People think 'BookTok' is destroying literature after a woman complains the book contains 'so many words'

Since the invention of social media, the number of people who enjoy reading has dropped dramatically.

Many of us fall victim to TikTok doomscrolling when we head to bed at night instead of reading a book, but could the video-sharing app now help the world of literature?

Something known as “BookTok” has been gaining popularity on TikTok lately, where people share their reviews of books they’ve read and give a quick summary of what it’s about.

Currently, the most popular books on BookTok include Colleen Hoover’s It ends with us (which was recently made into a film), Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, Atomic habits by James Clear and Riley Sager Home before dark.

Publishers welcome this popular trend as it helps books get noticed more.

Kat McKenna, a marketing and brand consultant specialising in children's and young adult books, told The Guardian: “The pool of people guaranteed to buy young adult books is limited to a few thousand dedicated lovers of the genre, but BookTok is exciting. Its short, entertaining videos offer a new, powerful way to reach and engage non-readers and thus attract more book lovers.”

“Romantic and sad books seem to be very popular,” McKenna continued. “If it touches the heart, it's likely to hold the reader's attention.”

But not everyone thinks BookTok is a good thing.

In a video shared on social media, a TikTok influencer discusses Leigh Bardugh’s book Six of the Crows after it was recommended to her by her followers.

In the clip, the influencer goes on to talk “shit for a second” about the book and complain about its length.

It turns out that the book, which was first published in 2015, has almost 500 pages (which is less than some books in the Harry Potter Series).

In light of this video, some book lovers fear the trend has lost its thread, while others feel the wrong books are in the spotlight.

One person tweeted: “I fear Booktok has lost the plot, because why are they shocked that book pages contain… words?”

Not everyone thinks BookTok is a good thing. (Twitter)

Another person ranted, “I feel like Booktok influencers like her are one of the reasons the market is saturated with bad books right now. Bear with me. I know there has always been 'trash fiction', but since Booktok took off, I feel like I'm constantly being confronted with books that are poorly written but still have high ratings.”

They also accused BookTok influencers of writing “superficial and stupid” reviews.

“They send a message to future authors, and especially agents, that readers may prefer 'dumber' books,” the Twitter user continued.

Dozens of people echoed this sentiment, noting that some of the books they purchased through BookTok weren't actually that good.

What do you think?