book trends we need to leave in 2023

[@summercannon8238]

I work at a bookstore and I think my manager explains Colleen Hoover the best - "Colleen Hoover sells millions of books. McDonald's sells millions of burgers. But is McDonald's really the pinnacle of your dining experience?"

[@jamie_leigh]

Intense.

[@robfab5204]

I'm screenshotting this. Gotta remember it. So freaking hilarious and accurate. And also kinda sad maybe. Sad but true

[@Levitatingmarsipan]

Does your manager always drop fire lines in causal conversation?

[@summercannon8238]

@@Levitatingmarsipan he IS pretty iconic, i'm not gonna lie

[@anotherstrawberry-dn3nr]

Yep, fame ≠ quality (at least not in all cases, sometimes famous things are famous for a reason)

[@audreydickinson8083]

I think a lot of people on booktok just haven't discovered AO3 yet and it shows in what they're reading

[@sailorersa2644]

One theory that makes so much sense is that people who haven't had a wattpad / episode / whatever phase start off reading crappy books because that they haven't learned to filter through the bad

[@persialionheart]

​@@sailorersa2644lmaooooo

[@deenaavers6946]

i feel like this applies heavily in the “trope” area because as she was explaining it i was just thinking “these people just want Ao3 tags”

[@thitpoulsen352]

yeah, i was thinking this didn't really originate on tiktok, it came from fanfiction because people already knew the characters and the story and needed to know what the fic included since you specifically read it for that content, not for the story itself.

[@saraferguson1156]

AO3?

[@sillylizard3]

My biggest gripe with Colleen Hoover is how her marketing team targets *young readers!* I teach middle schoolers and I'm blown away at how they're all reading CoHo books (which portray super toxic relationships and glorify things that shouldn't be glorified which young readers soak up and don't know how to critically separate from reality the way adults can) because "everybody else is reading it" and their adults see a fun and colorful cover and don't question anything about it

[@Sophia-rq6oo]

This is generally a thing that bothers me with publishing: the way many books get marketed to the wrong audiences which either results in people too young for mature fiction reading that when they’re not supposed to or it fucks the authors over who got a swath of readers who thought they were getting one thing but got another that they didn’t want, while the target audience stays unaware… I know money above all else but this is such a short sighted way of handling book promotions & marketing imo

[@herseriallife]

I completely agree. Last week I tried to warn my colleague whose 14yr old daughter is binging CoHo books with her girlfriends, of the danger of her book regarding SA, consent, misogyny, racism… and she was like “I read one of her book and it’s cute romances… and it’s marketed to them: every teenage girls in France are reading CoHo…”🤢🤮

[@zainabibrahimkhan6356]

YESSSSSSS!!!! I live in Pakistan and this is a MAJOR issue in my country.

[@fae7y]

​@@zainabibrahimkhan6356hii, finally found my fellow pakistani girlie on here!!

[@mkaia471]

my face literally fell when i read your middle schoolers read coho 😬😖 that's got to be detrimental for people in some ways :(

[@baileyinnarnia]

PLEASE leave Colleen Hoover in the past I’m begging the world at this point

[@veIvetreads]

She's another James Patterson, haha!

[@crystalite2909]

omg yes. please.

[@renata374]

yes!! oh my god everything that can be said about her books has already been said at this point. no one has anything new to add so i promise the world does not need one more opinion saying the same things!! i really get annoyed at repetitive contents on booktube

[@maarii...]

Fr, I can't take Collen Hoover anymore bro

[@blah914]

tbh ppl bitching ab CH is more annoying than she is. i read one book. its was fine. dont feel the need to read another. However, i cant seem to get away from the nattering and hating 🥴

[@whitesnowrabbit9296]

I guess the main problem with Collen Hoover books is that they are marketed as romance when they deal with abuse

[@ophelili4never]

Yes and no? Many other books are marketed as romance and romanticize abuse but nobody says anything about them

[@whitesnowrabbit9296]

@@ophelili4never I think that mostly because the male leads in those books are written to be toxic but loved so we tend to forget the toxic part, and I don't Collen Hoover wrote hers to be loved.

[@ophelili4never]

@@whitesnowrabbit9296 that’s true but most kids read the books that they see are popular on medias and don’t care about if it’s marketed towards them or not, and they end up romanticizing toxic relationships. What i was trying to say is that lots of people that hate coho books so much because her books are toxic for kids don’t really care about all the abuse bc if they did, her books wouldn’t be the only ones getting criticized that much, lots of them just want to follow the “trend” of not liking coho and don’t really understand the issue 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@Whos_4n4]

please remember that not all of her books contain abuse because some of y’all talk of her books as if all of them had toxic relationships

[@whup7181]

@@Whos_4n4Many of the books that are so popular of hers DO have abuse tho. It’s not like if a person does a bad thing but then does a few good things, they’re forgiven for that bad thing

[@L.Arroyo]

I think the problem with special editions is when the author (and/or co.) decides to include special and different content in each special edition book, so it's no longer about what the edition looks like, but what it contains. Imagine expecting people to buy 5 copies of the same book so they can read 5 different extra chapters… that's a nasty move by the publishing industry.

[@ndrauea]

i mean this makes sense if it’s like, the anniversary of the book or something. but doing it all at once or close together is sucky

[@brianacelestin629]

!! YES. Changing the physical aspects of the book is fine but the real harm comes when the content is changed. It's so obviously a cash grab, and honestly makes me think less of a story.

[@morganechaili]

It bothers me a lot. In my country there is a french musician (and I love her, her music is pure bliss) who literally released four (4!!) versions of her album, with two new songs each time. And of course every time a new one was released a few weeks later, nobody knew there would be yet another one. It's really not fair. 😠

[@sxmmersnxw8829]

Its a good marketing technique but its backfiring a bit. You can find most of the secret chapters online for free

[@brookedonaldson6045]

I agree! Comic book industry did this and it eventually backfired on them.

[@angie9427]

I wouldn't mind tropes so much if authors actually delivered, but if I have to read one more book with enemies to lovers trope where they slightly dislike each other for the first 20 pages...

[@K.Hightower]

Exactly that, I read Fourth Wing thinking it was enemies to lovers but its just that

[@writerwiles2406]

true enemies to lovers is defined by its STAKES. Like you could get into serious shit for falling for the enemy. not just like a guy and a girl sniping at each other with half-assed insults for no good reason than a petty misunderstanding 😅😅

[@myswordvsyourdagger]

i hate enemies to lovers when people don’t do it right 😭 like sometimes its just straight up abusive and i’ll take the mild disliking and petty insults over that anyday lmao

[@mkaia471]

@@K.Hightower oh shit really? 🥱 welp there's another reason to not read the book haha

[@K.Hightower]

@@mkaia471 its pretty good but everyone calls it enemies to lovers which it isnt really is, the dragons and the sass make it up for it kinda

[@may-rw5jj]

My biggest quarrel with the new Romantasy genre is that although the books are written for adults getting past the YA stage, they are still written as if the author never learned how to actually write a book FOR adults. The only “adult” aspects are explicit sex scenes and cursing… but the writing, world building, and plot are all explained as if they are still writing to teenagers. They aren’t producing books for adults, but for people who want to read smut. It is really, really disappointing! The 4th Wing is a prime example of that.

[@TheCoolestBookworm]

I feel like sometimes I want an easy read that also has some ✨spice✨ and I just want my brain to relax and have a fun read and not have to read 10 pages of worldbuilding 😅

[@may-rw5jj]

@@TheCoolestBookworm Yeah, I get that. I said the same thing in another comment thread because it’s super understandable. It just sucks that some authors who write books like those get tenfold the amount of recognition for mid to low quality work than other authors who deserve the money and acknowledgement that tik tok famous authors receive. Again, The 4th Wing is an example of a series that did not deserve the fame it got. It was so bad & I cannot believe it’s already received production rights, lol.

[@TheCoolestBookworm]

Yeah I definitely think it was overhyped and other authors should have been more recognized but I think people liked it was because it was easy to read and got them back into the love of reading, and I love that about fourth wing that anyone can read and enjoy and maybe make that person want to read more books

[@may-rw5jj]

@@TheCoolestBookworm That is a really nice way of looking at it :)

[@estheracquah7541]

@@TheCoolestBookwormI agree with wanting an easy read, especially if I’ve been in a reading slump. But I’m finding it’s becoming more and more common for books to just be.. kinda unfulfilling but they have spice so that makes it good enough. You know what I mean?

