is booktok ruining reading?

[@puffy6763]

haunting adeline has been one of the worst outcomes of booktok 💀 “it’s dark romance!” “if you don’t like it don’t read it!” and it’s literally a romanticized stalker graping an innocent woman

[@misskernow6491]

I accidentally read this when I got my kindle ( kindle skips the warning pages) I got about 60% before I said that is enough! I thought it was a mystery… read what you want I guess but not for me. It was not a good random pick for someone who has just got into reading books that aren’t true crime. Like you said it’s romanticised. 🤮

[@batmaces4922]

I don’t think it should even be dismissed because of it’s dark themes. It has some of the worst writing I’ve ever seen professionally published.

[@MorenaDeRena]

It's literally an erotica man, I haven't read it, but I can understand why they enjoy it? Not interested in the hype though, not when I haven't heard much about the plot other than the ml being an amalgamation of all my kinks. I need my ml to have a cute personality before he violates me.

[@abigail2699]

im so sick of people pretending libraries don't exist

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

We should all read more books from libraries. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARIES ‼️

[@Lemoncakelover678]

Right like libraries are our human treasures. Let's treat it as such.

[@bridget3289]

fr because i haven’t read some of the books i own for years, libraries are helpful for seeing if you actually like a book

[@mimicoolll0]

i agree, although i have bought a lot of books and i see the value in owning books, i absolutely use the library way more!

[@karolinamikeskova8043]

Well yea but libraries around where i live have absolutely no normal/new/readable books available

[@speeadsplays]

Hell yeah I made it! Honestly booktok has ruined some reading! The wattpadification of Romance novels is genuinely making me cry. 😭

[@vvitch-mist20]

I could go on forever about how nightmareish romance novels these days.

[@donnietello]

EXACTLY!! it’s literally so concerning… PLUS it makes booktok seem like it’s mostly or if not ONLY about romance (i’m not trying to talk down the genre but this is the main assumption i get when it comes to booktok) when it’s just more than that.. (and don’t get me started on “dark romance”.. that topic is even worse in itself)

[@eldritchmonsters]

​@@vvitch-mist20same??? the least they can do is label these horrific books correctly. 😬 or at least try to take criticism for their writing. like where the fuck are their publishers / editors

[@eldritchmonsters]

​​@@donnietellono ur so right. I dig romance when done right. but man, I wish there was some variety other than books filled with smut n boring plots within booktok

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

The books that get the biggest attention and impact are the smut books, and it’s sad cause there’s so many more books out there 😭

[@JhinPortolan]

I really struggle to understand how only reading porn is something to be proud of. I mean, reading smut is nothing to be embarrassed about either, but could you imagine someone bragging about only watching movies with sex scenes? Thats stupid

[@aidyn5916]

Literally like congratulations your attention can only be held by old brain desires

[@Victoria-_]

IKR

[@laineyBoog]

RIGHT??? like people will say its not a porn addiction because its a book BUT IT IS.

[@NiarahHawthorne]

Because when you're stuck in a reactionary mindset like the algorithmic internet fosters, if you're not ashamed you must be proud. No in-between.

[@Lemoncakelover678]

From what I've seen, the smutty books aren't even good smut like if your gonna brag about it, at least make it good and have flavour

[@cherry_tonic]

honestly thank you for specifying that the subsection of BookTok people have issues with shouldn't encapsulate the entire whole of BookTokkers / BookTubers

[@breannajefferson912]

Yes! I feel like our society is already anti intellectual, and a lot of people took this as an excuse to demonize reading. I saw where someone was like "there need to books with no spice." Like have you not heard of genres?

[@cherry_tonic]

@@breannajefferson912 i'm like yeah, i do have issue with how some books are written and there's a HUGE rise in people not wanting to engage in more "difficult content", but it's like damn.... i think we all collectively need to chill out and try recommending things without directly shaming those that ARE trying to get back into literature book clubs / book circles genuinely do wonders for getting people to engage in reading again!

[@toyafan]

i think the women who only read smut, and also romanticize alot of fucked up stuff in smut and romance books have ruined booktok. i love literature and discussing it but it's hard to consume book content when it's taken over by millennials who are porn addicts.

[@ItzAudreyii]

ENA PFP??!?!? TOYA ENJOYER?!?!? i love finding pfps of my hyperfixations in unrelated content :D

[@toyafan]

@@ItzAudreyii HAHA YES I LOVE PROSEKAI it's my biggest hyperfixation atm, i recently got my sibling obsessed with it 😭

[@the_goddess_1859]

Z and X are equally problematic, I promise

[@krow5099]

It’s Gen Z and X eating these books not us Millennials liking this book if anything it’s triggering to us so speak on your own generation not mine.

