As a young book lover, my social media feeds are full of book recommendations and book-related content. Creator spaces such as YouTube have historically harbored numerous popular channels dedicated to reading as a hobby dating back to the early 2000s. However, no online book community has been quite as notable in the past couple of years, I think, as the TikTok coined ‘BookTok.’ BookTok is a place where thousands of creators document the books they are reading, those they want to read, their book ratings, and more. If you are at all involved in the online book sphere, then the sentiment of “BookTok has ruined reading” is not new to you. This idea began to be debated in 2022 with the mass consumption of books written by Colleen Hoover, a popular author who sold more copies of her title It Ends With Us that year than the Bible. After being relatively dormant during the past year and a half, I have noticed a resurgence of content centered around this debate in recent months. I err on the side of caution when interacting with the ‘ruining reading’ sentiment. Here is my take.
How is reading being ruined?
At the heart of the argument, those who say reading has been ‘ruined’ by BookTok are referring to the types of books that gain mainstream popularity. Popular BookTok books include fantasy novels such as A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Mass and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Ross as well as romance novels such as Beach Read by Emily Henry and The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. The common theme between all of these novels is their main focus on a romantic relationship, often to which the plot is secondary. All of these novels also contain what readers dub ‘smut’, or intimate relationships between characters. It is important to note that not all BookTok books fit within this category, but a good percentage of them do. Publishing has picked up on these trends. This is where critics swoop in. Critics argue that the only types of books that become popular on BookTok are romance-heavy smut novels. Throughout history, the most treasured, read, and rewarded novels have been literary works often with complex, thought-provoking themes. Those who dislike the current trend of BookTok books often are operating under the idea that the book community should be promoting and reading books that fall within that category. BookTok’s taste in reading is, consequently, distasteful. Prior to the pandemic, the hobby of reading was often regarded as intellectual. The phrase ‘anti-intellectualism’ is now being thrown around to describe this new, popularized form of reading.
Are these books promoting anti-intellectualism?
I believe the motives and intentions behind reading have changed in the past decade. While the hobby of reading educational books and entertainment books have always existed separately, BookTook mainly popularized the latter hobby. Because of BookTok’s popularization in late 2020, many were looking for a hobby that was fun and accessible during a global pandemic. Most importantly, people were looking for a form of escapism. I can compare the rise of entertainment books to the similar rise in escapist video games, such as Animal Crossing, during the same time period. People were looking for a way to relax in a high-stress time, so more ‘intellectual’ books may not have fit that need. That being said, popular BookTok books are not inherently ‘anti-intellectual’. A book can have a romance-heavy plot and also tackle more complex themes of addiction, loss, or racial injustice. The purpose of some novels, however, is just purely for entertainment. People promoting BookTok books aren’t promoting anti-intellectualism. They are sharing their experiences with their hobby. Often the best way to relate to others is by sharing common knowledge, in this case a common novel, to discuss. ‘Normalizing’ entertainment books is not anti-intellectual. It often serves as a gateway for non-readers to find more intellectual novels. BookTok also is not dominated by creators who just promote popular novels, though that is what online discourse might lead you to believe. There are many creators on TikTok and YouTube who share critical, nuanced reviews of literary fiction, nonfiction, and award-winning books. You just have to search for what types of books you are interested in reading. A great example of this is one of my personal favorite creators, Jack Edwards, who collects millions of views across TikTok and YouTube for his unique perspective on both current and past literary works.
Reading and Writing as a female-dominated space
More than ever before, reading and writing is becoming a female-dominated space. Historically, authors, especially highly-regarded ones, were White, educated men with audience demographics similar to their own. Many famous fiction novels that we still read today came from those origins. Currently, we are witnessing an increase in successful female authors. Five of the six novels nominated for the Booker Prize in 2024 were written by women, including the winner, an amazing achievement for a historically male accomplishment. A majority of authors promoted on BookTok are women. Similarly, an overwhelming majority of BookTok creators are women. This knowledge causes me to hesitate when the discussion of BookTok ruining reading arises. Women’s hobbies or interests often get labeled culturally as “less than” compared to hobbies that are male-dominated. When a field or hobby becomes feminized, it usually loses its cultural status. Examples of this include education, nursing, and equestrian sports which used to be male-dominated. The usual results of these areas becoming female-dominated are decreased pay, decreased prestige and respect, and frequent sexualization. This makes me wonder, how much of the ‘ruining reading’ argument is rooted in the unwanted feminization and female influence of a male-dominated field and hobby?