politic but to present narratives that embody the human experience; causing you to think, feel or react- books that can help guide you in shaping your life’s direction and determining what you want to either embrace or avoid.

One might interpret this tyranny of other people’s recommended reads as literal but these lists encourage some self guided direction; which is independent, improvisational and free flowing. That is to say that even in all of its structure, there is a newfound freedom that shouldn’t be overlooked, dismissed or ignored. We find a bit of freedom in structure and a bit of structure in freedom that both binds and liberates in equal measure.

Eventually you should find that you aren’t just following along simply because you’re expected to; it’s less about compliance and more about command of the self. You learn to make a decision, as to whether or not a book is giving you the green light and it’s more than the fact that it has shown up on someone’s book list. It’s a matter of how well you know your interests, personality and willingness to step outside your comfort zone.

I’ll admit there’s always a chance to redeem yourself in the middle of this silent war, where it seems like books are flying all around you. Nevertheless, there is something radical about a serendipitous stumble on a book that grounds your perspective, for example. Needless to say, I understand how easy it is to become swarmed by reading recommendations but also recognize them, as necessary tools for personal transformation.