[@vivianbrights8953]

exactly

[@patrickbatemansflipflop]

I use Booktok to find some really good recommendations for books that I might be interested in reading. However, I do think that the strange obsession with spice is a bit overwhelming. I understand that people wish to explore their fantasies in a safe manner, but it's gotten to be too much in my opinion.

[@WURLDSTAR]

i understand! i think im a bit bias because i’ve managed to curate my feed to the point that i rarely see the spicy side of booktok but that wasn’t easy to do so i understand why it can get annoying to constantly try and filter them out

[@nilladrawsstuff]

As someone who almost exclusively reads manga and danmei this is absolutely WILD to me You mean your romance doesn't have convoluted world building and action and 46383746 chapters before the love interests even kiss????? Y'all are missing out

[@xemi2087]

if the romance starts so late consider romance is actually only a sungenre and the main one is actually something else. Just saying.

[@nilladrawsstuff]

@@xemi2087 girl........ I know...... Danmei is literally fantasy w/ gay romance........... 😭

[@Greatduck777]

Romance books are better than romance movies, just check if the romance book you’re reading isn’t made by Colleen Hoover. If it is made by her, you probably shouldn’t read it.

[@iancesimp2514]

Wait, you guys don't read on AO3 where there 2763000 chapters before the love interests brush hands??? Or the tooth-rotting fluff that'll make you die from excitement? Or the dirty smut? THE KINKS YOU LOVE, THEY'RE RIGHT THERE, AND THEY'RE WRITTEN BETTER THAN COLLEEN HOOVER'S WHOLE BOOKLINE

[@JackDatDoge]

@@iancesimp2514 LMAO

[@GA_131]

Genuinely these people _need_ wattpad

[@ariaryayy7314]

They didn't go through their Wattpad stage as a teen and young adults. Thats why they are so deep in the genre now. What they're reading is what we all read a decade ago.

[@ronniebennet9413]

the only problem I have with smut being so popular is that it makes it so much harder to find books without smut. I am someone who doesn’t enjoy smut at all and prefers small doses of romance. fantasy is one of my favorite genres and finding new recommendations for good fantasy WITHOUT smut or romance is near impossible anymore, it COMSUMES the genre. it makes it difficult for me to trust any recommendations because some people will only say “omg its so good you HAVE to read it! best book Ive ever read!” or even “oh, you like fantasy? you’ll love this!” or something along those lines. then they’ll fail to mention that theres smut or heavy amounts of romance that smothers the plot, world building, and character development. when I read fantasy I want FANTASY. not romance with a sprinkle of fantasy. its infuriating.

[@katgreer6113]

Try PJO

[@ronniebennet9413]

@@katgreer6113 what is that?

[@user-ly2nx7ss2x]

​@@ronniebennet9413percy jackson and the Olympians, I believe

[@shadow_spirit3561]

I relate to this so much. I really like fantasy and dark fantasy too, but I'm really not a fan of smut. And with everyone advocating for these books it was hard to find those without it.

[@abelvanvroztco.7949]

Mine is now proceed to write dystopia time travel adventure where it features DnD style adventures across four timelines, and romance subplot (and slow burn). And has two versions (one version is for YA + NA and no smut). Even though I aware there will be a demand on this, there is no way publishing company want to get my story published because in my home country, crappy novels with smut becomes a trend in bookstores (including in my native language!)

[@kingofmoof]

I feel like masked cosplayers and COD cosplayers get such a bad rep and have weird assumptions about them due to the loud minority over sexualizing it

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

Brahms pfp supremacy

[@kingofmoof]

@@PaperLoser-gv4wb HOLY HELL BRAHMS FAN IN THE WILD HELLO

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

@@kingofmoof ACK YOUVE SPOTTED ME I WAS NEVER HERE IM A CHANGED MAN

[@kingofmoof]

@@PaperLoser-gv4wb NO ITS OK LET YOUR FREAK FLAG FLY

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

@@kingofmoof if the third movie comes out, sure

[@Yellowtailz]

The book that got me back into reading was “I’m glad my mom died” lmfao.