[@writerwiles2406]

I want actual fantasy prose back in books!!! Like no-one's saying it has to be at the level of George R R Martin but I'm tired of seeing modern slang and lingo in fantasy settings 😭 Also more period-appropriate names with actual thought put into them plssss

[@Ellie_2007]

I feel you 😭 we can't have a character named violet than another named Xaden like cmonnn be creative stop giving basic names to some characters and then unique names to others.

[@Summer.12Girl]

A middle fiction fantasy series that I enjoy is the Kingdoms and Empires books by Jaclyn Moriarty, there's 5 of them (so far) and it's based around tweens who are on a magical journey and they discover something new and magical about themselves in the end. Two books have dual pov, but all the books are written in the pov of the characters. I would recommend reading them, and getting the matching hardcover set with illustrations by Kelly Canby, but that is relative to Australia so if you can't that's all good

[@faeylin3010]

that's why I switched to Sci-Fi! :D feels so much more "magical" than most modern fantasy books :)

[@shay-car]

YES! Fourth Wing was cringe-inducing with all of the modern lingo like "in my __ era." Seriously? You expect me to feel immersed in this fictional world while you're calling everything "toxic," and Xaden is "sexy AF" ?

[@KGiebink01]

try the priory of the orange tree! amazing world building, compelling characters, and beautiful prose

[@juststayhappy1]

My problem with tropification of books isn't so much with sorting/recommending books based on tropes they use to but with writing the books around the tropes that are popular on booktok. I read multiple books this year that were written like the author was playing trope bingo and trying to get as many tropes in as possible. Like it's not just enemies to friends to lovers it also has to have fake dating AND there's only one bed AND that trope where we find out guy had feelings all along... I'm tired. I want a story, not a collection of cliches.

[@ophelili4never]

Same, I recently read a book that had so many things going around the tropes that it was difficult to follow, It had enemies to lovers, single parenting, second change, evil twin (that’s a trope too now apparently) and marriage of convenience and also surprise pregnancy. That’s when I realised I was tired of books being written just for the tropes😅

[@juststayhappy1]

@@ophelili4never oh wow, that's way worse than what I read. I usually get really tired when there's two or three tropes back to back, I think I would've DNF-ed that book hahaha

[@ophelili4never]

@@juststayhappy1 I DNF multiple times but I kept picking it up bc I was at my grandmother’s and had nothing else to read🥲

[@maevem316]

The fanfic-ication of writing 😭 This is the sort of thing that I roll my eyes at in fanfiction but mostly move on from, because it's amateur writing, that's how it goes sometimes. We should not have to deal with it in published books, come on! (I also read a romance this year that felt like this... when I looked into it, turns out it was originally written and posted on ao3, though as original fiction, so...)

[@juststayhappy1]

@@maevem316 oh you're totally right!! Although I have to say I read some well-written, truly original fanfiction on ao3 back in the day and some really awful published fanfic-y books

[@pendragon2012]

For me, one thing I'd really like to see disappear is the idea that EVERYTHING needs a dark, gritty side so if you're right that this is going away, I'll be much happier. Great video, Leonie! Hope your holiday season is going well!

[@clearly_a_raccon]

Yessss!! I'm honestly kind of done with morally grey characters. Like kaz brekker is one of my fav ever characters but I'm much more of a fan of golden retriever and cinnamon roll characters especially in love interests

[@pendragon2012]

@@clearly_a_raccon Morally gray characters are ok with me, but couldn't we have some genuinely good and evil characters too? And for the worst part is the kind of deep dive into slaughter and SA and all the rest. It's like "if I wanted to know more stories like that I'd watch the news, not read fantasy!"

[@musingsunfiltered]

I respectfully disagree with this take. I do agree that pure lighthearted tales have their place but as a lover of realism, I find it important to represent human complexity and nuance in works of art, even happier ones. Humans are both light and dark. But I do understand it’s mostly a matter of preference.

[@pendragon2012]

@@musingsunfiltered Yeah, I don't mind flawed heroes or showing that sometimes the villains honestly thought they were doing right. I just prefer a little bit of uplift somewhere. Even a sad ending can bring a little hope. 🙂

[@Ich-Existiere-Nicht]

I like it when stuff is dark and 3-demensional but I agree. Not everything needs to be like this

[@lizanderson6503]

I think "cozy" books are great for when you are in a reading slump or in between heavier reads and I love the potential that lies within the fantasy genre for more low stake books. I always wished some of the bigger fantasy novel series came with sidebooks that let us get to know the characters in a low pressure enviorment more. A slice of life look at the elves in LOTR would be amazing. Slice of life books are somewhat missing in fantasy and hope that this trend of "cozy" pushes us to see more of that specific subgenre within fantasy. So, i hope the "cozy" trend keeps up because it opens up a lot of doors within genres and lets authors know that not every single books needs to be high stake or emotionally intense. It helps keep a bit of balance in the publishing world.

[@maryamasomewhathuman.7870]

Omg that would be amazing

[@chuiga2935]

Do you have any recommendations for cozy fantasy books? Sounds like a genre I could enjoy.

[@selkie.knits21]

YES a slice of life or less high stakes elven literature (I'm dabbling in a few writing projects with elves but I've hardly seen any good literature around!) even if it just nods to Tolkien instead of being direct fanfiction (dunno how copyright works with that).

[@jinphany.]

This is a bad example but the only i can think of at the moment, but in a court of frost and starlight (by sarah janet maas😂) it was nice to see the characters in a relaxed environment, because it allowed us to see more glimspes of the characters in their world and what their routine is and things like that.

[@chuiga2935]

@@jinphany. I get what you mean, I just readed that tho xD.

[@girlie7502]

tbh I don’t think a lot of romantasy are actually that much more mature than YA. on page sex is the only distinct difference imo

[@rachecology]

That and the age of the characters (sometimes). I like many things about ya fantasy, but I'm so tired of reading about teenagers when I'm in my 20s 😅

[@VivCrepsley]

Truee.

[@elthereall]

at one point in time we were all for a new genre called New Adult which encompassed the younger writing + older themes, but it’s sort of faded out of public perception and now we’re getting “romantasy” as a genre instead of NA fantasy which made way more sense imo

[@mkaia471]

@@elthereall oh shit you're right! i haven't heard of NA in a whiiiile

[@Shalaena]

@@elthereall The interesting part is that Fourth Wing is actually categorized as NA, not YA or Adult.

[@winterkind1772]

I like knowing about tropes, because sometimes I just need to scratch a certain itch. But I hate that some books are written to just fit a popular trope - esp. when it just feels so forced.

[@HelloDarling09]

Caleb Joseph, the original Hoover hater, started that trend with a genuine reflection and criticism of her and I agree, it's been done! He did the damn thing Edit: Joseph, not Hammer. Too overconfident in my abilities to remember things around the holidays

[@letsgolesbians9617]

he literally converted me to a hoover hater hahaha

[@sittinginacornerihaunt]

i love him lol

[@planethalima]

Do you mean Caleb Joseph?

[@prescilla201]

The financial audit guy?

[@HelloDarling09]

For the curious: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2ndgWiIaNCbadEsi=M3fuV4dG4P5oLlI9

[@scionsilverbeat8149]

Romantacy - I want ACTUAL slow-burn relationship building to become a part of it. And for books without any lust to be written. Romantasy should technically be my favourite genre by definition. And yet I hate it for what it currently is in the adult category. Being an adult book is about SO MUCH more than just “ooooh look, they’re thirsty”

[@may-rw5jj]

Yes! Exactly. Authors think being an adult is finally being able to talk about sex and curse in every sentence. But what about actual adult writing? More mature sentence structures? Better immersion and rawness? Romantasy is completely lacking in being an actual genre for adults, and is instead a genre for people who want to read smut

[@isabelaszm]

yesss lol some "adult" books are just wattpad fanfics with smut scenes

[@flippanties]

God yeah, this is why I dont read much romance at all. I'm a lover of the painful slowburn. The type where at least one of the main couple is in complete denial of their feelings for the longest time. I'm talking agonising pining for a majority of the book. But it just feels like I'm never gonna get this because authors just seem to want to get to the smut as soon as possible.

