With the rise of social media dominating the publishing world and our reading habits, we can get trapped in the cycle of reading the same books. This leads to no variety in our reading tastes and no new books on our bookshelves. The algorithms of bookish platforms like Booktube, Booktok and Bookstagram promote the same books over and over, making the book recommendations on social media feel like an echo chamber. However, it’s important to find different books to read for multiple reasons (and no, we’re not trying to play into the “not like other girls” trope – it’s overused and overdone)
Why Find ‘Unique’ Books
Long before bookish social media blew up, one would walk along the small spaces around bookstores, trying to find their next favourite read. Adding books to one’s TBR (to-be-read pile) would demand effort and finding books that catered to one’s reading taste and interests. However now, even spaces like indie and commercial bookstores have been filled with sections like “Booktok Favourites”; in short, Booktok and other social media platforms on which books are discussed, are revolutionising the way books are recommended and the types of books being recommended.
In order for social media to not completely take over almost everything we do, right from the places we visit to the art we create (we’re already knee-deep into this), we need some freshness in our way of living. Although bittersweet, we live in an age of overconsumption wherein the world demands that we take in as much as possible, and even more than we require. A hobby once dictated by our own reading tastes is being taken over by New York Times’ Bestseller lists and what others are reading as opposed to what we really want to read.
While book social media introduces us to books from around the world by diverse authors, it still isn’t enough. We are still only being fed what the algorithm wants us to see. So many books from underrepresented and under-recognised identities like Dalit, Palestinian and non-English speaking authors are pushed under the dark confines of the algorithm. As a result, there’s barely any way for these authors to receive their spotlight and readership, given how social media is the biggest marketing tool for creators to push their world.
We need to find books, literature and media, by also putting in the effort ourselves, instead of technology doing yet another job for us. Finding books that not many people are talking about helps expand the range of media we consume, also expanding our worldview and making us more empathetic. We also learn to slow down our consumption, and rebel a bit against late capitalism’s consumerist culture. We learn how to take our time finding books we really want to read instead of blindly picking up the first novel we see on our feeds, just because it’s trending. As we go out of way to search for books on our, we also avoid picking up books with the same plotlines and similar covers.
Bookish online discourse heavily talks about the many problems with the publishing industry’s exaggerated emphasis on tropes. We then pick up books only to satisfy our craving to read about that trope. Some popular bookish tropes circulating on social media these days are ‘enemies to lovers’, ‘romantasy’ (a mix of romance and fantasy), ‘dark romance’ and ‘cozy Japanese bookstore literary fiction’. By reading books written with the same formulas or tropes, we limit ourselves to a certain kind of narrative. How should we now start looking beyond our phone screens to find distinct books?:
How to Find ‘Unique’ Books
Start with your local bookstores and/or libraries: Yes, bookstores too now run based on book social media’s favourites but there is still some hope left. In India, bookstores, like those of Crossword, are designed in a way wherein trending books are right at the front whereas lesser-known fiction and non-fiction are at the far back. Cleverly navigating the structure of these shelves around bookstores will help you find an underrated read. Pick up a book if the cover or synopsis interests you. Don’t wait for social media and others to tell you what’s good and bad.
Surf on Amazon or other online bookstores: While online bookstores also work algorithmically, a good half-hour spent on these sites will leave you with a list of titles you’ve never heard before. You have to dig deep!
Try your hand at niche book clubs: There are plenty of book clubs online on platforms like Fable and Discord that focus on reading niche and backlist books, released years ago and tailored to very specific topics. This might help you find a new favourite genre or topic that you’d like to further explore, not just in literature but even otherwise!
These are just a few ways for you to start expanding your reading beyond Booktok and Bookstagram. Ironically, while social media is loud and makes it easy for everyone to have and share an opinion, the oversaturation leads to no opinions at all. Reading and engaging with media outside these confines might be good for a change; maybe we can cut out the noise for a bit and finally return to reading for ourselves for once.