[@matcha._.000]

i remember seeing a video of a girl showing a comment she got on a video of her showing books she read and the comment asked if White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a smut… LIKE ITS DOSTOYEVSKY

[@clarasolis7379]

Why are they looking for spice in Dostoevsky pls 😭

[@arxii-21]

I DO NOT ACCEPT DOSTOEVSKY CRITICISM

[@Atar.comm01]

NAHHHHHH OMG

[@suraya_]

THAT'S WILD 😭😭

[@suraya_]

GUYS I was just in a comment section of a booktok (it was on shorts) video and someone said "crime and punishment is such a good book" and someone replied "is there any spiceee" I came back here just to say that because what 😭😭

[@iamperish]

Something that I think is interesting about the women obsessed with✨SPICY✨and problematic books are the same women who, in a weird way, do not want to associate with fandom. There's this weird two sided coin of them proudly announcing how much they adore these tropes and books while at the same time apps like Wattpad or sites like AO3 offer those tropes and taste for free but because they are inherently linked to fandom culture and are "unprofessional" they do not want to be connected to that "cringe" side that they themselves were never apart of.

[@Taankk]

wurld you should watch this one show called bojack horseman i think you’ll like it

[@WURLDSTAR]

maybe i’ll check it out some day

[@Alisha-zp9np]

@@WURLDSTAR wait but the clips of bojack. Cries

[@Amieeapple]

I watched a girl on TikTok buy books from a thrift store and put them on her giant shelf BACKWARDS for aesthetics. I’d say that is overconsumption somewhat. Yeah it’s from a thrift store, but can’t wait for her to toss em because she decided to do something else with her shelf decor.

[@Greatduck777]

I don’t know which way is the right way, I just put it the way where I can read the name of the book and the number in the series.

[@shelly4537]

How is that affecting you😭it's her money, money for the store and there are many copies of books

[@emmanarotzky6565]

⁠@@shelly4537I agree that this particular thing is harmless but “how is that affecting you” is a dumb thing to say. We are supposed to care about things that don’t directly affect us personally

[@shelly4537]

@@emmanarotzky6565 except this isn't affecting anyone, at all. Everyone in that scenario is benefiting so I really don't see the issue there

[@hellocamy7]

Maybe people associate all of booktok with the romance or "spicy" booktokers because they literally introduce themselves as THE "booktok girls" in the comments. Like they will fr say something like "the booktok girlies have been summoned😈" in the comment section of a cringy thirst trap video. I think their engagement with other parts of TikTok contribute to how loud they are too. And don't forget that one spicy booktok lady that called her the "Queen of Booktok"🥴. I'm joking but those comments have gotten so far to the point were they are calling them the "booktok gooners"

[@pigeontoes5421]

Exactly!! If youre someone who isnt on booktok, you only see very loud porn addicts calling themselves booktok under random videos. Thats why ppl mean them when they say booktok, bc thats what those people were introduced to them as

[@nwjeanz143]

i misread at the end of ur paragraph and though you said booktok groomers instead of gooners.

[@metanoia2647]

I'm so sad that they 're considering Song of Achilles like. bad booktok genre. because it's the best adaptation of the story by a modern author I've seen! I am now terrified people will it's cringe.

[@WURLDSTAR]

madeline miller is such a great author

[@dumiile]

so many books are having a ruined reputation bc there’s this hivemind that all of booktok books are bad and full of smut smh

[@lestatsluv317]

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite novels of all time and it drives me crazy that, because of an intentional misquote courtesy of Hemingway and a supposed Fitzgerald historian that F. Scott Fitzgerald's family had to fight for years because he was extremely inaccurate and each time they tried to correct his lies, he would try to drown them out, people misread the book and take away the opposite of what the actual point was... It's not a celebration of wealth in the slightest. It's a reminder that both love and the upper class can destroy you in an instant. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Eggofficial09]

I’m somebody who is writing a book. As of May 2024, this is my fourth year working on it (yipppeee!🎉). And watching the trends on TikTok from a distance, and *refusing politely* to read a single book from that collection (unknowingly, I read *The Song of Achilles*, and actually enjoyed it, I admit…), it’s obvious that there’s been a negative change in how these stories are written. I have a super close bestie of mine who reads *only* TikTok-starred books. And great heavens almighty, I picked five of them up and it was all smut, smut, sex, lemons, no lime, bang-bang missionary type shit- oh, look, an interlude of some sort of sweeter moment!- **SEX.** I’m… joking but I’m not. Like, are they fueling a P-addiction here? Hello? The fact that books have become solely page-turners and have a lack of true depth to them sometimes makes me sad. How these tropes are impacting the originality of many said page-turners, the fact that only these books might be advertised and the fucking ***colleen hoover books stand in barnes n noble*** makes me worry that all books will be are merely trends and words for people to consume, and not *stories*. The girlies I know who never read a lick before now consume this fiery waste, and that’s all there is! At least people are reading, but *this???* While it isn’t every book in the Tok, it still is many, and many problematic ones. … Anyways, I’m writing a book. And no, there will not be smut in it.