[@Silverraine1]

Yes, this is why I prefer reading webnovels when I want romance because you get the slow-burn relationship building most of the time and smut is rare!

[@NaraXyZ567]

Try the folk of air series its really good. The romance is slow burn enemies to lovers and the intimate scenes aren't explicit like in a gross way. The plot is also really interesting.

[@taliasmith14]

unpopular opinion but i dont like tropification😭i could never put my finger down on why bookish content nowadays lowkey bothered me but you said my exact thoughts

[@Funkyfreak1girl]

It’s tough as the author because no one really buys your book unless you put tropes in it and usually it’s romance-specific tropes. Like I tried not to market my book without tropes and it got literally no traction and no one seemed to be picking it up but now that I use tropes in videos, people pick it up a bit more. But my book isn’t a spicy romance so the TikTok/insta crowd doesn’t really care anyway haha. It’s almost like people want variety but then choose the same tropes that they know anyway. It’s pretty disheartening as a writer tbh

[@Briseisgone]

​@@Funkyfreak1girlwhat is your book's title ? :))

[@williamerickson520]

@@Funkyfreak1girl There's no such thing as trope free fiction. Tropes are the recognizable patterns that facilitate identification. You can avoid overused tropes, but that is about it.

[@williamerickson520]

Tropification is just overusing particular tropes and yes, it does get boring.

[@elthereall]

no I agree. I think it also misleads readers because sometimes things get advertised as a trope that isn’t really in it (ie the cruel prince which we see as enemies to lovers a lot but objectively the first book is not that - maybe the second book but absolutely not the first) and sometimes tropification keeps people from reading books they actually WOULD like if they had just heard the plot and not the tropes

[@randomgirl01300]

I think because media makes women seem like we're all the same and there's a right way to "girl", all women will eventually go through a "I'm not like other girls" phase whether it's doing sports, how you dress, what you read, what your hobbies are. We're all made to believe all other girls are like this and that, and we're not so we're cool. without realizing that we're all cool.

[@thelitnerd]

This is an excellent analysis

[@OnlyAbriS]

yes!

[@introusas]

People are extra cool when they are 100% themselves

[@amethyst-rp]

Counter point for the Colleen Hoover (?) girly one; it's got nothing to do with being shallow. Yes, people always find something wrong with what girls read, especially the paradox of wanting girls to be 'soft' and then essentially bullying them for reading romance. But people not liking Hoover has NOTHING to do with her books being romance. It's because she romanticises abuse, and that's not okay.

[@emilienocture7215]

honestly that's my thought. if a girl tells me she likes coho, it's like if someone tells me they liked after or 50 shades: if you like a book that romanticizes abuse, I will judge you like BIG side eye. I also feel bad for them because they could end up in abuse relationship without even realizing it. add haunting Adeline to that list too please, those fans are sooooo scary omg!!! I read romance myself so who am I to judge romance readers but abuse is a big NO

[@TacticusPrime]

People not liking Hoover definitely has something to do with just disliking things that girls like. It's the same situation as the backlash against Twilight. Those books are filled with romanticization of abuse, stalking, obsession, Mormonism, etc., and they were legitimately criticized for that. They were *also* targeted because they were a thing that girls liked. It's not an either/or situation.

[@lydiarobles3527]

She’s also just such a bad writer at least in my opinion it’s almost impossible to get through a chapter

[@saberchild]

but i think leonie makes a clear distinction that some people aren't actually saying anything about colleen hoover or whats wrong with her, they're just using her as a stand in for "stupid shallow books"

[@saberchild]

if it was really just about colleen hoover then people would compare her to other modern romace authors right, theyre not all problematic. but when someone is saying "i dont read colleen hoover i read Dostoevsky" its like. side eye...

[@Yuna_David]

I’m surprised romantasy has just started getting popular as a genre. I thought it’s just as popular as in my country, we call it romfant. I’m not a fan of the genre, but it’s very popular

[@kimberlylopez3230]

Romantacy has always been popular, books by Linsy Sand, Sherrilyn Kenyon and JR Ward are all romantasy series. It’s just they were published before social media existed 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@hallocher608]

what country? :)

[@Mia_M]

I tend to choose fantasy not heavy on romance. I just find sometimes they skimp on the plot in favor of the love story.

[@somatoes4667]

@@Mia_MMost romantasy readers would actually still call that plot. After all, romance books exist where the main plot is literally the love story. I don’t read romance so Im with you, but it’s not that romantasy books lack a plot, they just have two different plot lines going at once.

[@ВаряВетренная]

Romfant... Romfant🤌 This word is so magestic. It sounds really aristocratic. P. S. "Не знала, что встречу тут земляков)"

[@fannisophia]

My pet peeve is the: how spicy is it? question. People are asking this about every book, and it concerns me. I'm down for a spicy book, why not. But people were asking the author of Keeper of Enchanted rooms about how much doing the deed is in it. That book is the most tame urban fantasy ever. Nothing in the description talks about romance or spiciness. But I feel like lots of readers just go to Kindle Unlimited and expect every book to be a romantasy full of adult scenes. My concern is: If you only read spicy books, and this is the only thing that matters is how hot it is, ( no plot, no story, no world building, no characters ) when does it became a corn addiction?

[@tedddybear]

I mean, what is issue with just reading for porn?? I understand it would cross a line if you are asking authors specifically about it when their book is not marketed in such a way, but other than that, why does it even matter lmao.

[@ila9063]

@@tedddybearthe issue is that if you are just reading for porn it means you have a problem. it’s like only watching porn.

[@justjoe1669]

@@ila9063there is a big difference between reading spicy scenes and watching porn. For me a relationship without spice is just not what I want in my real life so I can’t connect on the same level when there is no spice but I should believe that this characters are in love.

[@ila9063]

the gist of the difference is insignificant if we're honest. erotica is not a new concept only romantasy sets it in a fantasy world and adds subplots.@@justjoe1669

[@fannisophia]

@@justjoe1669 For most women, having an emotional connection is needed. This is why porn videos marketed to women are quite different. Now, we can argue about how reading or watching stimulates the brain differently. Even science is not sure about that yet. But I would still argue if you specifically only read books focused on sex as entertainment, that can become a problem the same way as videos or OnlyFans messaging.

[@francisneoralisamedrano1336]

I indeed need more gothic literature.

[@williamerickson520]

I've been reading the classic canon. Working on Frankenstein currently.

[@myswordvsyourdagger]

i really want to get into it! any reccs?

[@desology111]

YES !!

[@williamerickson520]

@@myswordvsyourdagger On the more horror side, there is, of course, the classic Frankenstein and Dracula. Otherwise there is Wuthering Heights, Mysteries of Udolpho, and the original: Castle of Otranto.

[@severianthefool7233]

I recommend Gormenghast!

[@alexandrac2472]

I love AO3's tagging system so part of me enjoys there being more of an emphasis on tropes. I'm a big mood reader so anything that will give me an inkling that this book will suit the mood I'm in is great. However the tiktok trope-based marketing goes a step too far especially when the tropes aren't even done well IMO.

[@andrewbunda1323]

I'm a bookseller, and I see so many people who buy tons and tons of books for a book haul that they see just because it's popular or because it looks pretty, which I have nothing against in theory, if you think you're going to like a book, or your collecting editions of your favorite books then it makes sense, but so many of those same people I see showing off huge book hauls either never actually read any of the books, or they end up not liking the book, but keep it on their shelves anyway because it looks pretty. Idk about other people, but I want my shelves to be a reflection of who I am as a reader, I want to have all my favorite and most loved books on display, of course there are books on my shelf I haven't read yet, because who doesn't have those, but I'm not going every other week and buying hundreds of dollars worth of books that I haven't even read the synopsis of. I think a lot of the algorithm promotes buying books and promoting the ones that become popular so that you can get more views and clicks, and I honestly don't fully blame the people involved just because I know social media and keeping up with trends can be exhausting. I think it would be so beneficial for places like booktok, which is so saturated with over-consumption and constant book hauls, to start promoting libraries and maybe unhauls and stuff. Libraries are amazing, and idk how accessible they are outside of the US, but here, a majority if not all libraries are free and genuinely such wonderful places for community. they do so much more than lend books out, and as a kid who grew up in a lower-class family who loved to ready, libraries were really a saving grace because I didn't have to waste money on books I didn't end up liking. I love a sprayed edge and a fancy hardback as much as the next person, but I think the over-consumption on the internet, and booktok specifically, is more than just that. (sorry for the essay lmao I apparently had a lot to say)

[@auggiedoggiesmommy1734]

We pay for libraries through our taxes and it’s the BEST use of taxpayer money. Utah county does not have a good library system, but we moved and where we are now we are SO lucky. I LOVE my library.

