Have you heard of “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”? If you haven’t, consider yourself one of the few people on earth who hasn’t. This book currently is one of the most popular books on Goodreads, bolstered by the support of what has become known as “BookTok” — TikTok users whose content centralizes on books and sharing them. Internet content creators discussing literature is as old as the internet itself, from book blogs and Buzzfeed listicles to (my personal favorite) “booktubers”: talking about books is one of the most natural things for the book community to do. However, BookTok has come with a specific downside: very few of the books that are shared a million times in “books that I’d sell my dog to Satan to read again for the first time” lists are simply not the best literature out there.
As gatekeep-y as this sentiment may come across (and colored by my personal experience with reading these books, I’ll admit), the fact of the matter is that Colleen Hoover books, while they may provide some swoon-worthy, if problematic moments, the books that BookTok pushes to the forefront are not likely to be literary tomes. BookTok has risen to popularity for its ability to bond people together and share, for the most part, light summery literature that everyone will want to read. Books that evoke strong emotions seem to be at the forefront of BookTok trends, from books that will “literally destroy your heart” like Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life,” ones that promise “enemies to lovers” relationship developments like Ali Hazelwood’s “Love On The Brain” and numerous other tropes that readers eat up because they are both recognizable and easy to read for those who spent their teenage years on Wattpad as I did.
BookTok has also been able to boost the careers of debut and established authors alike. Self-published works like Olivie Blake’s “The Atlas Six” blew up on BookTok so greatly that she was able to sign with an agent to have the book and its subsequent sequels published traditionally. The controversial “Lightlark” by Alex Aster blew up because of her marketing on TikTok. And of course, the infamous Colleen Hoover has been dominating all bestseller lists of the last few years, even her works published before BookTok blew up her creations.
All in all, BookTok has had a lot of positives for both readers and writers alike — so why is it that many avid readers just don’t get the hype when they finally pick up some of these books? Speaking for myself, I’ve given Madeline Miller’s books, two Taylor Jenkins Reid books and “You’ve Reached Sam” by Dustin Thao a shot this year and rated none above 3 stars. I won’t touch CoHo’s books with a ten-foot pole and I find myself tired of seeing the same ten books cycled through every other “my favorite books of all time” Instagram Reels. The world seems saturated with all of these trendy books that I subjectively have not enjoyed. So why all the fuss?
Well, the pandemic certainly has a big part to play. BookTok boomed when people finally had time to stay home and read for pleasure. Many people on TikTok have said that school-mandated reading ruined the literary experience for them, and the pandemic allowed them to pick up books that helped them understand that literature isn’t all doom and gloom. And that’s the core of BookTok as I understand it — to help you pick up reading where you may have left off and ease back into the world of literature. Young Adult and magical romances and fantasy are all popular on BookTok because they help transport people to lighter worlds that they can fly through and leave feeling satisfied. Additionally, it’s become a place where people can share niche books that may not find an audience otherwise; many LGBTQIA+ people are able to find books that feature queer characters, for instance.By dipping their toes back into the world of books, people can branch out even more into stories they may even like better. I look back on the YA books I enjoyed in my early teens with disgust, but the fact is that I wouldn’t be the reader I am now if I hadn’t had those books as a jumping-off point. But if you find that your whole bookshelf has become books influenced by BookTokers, might I recommend exploring some wonderful “booktubers” such as allisonpaiges, SavidgeReads, Jen Campbell and rinceyreads. I also recommend scrolling through the backlists of publishers that you enjoy, as well as keeping an eye on new releases. BookTok isn’t all bad, but branching out once you find the books you like can make all the difference.