[@eldritchmonsters]

heyy!! im writing a book too! And i agree SO HARD. It definitely feels like they're fueling porn addictions. the reason i think these books aren't really good most of the time is because... Theyre just made for smut n nothing else. so the characters and everything are so flat and poorly written because their only purpose is to be in a spice scene and make money. im not against spicey scenes at all, but goodness. its getting exhausting that so many romantical stories (and stories in general) that end up getting successful are boring sex books or ... 😬 the other ones. It doesn't feel like a lot of authors are doing it for genuine passion or love. Just to cash off.

[@eldritchmonsters]

im not saying all books of course! but the most being talked about and getting exposure are just - spice. makes me feel like my story wont get any attention because there's no spice in it! along with romance.

[@Eggofficial09]

@@eldritchmonsters THIS!!! Also, a fellow lad of my told me that an author they loved from TikTok was creating a book solely on tropes provided to her, and I’m just like………. Errrr sooo you mean just bdsm and dark fantasy?? 😅 But yessssir, definitely for the cash crab. Let’s give some teenagers some addiction (was so tempted to call it Hoover Horniness I’m so sorry)

[@RainaVerlaine]

Also someone who is working on a book (a year and a half now) and yes. Absolutely yes to everything you just said.

[@legendary.was.momentary]

as someone who is also working on a book…I one hundred percent agree. (I feel like i’m supposed to write a whole essay, but that’s all i have to say 😂) Though, I’ve read two recommendations from BookTok because of my ELA teachers, but they were PHENOMENAL. (Six of Crows and If He Had Been With Me)

[@Hatsoonmeek]

Ironically booktok got me back into libraries. I started going there out of spite for the over consumption lol

[@monochromicornthetuna4256]

You make me feel more comfortable in my Twenty One Pilots obsession

[@WURLDSTAR]

they shamed us for too long, someone has to stand up for our rights

[@skrunklycreationz]

this and my bojack obsession

[@wonderlandian13]

I’ll never forget when I saw a 12 yr old reading Colleen Hoover on a bus 😃

[@vivianbrights8953]

wtf

[@fern_the_opossum1693]

the only bit of booktok that i have ever interacted with on tiktok has been weird (typically contemporary) horror book recs and i eat it up every time

[@reverie3106]

perks of being a wallflower is my favorite book too!!

[@oliverzwatermelongum]

MIKEY PFP

[@reverie3106]

@@oliverzwatermelongum YEESS ANOTHER ROTTMNT FAN

[@lisafrankensteinn]

Idk why people don’t just realise that once you find a few good booktok ears or booktubers who give good recs, you don’t really need to surf the internet as much for fresh recs.

[@monoduck]

Captain underpants and dog man are my favorites childhood books, they're just so fun and goofy

[@monoduck]

What ur guy's favorite books from when you were a kid?

[@someoneghvjvj1808]

@@monoduck The How to Train your Dragon books

[@boyrotting]

​​@@monoduck i love captain underpants as well, i only had one book and i remember reading it over and over 😭 my favorite were the geronimo stilton books tho, that rat was my man fr

[@OmarAyusoVA]

Captain Underpants is my favorite children's book series even above Diary of A Wimpy Kid

[@Greatduck777]

@@monoduckI read a lot of Wings of Fire when I was younger. I still read the books today.

[@ali._shy]

Tbh just here to flex that I NEVER touched Coleen Hoover's books, the youtube videos are enough 🙃. At the end of the day, you read what you wanna read, we are all gonna die one day so, go crazy✨️✨️ (you're still wired)

[@kelseybursch1343]

I unfortunately read Verity. Never again. 😭

[@rafia2918]

SAMEEEE :3

[@Victoria-_]

Same!

[@VelLumi-gp9wo]

Booktube saved me lol

[@lorelai6152]

gold star readers rise up

[@rubeuspotter719]

I hate the overconsumption of books, makes people think they need 100+ books on their tbr. Not saying I don’t bulk buy books, which I do. But I also don’t go to the book store often and I also don’t order online either. I also do use my library as well which I never see nobody talking about much.