[@tears9927]

I completely agree. What's the point in buying a book if you don't like the contents of the book.

[@Abyrae]

I am in the process of rebuilding my bookshelf after having to get rid of most of my books years ago after some financial difficulties, so when I got some spare "fun" money, I tend to go to the nearest bookshop and buy a few books. Some are books I have actually read the synopsis of or have been recommended to me and I am looking forward to read. Others are spontaneous purchases because either it was on sale or, yes, it looked pretty. That said, while I have a big TBR pile, I do still read those books. And if I end up not liking them afterwards, I tend to either sell them at a much lower price than what I paid, or donate/gift them to people who might enjoy it or mentioned they were looking forward to read it. Why keep something you don't like when getting it of it means freeing up space for your potential new favourite book? I'm not at the point yet where I have so many books that I can only display my favourites. Maybe in a few years.

[@andrewbunda1323]

@Abyrae I definitely have tons of books on my shelf that I haven't read yet but I also read them like you said, and agreed if i don't like them I donate or give them away etc. I'm more criticizing people who buy Hu dress of books and don't read them or keep them when they didn't dislike them bc they just like the cover etc. I hope that the shelf you're rebuilding us full of new favorites and books that make you feel at home and I wish you the best reading year

[@Abyrae]

@@andrewbunda1323 Thanks! You too!

[@ines6358]

About the overconsumption (especially special edition) trend: I think that the biggest problem with it that has come out this year is that some authors, most notably Sarah J. Mass with her crescent city series, have started including certain important chapters of their books only in specific special editions making fans feel like they need to collect every single edition to get the full story. The booktuber Petrik Leo has a very good video about this. Definitely a trend to leave in 2023.

[@nikkimilton461]

I'm grateful for the romantasy / cozy fantasy trends because it finally shifts the fantasy pub away from YA and grim dark and gives me something new. For a LONG time, there wasn't a lot of new fantasy... everything was YA. Trad pub is always going to pursue popular trends to death but I'm so happy there have finally been shifts in what they publish.

[@Zach64612]

There's been tons of fantasy published.

[@jasminezed7839]

What do you mean? There's tons of new adult fantasy. Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Robin Hobb, Jim Butcher, and many more are all prolific authors who have put out a ton of new fantasy content over the last decade and are still writing. I guess Abercromnie and Butcher are kind of dark, but there are still tons of other fantasy novels coming out consistently without the romantasy trend. I'm glad you like it though (:

[@Mia_M]

Adult fantasy has always been a thing. YA fantasy is only more popular because it tends to be more marketable and there's potential for book to screen. But even in YA, there can be some really good stuff like the Children of Orisha series.

[@phAntasyluvr_04]

ever read the Fever series by KM Moning? Like, that is for sure adult, grim-dark fantasy, but even though it has such detailed world-building, there is a good balance of character arcs and romance, especially later in the series. It's the only true adult fantasy I've read.

[@DwayneRidgwayOfficial]

As a traditional epic fantasy reader, I'm so glad romantasy exists as a genre now. It genuinely hurts to see romantasy novels winning during years where some of the most intricately crafted, well told epic stories of our time are released. (Ignoring the fact that The Will of the Many got shafted even *with* these changes this year...)

[@olenn92]

For me, the cozy vibes recently are welcomed because of how grim everything else in the world seems. It’s the ultimate escapism, like you mention with animal crossing during covid etc, and in books and general media, it’s nice to have something with minimal stakes, where you can just switch off and have a cute time x

[@gaygh0stt]

i personally love people recommending/marketing books with tropes BUT only if the actual plot is also talked about, it also definitely only works with certain types of books (usually any book with romance) i think a lot of the recent trends with especially romance books being marketed with tropes is because a lot of new romance readers and writers are coming from fanfiction backgrounds and are trying to mimic AO3 tags

[@nimue2059]

As a self declared vampire specialist, here are some recent vampire books: Cracked Coffins series by Beronika Keres Guides to Dating Vampires series by D.N. Bryn A Dowry of Blood and next year's An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave Belle Morte series by Bella Higgin Lore & Lust series by Karla Nikole All These Bodies by Kendare Blake Crave series by Tracy Wolff The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite anthology The Beautiful series by Renée Ahdieh Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda Cruel Illusions and Vampires, Hearts and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston Dracula's Child by J.S. Barnes Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste A Duel with the Vampire Lord by Elise Kova Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw The Classified Dossier: Sherlock Holmes and Count Dracula by Christian Klaver Adrian X Isolde series by Scarlett St. Clair Love Bites by Ry Herman Empire of the Vampire series by Jay Kristoff The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix Go Hunt Me by Kelly Devos Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker Sucker by Daniel Hornsby Night's Edge by Liz Kerin Court of Undying Seasons by A.M. Strickland The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas This Blood that Binds Us by S.L. Cokeley Slaying the Vampire Conqueror and The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen Bloody Fool for Love by William Ritter Youngblood by Sasha Laurens The Fell of Dark by Caleb Roehrig A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal Coming in 2024: Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk Vertigo Peaks by Dion Anja and an untitled toxic lesbian vampire book by V.E. Schwab

[@elizabethc.9910]

Damn! I knew there were more, but wow! I have some new ones to add to my tbr now. I've read maybe 3-5 on that list, so I have a way to go! I just read The Beautiful series last month, so I need to read the last book that just came out, and I just read House of Hunger last week. I read a few others, too but not as recently...

[@hainaz]

Among these do you have any specific ones you would recommend?

[@nimue2059]

@@hainaz I mean depending on what you're into... I can always recommend S.T. Gibson's work anf House of Hunger if you enjoy more gothic-leaning stories. I also really like the Cracked Coffins series. That being said, I haven't read all the books on this list. Many are just on my tbr.

[@myswordvsyourdagger]

thankyou so much oh my god

[@telmamoutinho2863]

Omg @nimue2059 from where do you source this info? I also wanna be this updated about vampire themed books!

[@kia-883]

I honestly think Baldurs Gate 3 is helping the vampire comeback with Astarion, I’m deffo on board Edit: it also won game of the year 2023 and the voice actor for Astarion also won “Best Performance” this year too

[@taybushel8077]

💯 agree

[@mkaia471]

is that the series name or standalone?

[@kia-883]

@@mkaia471 it’s actually a video game that came out this year

[@lenashobbychannel]

Yeah ive seen so many Astarion compilations...

[@eternal7912]

I don't know why. I find Astarion to be one of the least interesting characters in the game, and he certainly didn't scratch my vampire itch very well.

[@beepbooptop]

About the sprayed edges I have to say. If you just buy the nice penguin book for example rhey they are the normal price for a paperback/hardcover. The sprayed edges books are extremely expensive and limited editions. They are especially made to make you buy them fast ("limited offers") and are extra expensive. They definitely have a different vibe than just normal different editions

[@notokay3223]

Also I think people are calling it consumerist because people have multiple of those special/limited editions (youtubers being especially guilty of this). Like you don't need 3 copies of fourth wing or any book for that matter just because they have different covers/sprayed edges/a side story not published elsewhere/etc.

[@sakurablossoms94]

Yeah, there is an author who is selling her limited special edition books for $110. And all it has is simple sprayed edges and a shiny title. That is absurd.

[@violaivy]

Yep the Penguin books are actually affordable and often the cheapest option for classics. Even their Clothbound series is not that expensive considering they're hardcovers and printed on good quality paper. Special sprayed editions, however are EXPENSIVE. And due to the limited quantities people resell them for ridiculous prices too.

