The Downfall of BookTok
In 2020, Booktok began as just a few content creators on the platform, TikTok, filming videos about their favorite books and authors. It was a safe space for readers to go online and seek out new recommendations and book-related news.
In just a few months, Booktok turned into a cultural phenomenon. It had people from all over the world sharing their thoughts and opinions on the books that were trending at the time. It even had people picking up books that they normally didn’t read unless it was required reading for school.
Public libraries began to be used again, Barnes and Noble stopped struggling financially, and authors started getting huge movie deals for adaptations of their books.
But what happened in the five years since Booktok flourished?
Scandals with authors, misrepresentation, and other controversies regarding Booktok creators have turned the community from an online book club to a borderline taboo subject.
Even though there are many diverse books to choose from written by authors from different backgrounds, people started to notice that content creators were mostly just recommending books from white authors.
For example, authors that you would see trending most of the time were Sarah J. Maas, Emily Henry, Colleen Hoover, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ali Hazelwood, and others.
While reading from mostly white authors in the real world, readers were also reading about white characters in the fictional world. Colleen Hoover and Sarah J. Maas have received backlash from readers, saying there isn’t any representation of people of color in their bibliographies.
I can’t talk about BookTok’s craziest moments without mentioning the infamous It Ends with Us scandal between Hoover, Justin Baldoni, and Blake Lively. This conflict took the internet by storm, and many BookTok creators were starting to pick sides, while others stopped posting about Hoover’s books altogether.
Dark romance book sales have surged in the last few years, with people questioning whether dark romance is actually romantic or if it's just abuse disguised as a romance trope. These books are filled with anything from stalking and kidnapping to raging men who only have a soft spot for their partner.
Similarly, most of the recent controversy on BookTok includes what people deem as respectable reads. Smut has overtaken the community, and it has created a divide between readers. While some readers welcome this with open arms, others say that books are better off without it.
Creativity– or the lack thereof– in the BookTok community has also been a topic of discussion lately.
Why are all books starting to feel the same?
Apparently, after The Hunger Games was released in 2008, it revolutionized the book industry. Many have stated that Lauren Roberts’ Powerless is a little too similar to the plot of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel.
What about the actual content videos that people are posting? Individuals are criticizing BookTokers for focusing solely on tropes instead of whether or not the books are actually good.
If you’ve never heard the terms “enemies to lovers”, “one bed trope”, “grumpy sunshine”, or “fake dating” in a book recommendation video, consider yourself lucky.
This sparks the question: has Booktok damaged its reputation, or is it just evolving?
Some may argue that at least people are reading again. At least, they’re getting use out of their library cards and Kindles instead of doomscrolling for hours. Like any online space, it was never going to stay perfect.
It’s messy, scandalous, and unpredictable– a very entertaining read.
Strike out,
Sol Moyano
Boca Raton
Sol Moyano is a content writer for Strike Magazine Boca. When she’s not busy writing, she’s ignoring all of her responsibilities in favor of reading fiction novels. She updates her Goodreads and Letterboxd way more often than her LinkedIn. You can reach her at solmoyano05@hotmail.com or her instagram: @solmoyanooo.