[@legendary.was.momentary]

YES. I typically only buy books I’ve first checked out at the library more than four times, or books I’ve reread as PDFs so I can have a physical copy, or books I receive as gifts. I do order online occasionally because I live in the middle of nowhere where there’s only small book stores/sales run by churches and schools

[@BaobhanloreArt]

Something I'm routinely upset by is the normalisation of SA. Ergo, The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. In the first act, the main live interest uses magic to essentially SA the protagonist, making her take off her clothes and perform degrading, sexually charged acts she'd never otherwise do. It's never called that in the book. Just bullying. But what frustrates me is the community constantly refuses to acknowledge it for what it is. I even had someone irl call it hot. This is an SA in the book motivated by bigotry and fetishism. It's a book about Fae and humans are treated in the book like poc who are usually enslaved. I have had neo Nazis throw objects at me and one gave me a note with an SA threat. They'd do Hitler salutes and remark about Auschwitz. All because I'm ethnically Jewish on my dad's side. This isn't hot. This is a real thing many women go through. And the Booktok community justifies it because they say Jude, the protagonist, is also a terrible person. When everything she does is reactionary or in self defense. They say they're Fae, and Fae do that, when most of the old Fae stories I've read, at least from my culture, tend to paint humans as the instigators or have a moral about women getting revenge or reclaiming autonomy. You could rewrite this story about vampires or aliens and the only thing that would change is the lying thing. They are not that immersed in the themes and culture of Fae literature. It's just torture porn where the protagonist fixes the guy who hatecrimes her because he was abused. And this is a book aimed at 12-18 year olds. A very impressionable age group. And they're normalising SA. It's disgusting.

[@avalonsignoraalmas6150]

I don't recall ever happening in the cruel prince. Do you remember which part?

[@BaobhanloreArt]

@@avalonsignoraalmas6150 This was when Cardan, Valerian, and Nicosia ripped off her berry chain and made her take off her clothes and crawl around. Cardan tries to get her to kiss his foot but Locke stops them. Afterwards, she makes a deal with Prince Dain so she can never be glamoured again.

[@avalonsignoraalmas6150]

@@BaobhanloreArt I don't think that's SA. They didn't actually try to do anything sexual to her. That to me is bullying, which is still wrong but is never glorified in this book. What they did is framed as wrong, and they are portrayed as bad people. I actually reread it after watching this, so it's fresh on my mind now.

[@Anna-bm3oe]

All fantasy books now have so much smut lol, I don't really mind it, but one particular book I read, every single time the characters would have an emotional scene talking about their trauma, it would end in sex, every time, happened at least 4 times.

[@Greatduck777]

Any book that has sex in it is a no-no for me. I literally can’t read a book if it has any sexual activity, if it’s just like a kiss, then okay, but if it’s like literally procreation I don’t think I could ever read that book, I would actually take out my bookmark and read a different book, I am literally the opposite of most people in booktok.

[@marisacampbell527]

*cough* *cough* iron flame by Rebecca yarros

[@renexaa]

@@Greatduck777 STOP SAME. i genuinely cannot handle any of that stuff in books. any signs of anything sexual ? immediately dnf'ed

[@Greatduck777]

@@renexaa something about that kind of stuff in an actual piece of literature pisses me off, it’s just annoying, to read a book for a while only to realize the writer just wanted an excuse to make smut.

[@renexaa]

@@Greatduck777 and then it's non-stop brought up. like I'm reading a book for plot and character - not shameless smut every six pages with no development between characters or plot

[@BIG_SKIP]

I found this one wlw YA book in my school library once and I spent like 2 weeks reading it. I forgot the name entirely but it had me hooked.

[@cobaltspace5283]

As someone who read the Cruel Prince and it’s two sequels within one month I remember a huge gripe I had with Booktok about it was how it was advertised as enemies to lovers and purely romance when the politics of the world take more of a center stage. Because of this a bunch of romance booktok dnf’ed it or rated it really poorly based off of a criteria it wasn’t even supposed to fit into nor advertised as by the author when it came out. They also complained about lack of spice which like…c’mon. Like guys it’s YA, YA isn’t known to have tons of spice either. It is one of my favorites though and definitely one of the better YA series out there

[@RenaissanceRockerBoy]

35 year old cis women drooling over the mere idea of fictional 16 year olds having sex is concerning to say the least :/

[@OmarAyusoVA]

As someone who goes to Barnes ans Noble like at least once a week honestly the books most prominent are like business and pop psychology books. But then again that mught be because I live in a big city and usually shop by my job which is located in the Business District

[@RainaVerlaine]

When I say I love booktok, I'm talking about queer booktok. Absolutely love those people. (Genuinely though, if you can't get through a book without smut, you have a porn addiction)

[@mrspreminger]

Real, especially sapphic booktok

[@yamzuh]

Hearing you recommending a Donna Tartt book makes me wanna give The Goldfinch another shot. I was reading it then switched to a webtoon because the writing was mushing my brain, and then forgot to go back

[@WURLDSTAR]

i have a copy of the goldfinch but have yet to read it so i can’t speak on it but hopefully it’s just as good as the secret history!!