[@sabrinagu8401]

I would also say that the penguin classics or other collectible editions are more about the covers and the formatting of the book, but with sprayed edges, people put them up for display so that you can't even see the title, and it becomes more about the art on the sprayed edges than the actual title and author of the book. It unnerves me to see the books facing "the wrong way"😅

[@Abyrae]

NGL, I bought a special edition of Fourth Wing, but only because it was on sale after Christmas and it was only like one or two dollars more than the regular hardcover edition. I figured "eh, why not" since I didn't already have the book and wanted to read it out if curiousity due to it being both overhyped and negatively criticised depending on the platform you use. Would I have bought it if I already had the book? Nah. I will occasionslly splurge on a special edition, but I don't get obsessive about it. No need to buy the same book 5 times.

[@Musikchic47]

I love this trend of just all types of fantasy is being accepted - that fantasy can fall into all types of sub-genres: grim, cozy, gothic, epic, whatever, it's just nice because I want to see all the things!

[@romalibra_books]

I want a cozy dystopian where we just follow Peeta and Katniss starting their new life after the 3rd book. And for them to meet Mosscap 🤖🌳

[@philuuuw]

take me, I'm all in!🌲

[@Melanie-jy2nw]

Have you heard about the new book coming out?

[@josie2412]

i think one issue i have found in many in so called Romantacy books are that the characters are still often very teenager like so it still feel YA often... or they are just more or less sex books which is fine if that is what you are after but i would love a bit more of it being mix of both plot and sex, and not all so teenage like characters...

[@izza6923]

THIS

[@kimberlylopez3230]

Try anything by JR Ward, Lindsay Sands or Sherrilyn Kenyon they are a good mix.

[@maryamasomewhathuman.7870]

​@@kimberlylopez3230omg I'll look out for that

[@issysomething1077]

Yes I totally agree! Most romantasy books are about teenagers, I mean I don’t mind it too much, I am 17 myself. But I do think authors need to include a wider age range. I also really struggle with the amount of smut in these books, see I actually really enjoyed the world and story (mainly the dragons) of fourth wing/iron flame but the smut took it down for me, give me more tension and love outside of sex, which imo is unnecessary in places.

[@kiandrarodgers3436]

My appreciation for the romantasy genre is twofold: a) it means that people will stop demanding smut it teen/ya books. I work in a bookstore and a lot of people ask for teen with spice and I’m just like “ma’am this is for children”. (My beef here is also with publishing- I think there should be a teen 13-15 section and a young adult 16+ section because 16+ people can handle the introduction of romantic/sexual relationships which just aren’t age appropriate for young teens) but basically YES romantasy gives a space for smut people want.I’m also happy to see it because I remember last year seeing really well thought out fantasy books like Babel in the same category as the likes of SJM and Jennifer Armentrout for the goodreads choice awards was just really frustrating because they are two distinct genres. They fulfill different purposes and shouldn’t be compared to each other. So I’m happy to see the romantasy category grow

[@janetmorgan9728]

I think vampires can work in many different ways as far as the political/economic symbolism. Definitely not just in times of wealth, which we definitely are not seeing (at least where I live). They can serve as metaphors for the rich living off of the poor, for one. I did read house of hunger this year which was a unique vampire book but wasn't really my taste (more smut than I prefer). I think it's pretty new.

[@clemoswin]

I don't know for other countries, but in France we do have a big problem with overconsumerism and collector books that wasn't a thing a few years ago. We used to have only paperbacks, and sometimes (but it was really rare) a beautiful hardback version, for an anniversary or something. But now, a lot of books (especially YA books) come out both in paperback and hardback / collector / sprayed edges / limited edition. And the collector version is sold out very quickly because people have the fear of missing out so they rush to buy it. I try to resist but I have done it myself, once or twice. I really don't like the vibe it's creating in the french book industry, the way we are pushed to buy books so quickly, just because they are pretty. The "if you don't buy it now, you will regret it" kind of pressure it's putting on us.

[@Briseisgone]

... the way I know which editors you're talking about... Now they're reprinting their first collectors, in even more details like sprayed edges that wasn't here when they started it. And the prices are.. 🫠🫠🫠

[@booksandanni]

It‘s the same in Germany, plus there have been some mistakes in printing and they really considered to trash them all because the versions of book 3 wouldn‘t match the other two. Talking about thousands of books 😱

[@williamerickson520]

It's a marketing tactic called artificial scarcity. It is manufactured and should be ignored completely.

[@19Rena96]

@@booksandanni and the prices go upp because sprayed edges are more expensive than regular book without them..

[@booksandanni]

@@19Rena96 yeah, and books are getting pricier even without the sprayed edges…

[@valentinatsvetkova4019]

My biggest problem with these sprayed edges hardback books is that they're extremely expensive and when a book is popular you're suffocated by 2927393 special editions (which in a way also makes a book not that special). But I'm also jealous of the people who can afford such collections 😅

[@justwonder1404]

I haven't read any cosy fantasy but it trending makes a ton of sense to me. We have a war in Europe, a war in the Middle East, natural catastrophes, totalitarian regimes thriving while democracies struggle to get their sh*t together. I live in Ukraine and my tbr is mostly classics and fantasy. If I want something dark, I'll just read the news. I also hope we'll see more interesting fantasy subgenres in the future. That being said, boy am I here for Colleen Hoover bashing😅 Here's to hope disliking her becomes a trend instead of reading her. Girls deserve better fiction.

[@samlstowell]

I 100% agree, people are looking for comfort and escapism into things that make them feel good. The world has gone to sh*t. Wishing you safety and peace. ❤

[@Ykibmh]

"if I want something dark, I'll just read the news" 😂, hope the situation gets better for you!

[@justwonder1404]

@@samlstowell thank you❤

[@justwonder1404]

@@Ykibmh thanks, I hope so for all of us:)

[@andoreskatalinvekony8642]

Read Anne of Green Gables if you haven't yet! It's perfect for escaping from reality into a happy, beautiful world.

[@oliviam3678]

When you started talking about how fast fashion is made, it reminded me of how some books are kind of just made to the "pattern" laid out by tropes-- although it's definitely not harmful in the way fast fashion, fast furniture, etc are! I just mean sometimes with the trope-y books it's like it's just a template where you put in different character names and settings. With the way things like Kindle Unlimited work, that's a lot of authors' bread and butter-- the more pages people read, the more you get paid, so it makes sense to put out as many pages as possible as quickly as possible, and having a template of tropes makes that easier. It also makes it easier to jump on microtrends and get max value out of them before they're forgotten. And then, advertising those "template" books by their tropes gets the attention of people who are interested in reading the same thing over and over, because for them it's often a comfort thing, the same way some people loooove Hallmark movies even though they're really all the same thing. Whether any of that ^^^ is good or bad for art and culture and whatever else, I don't know. But everybody's got to make a living, and everybody needs some way to relax, so I get it!

[@iristeodora7662]

I think part of the “I’m not a coleen hoover girlie” is also the allegations that her son abused his gf ( or something like that) and coleen ignored the girl and so people see it as “if you read coleen hoover you promote abuse”

[@TiffWaffles]

Well... most of her books romanticise abusive and toxic relationships, but I didn't know anything about her real life and what was going on. Wow, that is shitty if it's true.

[@alvafairchild13]

Considering with the content that pretty much tracks

[@Aivilcurie]

I collect the barnes and noble leatherbounds and vintage-y editions in general, but one way I counteract my consumption is by reading books online, and *then* getting a paper copy if I really love it (and yet I still have 200 books on my shelf).

[@poe.and.theholograms]

the Bridgerton television series adaptation got me into actually reading Jane Austen novels, one of which was Northanger Abbey...which got me into early 19th century gothic literature.

[@badfaith4u]

I love your video essays. These deep dive into books, book trends, and characters are so wonderful and fascinating.

[@starcrossreverie]

I don't think limited editions are the main issue with overconsumption within the book community. It's the countless of videos where people do massive book hauls, and either in that video or a different one they admit they already have a lot of books they haven't even read yet. Book unhauls are either been popular for a while now or starting to trend, where people make videos showing the books they haven't read or finished and giving them away. Buying countless of books when their physical tbr are collecting dust on the shelves. Either for the sake of a book haul video or because they've been influenced by said videos.

[@TiffWaffles]

I buy books regularly because I love reading, but I've read most of the books on my shelves. There are some books I haven't read yet, but most of them have been read, and I get rid of books that I've read and didn't like or have lost interest in so I can find room for more books that I'd love. I am both a book reader and a book collector because I read books and I love collecting books, but sometimes on Booktube I see the issue you've mentioned, and it's like... seriously?

