If you’ve ever walked into a bookstore recently, or even just scrolled through TikTok, you’ve probably come across the “BookTok” section. You know, the one with all the colorful covers, dramatic titles, and signs that say “TikTok made me read it.” It’s hard to ignore how BookTok has basically taken over the world of reading. Some people think it’s amazing because more teens are reading again. But others are starting to wonder… is BookTok actually ruining the way we read?
The Hype Problem
Let’s be honest, BookTok can be really repetitive. It’s always the same books over and over again: Emily Henry, “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” Elsie Silver, etc. These books might be fun, emotional, or easy to binge, but that’s kind of the problem. BookTok tends to hype up books that are fast-paced, full of drama, or super romantic. And because everyone wants to cry, scream, or throw their book across the room, slower or deeper stories barely get any love.
It sometimes feels like if a book doesn’t break your heart or make you sob at 2 a.m., it’s not “good enough.” But that’s not true at all, some of the best books are the ones that make you think slowly or feel quietly. Not every story has to be a rollercoaster of emotions. Still, on BookTok, that’s what sells.
Reading for the Aesthetics?
Another thing that’s kind of weird is how reading has turned into a performance. People don’t just read books anymore, they post book shelves tours, annotate every single page with colorful pens, and show off “crying while reading” videos with background music. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with making reading look fun and cute. But sometimes it feels like people care more about how a book looks on their feed than what it actually says.
Also, if you’re not someone who reads super fast or who likes popular genres (like fantasy or romance), BookTok can feel a little… excluding. There’s definitely pressure to “keep up” with the trends or to only read what everyone else is reading.
But It’s Not All Bad
Okay, I’m not gonna lie, BookTok has done some pretty great things too. It’s introduced a lot of people to reading who weren’t that into it before. It’s helped small authors become successful. And it’s made reading feel more social and exciting, especially when people get hyped about the same stories together.
It’s also cool that BookTok sometimes promotes diverse authors and stories you wouldn’t usually see in a big bookstore. And let’s be real, it’s way more fun to read something when you know you can go online afterwards and scream about it with thousands of other people.
So What Should We Do
So… is BookTok ruining reading? Not really. But it is changing it, for better and worse. And maybe instead of hating on it, we should just try to make it better.
At the end of the day, BookTok is just one way to enjoy reading. It might not be perfect, but if it gets more people to pick up a book, and actually enjoy it, maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all.
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