[@starbittenpixieboy]

The Goldfinch was pretty bad imo, too long, kinda racist too. That white woman did NOT need to be writing the N slur in the year of 2013

[@yamzuh]

@@starbittenpixieboy When I tell you my jaw dropped

[@chrissyosozzy6465]

@@starbittenpixieboyyess, it was so boring

[@kelseybursch1343]

I LOVE THE GRAPHIC NOVEL VERSION OF A WRINKLE IN TIME!! I remember checking it out from the library so often and when my family gave me an Amazon gift card, I finally bought it for myself. It’s one of my favorites! 😌❤️

[@lolaxdlv]

Hmmmm. The idea of men having read Haunting Adeline is actually more terrifying than how much the women liked it…

[@Nugget_0verlord]

I was book hunting in B&N, and found a book with an illustrated cover of 2 ppl holding hands, but their hands were backwards, and while I don't mind illustrated cover, that HURT my soul, like NOBODY noticed??! It wasn't even close to the booktok table, mind you.

[@xemi2087]

backwards? how exactly

[@GatlingPea32]

Most like you might have encountered a book with cover art designed using AI.

[@VENUS_flyTrApz]

yes. please help. my brain is rotting into an eternal state of sadness.

[@Cth-k9n]

I like books filled to the brim with… uh yeah I don’t really read.

[@deepfried8758]

i’ll be the first to admit that i’m pertinacious about books and how much i hate the overload of the cartoon book cover cookie cutter romance books my annoying ass keeps it TO MYSELF let people enjoy things ! lol

[@lauriesmith4575]

Yes, because the majority of books being promoted on booktok have zero plot, are probably written by nepobabies and are just shite writing..Don't get me wrong, there's good books on booktok, but the majority that I've seen are shite and should never have been published. *cough* Colleen Hoover *cough*

[@maricalari]

5:10 “There’s some merit to that,” You could say it’s not.. *Without Merit* ba dum tssss

[@So_Indecisive]

I hate that bok sm

[@Lemoncakelover678]

This comment made me scream like I'm reading the book, don't do that again.

[@BunMan01]

It's simple: - Wurld uploads a new hit youtube video - we watch Wurlds video

[@matthewcaldwell8100]

It has trivialized reading in much the same way that TV and video games has. Its only distinguishing feature is the intensity and speed of the process.

[@literallyanythingelseother]

Haven't watched this. But A Court of Thorns and Roses got me to read for the first time like 8-10 years. I read the first two books in under 2 weeks. I never imagined that in a million years

[@antonianogueira9134]

i understand your feelings , i love acotar and no , its not because of the smug parts . i loved the world building, the characters personality. i can feel connected to them. but a lot of people read it bc its a little spicy. my favorite part is seeing the characters development like feyre that grow up from a simple girl to a very strong high lady.

[@Stxrz3dits]

@@antonianogueira9134Omg! Yes! People only read it because of the smut. ITS ONLY EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. I’m still on the fifth book, and yes it is a bit more spicy than the original 4 books, but it’s really not that bad. My favorite parts are the build up, character development and all of that stuff. I don’t know why people only read it or think it’s just smut, when it really isn’t.

[@alwaysrootingfortheantihero123]

booktok is over saturating the market with bad romances and now it’s hard to find good romances. also on the “overconsumption” point, i think that reading 100+ books a year aren’t overconsuming, but likely aren’t consuming media effectively. i just have a hard time believing they are actually absorbing anything from the story but that’s just me and i can’t say that it bothers me to the point that i would have an argument abt it.

[@Saskiaham]

I personally love romance books even if its cliche, it makes me happy and single

[@yungspaghetti]

the entirety of booktok vs a sentence from No Longer Human

[@michaelcallaghan1989]

One thing to always keep in mind is that the crazy people of an online space will grab the most attention and create most people's first impressions. It's just the nature of human perception. Also, even though I dislike more about booktok than I like, I need to draw a fine line when criticizing it. There is a lot of vitriol towards things that appeal strongly to young women and I'm very weary of it after the excessive backlash towards things like Twilight and the denigration of women that read 50 Shades (awful books but the way people talked about women that enjoyed erotica was disgusting). Men's trash doesn't receive nearly as much hate and it's a blatant double standard.