[@RhiannonDoane]

Another aspect of the ice hockey book trend that people aren't talking about is that a lot of those books are hockey player x figure skater romances. The fact that this very "masculine" sport has a built in "dainty, feminine" counterpart makes it SO EASY for cishet writers to insert cishet romance into the premise. It's literally "here's the boy version of the ice sport and here's the girl version, now let them kiss".

[@sointu1]

So true. And now you've made me want to read a romance about a female hockey player and a male figure skater...

[@AxolotLou]

I will say though, Colleen Hoover is a great author if you want to learn english effectively. Last year, my english was bad asf, I only knew how to make small talk and my fluent friend made me read "ugly love". The vocabulary is simple, the story is far from having any depth or complexity, so do the characters, so I easily understood and got more familiar with the language. It's just that when you're already speaking english, her books feel dull and cringe (and I'm not even mentioning the problematic aspect of them)

[@rosefamilia3169]

There are tons of book to read out there if you want to improve English language. Just match your reading level with the books, doesn't have to be CoHo books.

[@AxolotLou]

@@rosefamilia3169 yeah ig you’re right, but it’s not that deep either, like I read 2 books from her back then, and I didn’t get the idea that romanticizing abuse is okay. I didn’t get half of what it meant anyway, and looking back at it I’m glad I read them, because they weren’t discouraging, they were quite rewarding to read 🤷🏼‍♀️ but ofc any other simple but well rounded and unproblematic story would’ve been better

[@rosefamilia3169]

@@AxolotLou lol, I am sure your reading taste have improved and updated simce then. English is also not my main language and I learned it first from reading something as simple and ridiculous as Goosebumps when I was a kid, lol. Happy reading anyways!

[@AxolotLou]

@@rosefamilia3169 yeah we have to begin somewhere anyway lol, happy reading to you too :)

[@christianwright5813]

My personal issue with Romantacy is its close association with YA. It doesn’t stand out as a unique entity it just feels like YA with the publishing parental controls taken off instead of its own matured form of writing and genre.

[@elthereall]

romantasy includes YA (even she mentioned divine rivals in the video which was marketed as ross’s YA debut) and I think that is inherently the biggest problem with romantasy as a genre

[@hey4422]

A trend I personally despise is seeing books that should be considered ya (in terms of characters, worldbuilding, writing style, plot) be marketed as "adult fantasy" simply becasue they have spicy scenes in it.

[@elthereall]

rip to when we all agreed to call those books New Adult like 3 years ago and now everyone just forgot about that I guess

[@isaacwhy1178]

or the opposite, lower quality YA books containing a large amount of mature content for some reason

[@jiaminlin6275]

as a sustainability enthusiast, i love hearing your thoughts on comsumerism - despite loving the environment and all, i also love collecting things and i think you said it very well, as long as we're being mindful and doing our part to reduce our consumption (even if they are very small steps), it's great!

[@alyssapinon9670]

Yes! When I was in college I took full advantage of the inter-library loan system. Now that I’m back home I mostly buy my fun books secondhand from websites I used to buy textbooks from. I’m not a perfect consumer by any means but I’m trying to do my part ❤

[@kaylag9579]

Brandon Sanderson wrote the Tress of the Emerald Sea specifically for his wife and what she likes. She is the one who encouraged him to publish it.

[@thatmessy132]

Ice-hockey is also really popular in M/M romance, has been for years. I think it's the potential for injury, warming each other up, cute ice-skating lessons, etc.

[@melmarie6083]

What does M/M mean?

[@tedddybear]

Yes!! I’ve read a ton of mm hockey books. A lot of them fall flat for me tbh, mainly because I want more hockey in the books and sometimes the authors don’t really care about the hockey, it’s just the backdrop. Ik a lot of ppl have mixed feelings abt rpf, but I find a lot of hockey rpf to be more engaging/more hockey based and sometimes, better written.

[@thatmessy132]

@@melmarie6083 male/male. Gay, basically.

[@thatmessy132]

@tedddybear I love a sports movie, cannot stand it in written works.

[@lilacfields]

@@thatmessy132this is interesting bcs i feel the exact opposite! i feel like sports movies can be kind of boring and can’t actually go into the experience of being an athlete as much as you can with books

[@dmadcat73]

When I was growing up Fantasy was a fringe genre populated by books like The Lord of the Rings, Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, Anne McAffrey's Pern (arguably sci-fi), or Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea books. All great books but the fantasy section of my branch library was half an aisle of shelves and lumped in with science-fiction. To me, the explosion in fantasy really started with TSR's publication of the Dragonlance trilogy and subsequently a huge number of Forgotten Realms books. The success of those books along with the maturing of the generation that grew up on Dungeons and Dragons and other fantasy TTRPGs drove the expansion of the Fantasy genre. Video games and the success of games like World of Warcraft drove the second (and even greater) explosion of Fantasy and brought it fully into the mainstream. This growth and success is, I think, why you're now seeing the Fantasy genre (that one aisle in my library) branching out and being sub-divided into all of the typical modern sub-genres. My wife, who doesn't read fantasy, mentioned that new Fantasy Romance section on goodreads and described it to her as Danielle Steel with Dragons. I expect those games are coming on the heels of its success.

[@pinocolada9933]

The worst thing I found in 2023 was Haunting Adeline in the Young adult section of local bookstores here 💀

[@notllikethat]

This is just wow, but tbh fully on the bookstore. That thing has a list of trigger warnings inside (at least it wasn't the second book)

[@pinocolada9933]

@foreverdreamwithinadream6871 the store has now replaced the books. They are now in the "Novels" Section

[@readbybee]

This video and your commentary on the booktok experience…. Slay. Criticizing others tastes just divides us readers more and I’m so glad you spoke about how to handle criticism of authors without shaming readers. ❤

[@Huangraisy]

I haven’t even started the video but I already know I’m gonna agree with all of her points 😭

[@0Silly_spaghetti0]

Me too

[@bookaholicatnight]

Same... 😂

[@juliabishop1408]

Same here 😅

[@clearly_a_raccon]

Even if I didn't agree I know she's gonna convince me 😂

[@lielshapiro9310]

Just a point about the hating Colleen Hoover and being 'not like the Colleen Hoover girlies' that I myself have fallen into a few times. I think it stems from the type of girlies who read this stuff most likely being the type of girls who made fun of us for reading books like 10 years ago. For example, I know I hate on these books quite alot (besides the valid criticisms) because my sister, who had never read a book in her life until this point, started devouring Colleen Hoover books. And I know we should be happy more people are getting into reading, but I think it's ultimately a trend right now because those same girls hated on us for liking books.

[@melmarie6083]

YES THIS!

[@ElinWinblad]

A work lady at my job buys them for her 13/14 year old daughter 😑

[@justine4581]

​@@ElinWinblad Thats fucked up. Does she even know what shes giving her?

[@maryamasomewhathuman.7870]

Omg same. I didn't think I cared that much and tbh at first I was just happy she was reading. Especially because if she can sit down and read 200 pages of college hoover in her free time, she can definitely read something she would genuinely like more and be more open minded to books. We're not just sitting down and reading random words to seem pretentious. I also know that she would like alot of non collene hoover books because of the conversions we have, though rarely. I think I made it clear several times that I wasn't criticising her because I thought I was better than her nor that it was because I was trying to not be like other girls but that the books were problematic and it would be better to leave them be. But like you said, these people were the same people that were judging us for reading a few years ago so seeing them talk about collen hoover like reading is cool now feels unhinged. I don't mind that much because atleast we both agree that picking up a book is not shameful but an okay and maybe even nice thing to do. We hadn't even had these convos alot but everytime I show even an ounce of dislike for Collen's books she projects her feelings about treating people like I know more than them and like I won't listen to them. I'm sure I wrote alot of mistakes.

[@maryamasomewhathuman.7870]

Noooooooooooouuu​@@ElinWinblad

[@woundworship]

i think your romantasy theory is so true!! i think that the hole romantasy filled had an even smaller hole in it, previously filled by edward cullen and other vampire boys, damon salvatore and such. i think that hole is now filled by fae! its surely another trend thats gonna go away in a few years, but at least we're still gonna have holly black and her fae w us

[@KristinHBergenstein]

One thing I do like that has been done recently with a lot of books, is the addition of trigger warnings. This allows readers to know what's going to be in the book and if it's something that they don't like due to personal taste or to past trauma to themselves or to those who they know, then it allows more people to be able to enjoy them. Of course there will always be critics, but to me this allows people to have a healthier relationship with books, especially with new authors.

