Everyone’s Obsessed With Reading Now

Has BookTok ruined literature?

It’s 2024 and reading has never been so trendy. With the rise of BookTok, a book-based TikTok subculture that’s especially popular amongst young women, reading as a hobby has gone from acceptable to cool. Chic, even. Suddenly, pictures of young, beautiful women posing with titles like My Year of Rest and Relaxation and The Bell Jar are popping up on social media. Models are carrying copies of The Stranger around during Fashion Week. An especially attractive photograph of Jacob Elordi buying books is being spread like gospel. Etcetera, etcetera.

Book-based communities on the internet are nothing new, with Goodreads and BookTube both thriving back in the 2010’s. At the time, reading was considered a bit of an atypical hobby. The community existed as a refuge for those with nobody to discuss their interests with in the real world. Many users unironically self-identified as “nerds” or “bookworms”. Of course, this led to a bit of “not like the other girls” syndrome, which twelve year-old me was unfortunately not exempt from, but I promise I’ve grown since then.

Back then, I would’ve killed for a world in which reading was as popular amongst young people as they are today. Yet, many argue that the sudden popularity of reading is not as positive as it seems. I stumbled upon this article by Barry Pierce, an ex-BookTuber himself, expressing his disdain for BookTok, calling it shallow and performative. Pierce described his venture into BookTok as “entering a parallel universe where reading wasn’t just something that someone did for fun, it was a lifestyle, an aesthetic…”

The Paparazzi picture of Jacob Elordi that broke the internet

Pierce and other critics have some valid points. Like much of social media, BookTok is rampant with overconsumption, featuring huge shelves and piles of novels that have never been read. And yes, I’m sure the brands and billionaires who have suddenly taken up reading are somewhat shallow in their endeavours. But they weren’t the target of this specific article. Instead, it was the readers themselves.

Much of the article seemed to come from a place of bitterness rather than real criticism. For example, Pierce wrote about “... the dude who says that one of his tips for learning to read more is to ‘romanticise reading’ by finding a cute outfit to read in. Or the person who has made miniature versions of every book they read in 2022 and displays them in a frame. Or the person who has “re-tabbed” their books because the tabs stick out too much…”

What a strange issue to take with a community! To reproach readers for wanting their annotations to look nice, for putting on cute outfits, and for tracking the books they read is an incredibly hollow critique. As if reading is something that must be done in a box, in misery and utmost seriousness, and neat tabs will somehow devalue that. 

In the article’s final statement, Pierce writes, “With all of this effort being put into being seen as a reader, one wonders how any of them have the time to read.” This, in particular, feels like an incredibly low and illogical point to make. Suppose these BookTokers did spend most of their day organising bookshelves and dressing in cute outfits, and only actually read novels for, say, a measly 30 minutes a day. Based on a reading speed of 238 wpm and a book length of around 100,000 words, that would amount to 2 books a month or 24 books a year. And that estimate’s on the low end. Considering this Washington Post article that reported over 50% of Americans read 1 or less books per year, I think that it’s fair to consider 24 books a significant amount. 

My biggest issue with this critique is that it’s normal for the hobby that one is passionate about to become a lifestyle. Yes, readers use colour-coded tabs and make reading journals, in the same way gym enthusiasts buy various flavours of pre-workout when a coffee and banana would do, and gamers spend money on skins in an otherwise free game. It’s interesting that we are so eager to jump at the throats of young women romanticising a hobby that harms nobody when we so easily accept the same thing being done within male-dominated hobbies. What makes us categorise men as enthusiasts but young women as frauds?

When I was little, a criticism I heard from adults all the time was that “young people don’t read anymore,” echoing concerns that physical bookstores would die out along with literacy all together. Now, in 2024, independent bookstores are thriving. Young people are reading passionately. Influencers are promoting book clubs. But now, the complaint is that the readers aren’t genuine enough. I have to ask these critics if any level of intellectualism will make them happy, or if they will always feel the need to look down on others behind the guise of concern. I worry that some of them, perhaps those who existed in the same circles I did back in 2010, failed to grow out of their “not like the other girls” syndrome, and that it reflects in the shallow criticisms they make of BookTok today. 

@bigbookladyI need to know what you’re reading this summer #booktok #bookrecommendations #literaryfiction

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Though it’s fair to question the performance of reading on TikTok, along with all performance that comes with existing on social media, I don’t believe that should be judged by the use of organised sticky tabs and cute outfits. It’s also fair to question our scorn towards the hobbies of young women, along with our disbelief at their ability to have intellectual interests. 

I don’t know if reading will last as a “hot girl hobby.” It’s a trend, after all, and trends shift. At least I can remain confident in the knowledge that, even as trends come and go, the constant dismissal of young women’s interests will persist. 

Thanks for reading Trina Keeps Trying! You can find my past essays here, and you can read my poetry here. Subscribe for free to receive written works, made with love, straight to your mailbox every Tuesday. What do you think? Is BookTok shallow and performative? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.