[@BlissfulAriana]

So refreshing to see someone making one of these videos that doesn't unnecessarily bash Ali Hazelwood. People that defend the romance genre will tend to throw her under the bus just because it's super popular to not like her right now. Also on the whole "trope" thing. I think that's ridiculous for people to complain about. Like it's just a way to market the book because it's an easy to understand way to know what the general theme of a book is gonna be. Cause, newsflash, "tropes" existed long before booktok ever did. I will say though, I agree a bit with the spoiler point.

[@rc6870]

trees was a violent callback to the past that i wasn’t expecting

[@DM-lw4hd]

this just made my day i swear i jumped for joy when i saw the notification

[@DM-lw4hd]

audibly said “yippee!”

[@WURLDSTAR]

yippeeeee!!!!!

[@Eggofficial09]

Yiippeeeee!!! 🎉

[@stanalldogs]

FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS WATCH MYSTERY INC OMG THAT WAS MY CHILDHOOD SHOW!!!

[@MsLPSFOREVER]

Such a good show

[@moskeletor]

It sucks to share the name with Colleen Hoover because it's what people ask me who I read anytime its brought up

[@MICROallcaps]

I just love the Bojack intros

[@scliffbartoni9771]

VESSEL MENTIONED!!! 🎉🎉

[@y2k_hanji]

all is well when wurld uploads

[@gg0806]

i’d actually love if you made a video talking about the perks of being wallflower because i eat up any content mentioning that book 🙈

[@materialgworl2394]

I’ve already watched 4 videos like this but I like listening to Wurld talk

[@ZIM_skol]

When you said "This is a dumb" I smiled and cocked my head like I was being advertised

[@bridget3289]

yeah i feel like reading books is an escape for me from the mundanity of life and i borrow like 99% of my books from my local library cuz i don’t got money like that (hence the escapism) so the overconsumption thing doesn’t make anyyyy sense to me 😭

[@sanirolover5421]

I forgot about the wrinkle and time and i watched the movie when i was younger, and thank you so much for reminding me 😢😢

[@harrypottahcremecake6435]

Booktok is seriously scary…

[@oliverzwatermelongum]

a girl in my class had a colleen hoover book and now I keep seeing colleen.

[@fiishgirl]

i love a wrinkle in time and i love the great gatsby ughhh i love themmmm

[@harmonaea]

i love your pfp!

[@fiishgirl]

thank you! :]

[@snappuchan]

I just finished writing my original novella and in the past was like 'I SHOULD PROMOTE THIS ON BOOKTOK...' and seeing the scary side of that community I had to 'ehhh...nah.'

[@raini14]

what kind of book u wrote?

[@Yellowtailz]

Guys read some good old depressing children’s lit. A monster calls and the miraculous journey of Edward Tulane SMH

[@Sleepneeded70]

Love the Over the Garden Wall Music

[@giyuusaan]

Man what is up with coleens.. Coleen ballinger, Coleen Hoover, Koleen..

[@Skadivore]

People never look up the actual definition of tropes

[@BrytteM]

I have... Very Strong Opinions about the romance I read and one of those is that Cheaters get the bin, so I will hard pass on romance recs since we seem to have very opposed tastes BUT "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" WAS a beautiful book even if it left me crying like a fountain, it felt also like. Cathartic

[@teacherlovesbeauty]

Yes! Contemporary Romance is a palette cleanser!

[@Jasmyne241]

I read a that vampire queen book and it scared me to the point where I wanted to go back to YA 😂 I wasn’t ready but I’m a “romantasy” girl but romance is optional

[@Chloekates]

Off topic but this hair style looks so good on you!! ❤

[@WURLDSTAR]

thank you! :D

[@deadmansroach777]

my step grandma accidentally gave me a Cort of thorns and roses for my 12th bday not knowing what it was about she even got me the sequel 💀

[@MMHay16]

so... Libraries and overconsumption... My library literally prints on your receipt each time "here's how much you saved by checking these books out from the library instead of buying them" LOL

[@mrspreminger]

I genuinely think smuttok people should go read stuff on ao3 because the smut is actually decently written and not the same stuff I read on wattpad when I was 14

[@BelieveinBeauty13]

Tbh I love Booktok for getting me back into reading as you said I started with Acotar and followed up with Babel and stuck to alternate between Romantacy and Literary Fiction its great

[@pauieeepau]

I don't use Tiktok much anyway, much less booktok. Anyway, if I did use that app, I would just block topics/accounts and curate my feed, which i do for IG. I just want to see what I like. Anyway, I got back into reading coz of a webtoon, so at least I missed out on Colleen Hoover.

[@MichaelJenkins910]

The Scooby-Doo joke landed with me. It's nice to meet a fellow person of culture.