[@TinyGhosty]

Laura Purcell is an amazing modern gothic author, almost her entire career has focused on it. I hope established gothic authors are benefitting from an increase in interest beyond (and including) the classics.

[@TheKeeperofStories]

Corset was one of the most memorable books that I read this year. Today all kind of books are marketed as gothic and this is one of a few that acually makes sense.

[@TinyGhosty]

@@TheKeeperofStories Yeah, I have been pretty disappointed with a few brand new gothic novels/authors because they seem to just use an established genre setting or idea but throw in a bunch of tropes and themes from other unrelated genres. Have you read Silent Companions yet? I love all of Laura Purcell, but oh my goodness Silent Companions lives forever in my brain.

[@Trampolina2000]

About the silent reviews online: I really like them. I am hearing but never have sound on when scrolling through Instagram reels (bc I'm usually also watching a KZbin video or something) so something that I can follow without having to pause my yt vid to read and follow half-visible subtitles for? Amazing. I get the gist with 0 risk of getting spoiled, don't neeeeed to wear my glasses, there's no language barrier, I love this. Please don't let that trend die.

[@katierasburn9571]

you can also watch them out in public without disturbing people around you or being unable to hear wtf they're saying

[@Hyzentley]

About the Hunger Games resurgence: Next year the planned Uglies (first big YA dystopia, about a messy female friendship torn to shreds by the dystopian regime forcing everybody to undergo beauty surgery, really good) movie is meant to come out, I really do hope it is so good that it takes that hype and transforms that into a dystopia resurgence. Well, if it ever comes out at all, production was somewhat troubled.

[@iammehowru]

THEYRE FINALLY MAKING AN UGLIES MOVIE omfg I can't wait

[@isabellaespinal6709]

If they do it well then I’m looking forward to it

[@tracksuitrob5348]

“Vampires are coming back” Me, who never knew they left: 🧍🏼‍♀️

[@Moonstar79]

The "not a Colleen Hoover girlie" being compared to "not like other girls" is such a great take lol

[@mthe13th]

The last six or 7 books I read were ice hockey, more specifically MM ice hockey. I think the figure skater x hockey player dynamic is grat for some enemies or rivals to lovers. And specifically for MM the whole teamates getting together or rivals falling for each other is really easy to build and explore. There's also the fact they get injured easily so there's the caring for each other bit, dealing with failure, consoling each other when the lose, etc. To me they're just comfy winter books to set me in the mood of cold but not christmasy yet, kind of a guilty pleasure

[@tedddybear]

Ooh do you have any recs?? I’ve read a lot of mm hockey books but have been disappointed by most of them. Most recently I’ve read the EL Massey series which featured almost zero hockey despite being marketed as a hockey book (and I really enjoyed the material it was inspired by, OMGCP, so I was extra disappointed).

[@Bizarro69]

one of the things that attracted me to Harry Potter was some of the whimsical magic, which was everywhere in the earlier books and so much fun to read. I wish more writer's would focus on that.

[@Bell_414]

So you like the fantasy genre. You might then enjoy - Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Game of thrones, Six of crows (it's popular these days)

[@martinelanglois3158]

Enjoy the Holidays, get some rest, see people you love and have a Merry Christmas! 🎀

[@blazephoenix3669]

I love romantic fantasy, and I won't deny it

[@kavya12kohli]

Ditto! Everytime I read fantasy, I'm looking for potential romantic pairings.

[@justjoe1669]

Which books did you love? I’m searching but until now didn’t find one I really liked 😊

[@auntyharry]

And I like “cozy” reads! Describing a book as “cozy” doesn’t mean it is simplistic or lacks depth. I love the fact that I can read a genuinely engaging mystery that doesn’t have graphic violence. If you like romantic fantasy, you go for it! And I’ll keep enjoying my maligned “cozy” books.

[@blazephoenix3669]

@@justjoe1669 I enjoyed enchantment of ravens

[@blazephoenix3669]

@@auntyharry ok?

[@camila1925]

As a writer the tropification of books is like a nemesis lol

[@eri.x.a]

exactly tho!! im someone who im really really trying to get into writing (as a young teen) and tropes in book culture are a really hard roadblock to me getting started bc instead of creating original ideas i feel tied down to these silly tropes... its just really restricting

[@mansaurus_wrex]

i think the tropification thing also might be bc so many of the readers and writers who are creating and consuming books rn (esp on booktok it seems) came up on sites like ao3 and wattpad and tropes in this case have same function as “tags” on those sites.

[@-Chiel]

What a fun trend review! 8:40 yes PLEASE, make the video essay about romantasy (and all the other genres, too)! I love love love your deep dives into different bookish topics! You make watching your videos a joy by the way you present your arguments with sound reasoning and show your research for them but also leave room for conversation. That works wonders especially in the video essay format. Have a fun and rejuvenating Christmas break!

[@shalryma]

It's not exactly a new thing, but I love that trigger warnings are much more of a thing now of a thing than they have ever been! It makes so much easier to curate my reading for my current mood and mental strength, and it has been great! I don't mind cozy literature being written and rediscovered, as this is something that people clearly want to read and if so, enjoy! I do mind "cozy" being stretched as a category to its absolute limits just because it's a popular hashtag. I like to read cozy books from time to time and some of the less popular recommendations I got (especially in the mystery and horror subgenre) actually were quite dark. Sprayed edges are fine and special editions, especially if they are available at book's launch, are also fine - in terms of overconsumption, what's really problematic is buying dozens of books way too often, proceeding not to read them, only to unhaul them unread or barely touched some time later. I'm guilty of that myself and I'm not proud of that - I don't need to be surrounded by 50+ unread books, I never start more than 3 at any given moment and I don't read crazy fast. I wish bookfluencers put some effort into popularizing libraries, book swaps and second-hand book shopping. I know some of them already do that, but giant book hauls of are still to much of a thing.

[@Abby-jc2hp]

Great video, Leonie!! Loved your theory about romantasy being a continuation of YA and that's why it's gaining so much traction. I also wonder how much of it is people who got back into reading via romance/romance recs on booktok now branching out? I think a lot of people who got back into reading through romance are now looking to dip their toes into other genres, and romantasy is a safe place to start because it contains that same romance, just with higher stakes, alongside what's oftentimes simple world building that's not overwhelming to first-time fantasy readers. It can be a much easier step than starting with a dense adult fantasy book and deciding fantasy may not be for them. It's super cool to see some booktubers talk about in their 2023 reading wrap up videos how they started the year as big romance girlies and now love fantasy! Romantasy can be a great way to bridge that gap, and if it gets people more into fantasy, I'm here for it!

[@dudewhatthewhat8983]

7:24 I actually kind of like people recommending based on tropes. And it’s exactly because I know what it’s about, without knowing what it’s about. I can be in the mood for a friends to lovers, and I might get a wholesome and low stakes story of two old friends reconnecting while travelling, or I could get a story of war where two friends slowly grow to love each other as they fight side by side, and try not to die. With each other being the only constant reminder of the potential happiness they can reach if they survive. It has the same level of knowledge as a genre or setting. Romance doesn’t tell me the plot either, or if I will find the main couple compelling or not, or if one partner is secretly an abusive and toxic maniac who makes the author horny. And settings like Sci-fi and fantasy can be even more up in the air. I mean, the video discussed really early how different fantasy is based on trends. Is it a Tolkien-ish story of a quest to save the world. Is it a dark and gritty story full of murder and political scheming, or is it about a coffee shop. So yeah, recommending based on trope isn’t much different then “my top five fantasy books” or other such categories. And since it gives me information, I personally find more useful, I like it. Also if you really want to know what the plot is about, read the book jacket. That’s why it’s there.

[@notllikethat]

This!!!! I hate reading summaries, it always sets my expectations too high, as I imagine the the plot happening while reading the damn summary, and of course in my vision it's tailored to my personal tastes. But then I read the book and it never goes the way I imagined it. So I'd rather not know the plot at all for the experience to be actually enjoyable

[@itsallenwow]

I love your theory about romance fantasy! There are so many connections to like those 2010’s YA books we all read

[@vampabe523]

The Poor Things movie and the upcoming Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Frankenstein kinda make it evident to me that Gothic will be a big interest next year. It was already here in a way but it will make its way to the general public and not just the niche corners of the internet.

[@krushkannon]

me writing a dystopian vampire novel, not knowing they're making a comeback: 👁👄👁

[@Moon-eg1bu]

I need it

[@miasharples895]

Me writing an historical fantasy multi pov with an father and a daughter and yes, a love interest but they have friends and family and they don't shag on page 1, are in denial of their feelings, and theirs a reworking of a well-known myth and legend (Kelpies) and sigh...I'll see myself out

[@Dizzintegration]

Cozy fantasy has always been confusing to me, cause one of my favorite fantasy series is the Witcher, the world is super dark and brutal, but the first books brings me so much comfort and coziness, each chapter is just Geralt having little adventures and the fact that he's an outcast looked down for most people makes you relate to him. Anyway, coziness is very relative, and I highly recommend The Last Wish.

[@isaacnewton9021]

Omg yes! The Witcher in general is such a breath of fresh air for me whenever I get tired of sifting for a good book (some days it feels more like dredging a riverbed, ngl). The way it starts with the premise of witcher's work being an unpleasant blue collar job and then weaves in social issues on top of that in plausible ways is just... exactly what I'm looking for from fantasy most days. And then the story can just be 'Geralt and Dandelion are hungry, but they suck at fishing so badly that everything goes horribly wrong' and I am enthralled. Comfy doesn't have to mean vapid as fuck, who'd have thought😭

[@kobzatimea8465]

I'd def love to see more vampire and gothic books, so hope we'll get more! Loved the video, got a lot of new info about trends I wasn't truly even aware of. Take care and I hope you'll have a nice holiday!

[@EvaMetalhankle]

I miss Anne Rice's kind of vamps.

[@kobzatimea8465]

@@EvaMetalhankle me too!!

[@suzankhachatryan8472]

I can't believe how me, a huge hockey fan, hasn't even heard about or dived into books about hockey lol I guess my love of reading and love of hockey were always kept separate and now I'm not sure I want to read any of these books haha Totally agree with you about the renaissance of the Hunger Games as well as the historical/gothic fantasies. I'm totally obsessed with this genre at the moment and totally want more more more..

[@thesundaynguyen]

Oh I love listening to you talk about your theories because your breakdowns are so spot on!! I only got into (YA) fantasy (again) as an adult and it was through Fourth Wing and ACOTAR - and whilst these are not PERFECTLY-written books, I took them for what theya re -- enjoyable. It's okay for books to just serve an entertainment value and not always be life-changing

[@ragingdevi]

I feel like the surge in vampire stuff might be a combination of a second big year for Dracula Daily and Astarion taking over the internet when Baldur's Gate came out, but idk lol

[@JujuMNB]

I really like this format, and going through those trends in the book community. It changes from other traditional readings wrap up of 2023 (which I like also let’s be honest)

[@melissarichten6323]

I get cozy fantasy. Ever since pandemic, I was looking for an escape from the stressful times. I hope more books should be written that way.

[@alexandrahill9176]

Thank you, THANK YOU for saying that the book industry and fast fashion cannot be compared! Fast fashion is incredibly wasteful and harmful to the environment, and the book industry has absolutely nothing on that! Abby Cox uploaded a video earlier today discussing that exact issue, the issue being people saying the book industry/BookTok is "just as bad as fast fashion." With her amazing research, passion, and personal involvement within both the fashion (she has a Bachellor's in art history and theater leading to an interest in dress history) and book worlds (she has two books published about fashion history), she will school you about both in her charming, funny, and intelligent manner.

[@CAiTLiNx354]

I think what makes these new special editions seem more like cash grabs and blatant consumerism is how they all get released with “bonus content.” Depending on the series, it might feel like you need to buy every single edition just to get the full story. I do agree with you that just wanting to buy books to complete a set isn’t that big of an issue nor a new thing.

[@Katrionat123]

I just returned to this video now towards the end of 2024, and I really appreciate how carefully you explain the trends and how you elaborate on them with your own observations - it really makes the video a perfect time capsule

[@bybookandbone]

I need more cozy fantasy tbh xD I'd love to see more books like Legends & Lattes get published. If anyone has recommendations, throw them my way :D

[@JennaThePanda]

There is a book that just came out called the fellowship of bakers and magic. It seems to be the great British bake-off in a high fantasy setting, I have it on my tbr but haven’t read it yet, it sounds great for cozy fantasy though :)

[@bybookandbone]

@@JennaThePanda ooooh thank you! That sounds exactly like what I'm after

[@darbywilliams6406]

3:58 another really important contributing factor to the hunger games renaissance this spring/summer was that crimson rivers, a harry potter (specifically marauders era) hunger games au was finished. it's longer than the bible and extremely popular (currently at over 3.5 million hits), and right around the time it was completed a lot of people then went back to hunger games and reread it and started talking about it.

[@mle2271]

Surprised you didn't talk about the Reylo fanfiction to published book pipeline. I think there were at least three this year that were Reylo fanfic rebranded into published books this year with quite a few more due out next year, plus the one that started it all, The Love Hypothesis. I personally want it to stop, and this is coming from a romance reader. I hate questioning if a book I'm reading was fanfiction first.

[@heabooktubes]

Ok I agree with your theory. I wasn’t able to find adult books that were what I wanted until I started reading romance. And my only issue with tropification is when the authors are writing the book for the trope, it can feel like copy and paste rather than an organic story they wanted to write.

[@em4200]

I think the "problem" with the rising Colleen Hoover Girl is that a lot of them never give other authors a chance. I genuinely know some girls in real life who have openly said something like "oh I hate reading it's so boring, but I like Colleen Hoover." I don't care if they love her, it's more that I want more people to enjoy reading and its community, and some of those girls just assume that she is the best romance author out there, and anything that's written by someone else isn't good.

[@IntentionallyBookish]

Love your takes! I do want to point out that “cozy mystery” is a mystery sub genre that’s been around long before the cozy trend. While these books are “cozy” in a sense, the plots usually involves specific points such as small towns, amateur sleuths, and off-page murders. A cozy mystery series I always recommend is Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop mystery series - 18 books deep so far with lots of food, setting, and character descriptions to fall in love with!

[@georgeandrews1394]

Commented something similar before I saw your post. My mother's read those mysteries since I was a child and we moved to a place with a decent public library.

[@violaivy]

Yes, it's very true that gothic is the realm to explore desires and experiences of marginalised folks. Frankenstein is considered a gothic novel by some and it's written by a young woman who experienced a lot of grief and injustice before she was even out of her teenage years. Gothic is a very old literary tradition so it's bound to come back every now and then. I'm here for a revival, always been a gothic girlie. Though I've never been a Twilight or paranormal romance girlie (I watched The Vampire Diaries and its spin-offs but that's about it) but I can see the appeal of gothic stories for those who are. And enough years have passed since the Twilight years that not every vampire story will be compared to it or marketed as the next Twilight.

[@annthedreamer]

Me, who only read danmei novels in this year, knowing nothing about these trends 😂😂 I enjoyed this video thank you 😊

[@limeparticle]

I don’t necessarily understand getting the same book in more than one edition just to add to a collection, but this is not a stone I’m willing to throw in my glass house where I own probably more yarn than I can knit up in my remaining years 👀

[@JBoulter11]

Cozy Becky Chambers Sci-Fi should never die.

[@hi_there1239]

i'm conflicted on the tropes thing too, but i think my take is that i don't mind "here are books that have enemies to lovers/forced proximity/etc" as a jumping off point to find out more of the book, but if you're specifically talking about one particular book, i'd rather hear about what makes it special. just my opinion, hope that made sense lol also as someone who just took a "queering the gothic" course, bring on the gothic lit renaissance!!

[@veru.krejci]

i like tropes when it comes to the main plot. like single parent trope, friends-to-lovers etc. i don’t think people should look further. it takes away the surprise of "oh my god! they’re sharing a bed". but unfortunately it became so popular there are 10 tropes for every book mentioned everywhere