[@QuaePanemEtCircenses]

While you were talking about the Secret History, I was thinking of If We Were Villains by ML Rio. Very similar, and it IS a murder mystery, with a bunch of theater kids! I loved it, highly recommend if that’s your jam

[@theoctopusesgardener]

while i’ll agree that perks of being a wallflower is really well done, to anyone planning on getting into it please check trigger warnings if some heavy topics can upset you!! it’s a lovely story and i genuinely adore it (i think?) but i went in blind and the story does a really good job of conveying heavy emotions! like a really good job! and some of those emotions were not ones i was ready to have about events in my own life, so yea. good story, just check trigger warnings if you’re someone that needs those. :D

[@Silverstonegamergirl]

4:59 me who's been getting back into reading by reading fantasy adventure series from the 90s. Feeling like spider-man who's got both his parents alive lmao. Have yet to read a Colleen Hoover book since I'm not big on romance books and don't use tiktok lol. No shade to anyone who reads well anything. I think more people reading is always a good thing as long as everyone is nice that's all I care about lol. I read a lot of silly adventure novels because it makes me happy.

[@ignorant1126]

Dude, same, I decided to try reading again and googled the most popular books for my age group (aka, really really horny enemies to lovers romantasy). I expected myself to find the covers interesting when I went to a bookstore, but I was surprisingly drawn to the mystery and thriller sections. I think people are quick to say booktok has ruined reading, because a good handful of books right now are trying to be commercial. But everyone has the power to scroll through Kindle and find the genres they like 😭 Some people are choosing to read what's popular, but there is still a vaaaast array of literature ready for readers to enjoy. You just have to dig a little. At the end of the day, it's great that young people are reading, and if tiktok is allowing this artform to stay popular, that's great! I'd rather a world where sex sells than a world where books don't sell

[@lilgamerguy]

I'm a new reader. I used to read all the time as a kid but fell out of it until a couple months ago, and it's made me a happier person! I've tried to find good book content on tiktok and...it's just porn. Like all of it. Absolutely not ruining reading and never could, but it's a shame that there isn't really a good space to discuss books on TikTok, at least not compared to the massive wave of smut content.

[@annieboookhall]

On the literary side of things, currently I'm reading a book called Poguemahone ( a title that literally means "Kiss my Ass"), which is 600 pages entirely written in verse and stream of consciousness about Irish siblings exiled to England, living among squatters in the 1970s. I think it might be a bit of a challenge to get into, so Mem is pretty cool! It's an alternate 1920s setting where memories can be extracted as living people and stored away underground. One of these living memories begins to form her own memories and gets paraded around a some miracle of science

[@ChiomaMaseko]

This made me think of the movie American Fiction, which is really great! Definitely a good watch about the publishing industry.

[@sleepysadpoet]

14:41 THIS. Its how people interact with the spice that gets people side eyed

[@frann1403]

Never touching coho and SJM books lmaoooo

[@lillizardman577]

im 21 and i just read the first smutty scene in a real book and that jump-scared me. no tags, no lemon, no nothing 😔😔

[@marymarthamacmillan6908]

I honestly get what you're saying. It's just uncomfortable seeing people who made fun of you for reading as a kid instead of understanding pop culture, make it 'trendy' to pretend to be interested in reading. And I'm not trying to be 'not like other girls' or anything like that but I don't like watching people be able to enjoy something that they made me and other people feel so uncomfortable about enjoying in the past. (this is also coming from my experience of working in a bookstore for almost 2 years and this isn't limited to only those who are only interested in romance.) However, booktok does help authors advertise their books and increases sales and I guess it's better for people to be interested in buying books over harmful things😭😭😭

[@MsLPSFOREVER]

Thiiissss

[@CoffeeCriminal]

A wrinkle in time is such a good book and i stand by that

[@shihohinomorisbiggestfan]

i love reading sm

[@Beerambling]

36:24 My favorite was the hairdresser one, I wanted to be just like her, I even went around cutting my stuffed animals fur. (I am still not allowed around scissors to this day.)

[@HowdyOaks]

Your hoodie string about to disappear into the hoodie forever is giving me so much anxiety

[@itstotsnot_pres]

the only reason i don’t get books from libraries is due to my low attention span 😭

[@buglord9169]

ty for posting this i ran out of stuff to watch while crocheting

[@artbyot]

thank you for the mystery incorporated shoutout😭 that show is so underrated it’s crazy

[@chocolateoreo6489]

I adore your opinions on books! Thank you for being so honest, funny, and respectful ❤