booktok & the hotgirlification of reading

➤ NEWSLETTER

➤ PRODUCTION
written by Mina Le, Ella Gray, and Sophie Carter
edited by Charlee Reiff

➤ SOCIALS

➤ CONTACT

➤ SOURCES

0:00 - intro
3:07 - is reading pretentious?
16:57 - the booktok of it all
28:14 - hot girls who read
43:04 - mina's book recs

[SewingandCaring]

I'm a 44 year old book obsessive and am 100% down with reading being cool with the kids. I don't even care if people are carrying a book just as a fashion accessory. If all the 14 year old girls are saying books are the best because of insta and tick tock, then it makes life much easier for the nerdy girls who hang out in the library during the lunch break.

[anjah]

I love that reading is cool again! I only wish borrowing books from the library was trending as well. Because honestly who has the money and space to buy dozens of books every year?

[itselote]

i feel like the actual problem about booktok it’s that people just read the books that are popular and trendy instead of exploring their own style and taste but hey at least young people are reading more and that’s good

[regirdz]

As a 19 yr old who has been obsessed with reading since little, I love that reading is so popular again. I can now talk with so many ppl about our readings, its so fun!

[ArtichokeHunter]

"looking at their phones instead of looking at books" is interesting because like... ebooks exist. unless you're really looking hard you aren't gonna know that someone on their phone isn't reading. plus we should all get over judging strangers on public transit for whatever they're doing as long as it isn't hurting anyone

[Luumus]

Honestly if there's one thing that can be "hotgirlificated" is reading. Even if it's just for aesthetics, even if the book choices aren't often the most high-brow. I am very happy to see the kids start reading more and thinking it's cool. It's certainly better than what I got, which was getting bullied for reading back in middle-school and having to read in the bathroom to not get teased.

[alanadoueihi]

One of the aspects of the “ high brow” vs “low brow” literature conversation that I dislike is that it runs under a false assumption that people can’t contain multitudes or read/ enjoy different kinds of books. This month I have read Percy Jackson, the virgin suicides, a self help book and an Agatha Christie novel. Most people I know read and enjoy multiple genres. But also — read what you want! As long as you’re reading why does it matter if it’s “good literature.” You can enjoy Jane Austen and you can also enjoy a hockey romance. Reading is reading, you build your brain and critical thinking skills regardless.

[noodlesauce]

“You read to me as I shit” is absolutely wild lmaooo😂😂😂

[pennyraehawkins]

38:26 I completely agree portraying abuse isn’t inherently bad. The problem with CoHo is she writes abuse and tells readers it’s romance. There’s a massive difference between the two.

[blinkbones]

Possible cultural difference because I'm French; i've never noticed this "ppl who read in public are pretentious" attitude here. I read a lot on public transportation, and in the warmer days I read in sunny outside spots a lot too. No one has ever questionned whether I was pretending or showing off and frankly I doubt anyone really notices.

[araline]

another thing about books being used as a mean of identity is that there's a growing movement who deem people's morals based on what they read or watch - it ends up enforcing some weird puritan culture where if you engage with any "problematic" media it automatically means you endorse it : to have a clean mind is to read clean things. If you read Lolita it means you're actually a pedo for instance. This very much ties in with how consumerism is more and more attached to one's identity. It showcases how important media literacy is as well imo

[amelianewell-close]

The best place to get book recommendations from is the library! Walk into it one day and tell them the books you have read previously, the genres you have liked and types of stories you like and they will personally pick out books for you to read. They seriously have people dedicated to doing this at the library so take full advantage of this wonderful resource!

[madisoncera]

i started working at my local library about 6 months ago. i have fully flipped from a “buy a cool looking book at barnes n noble and if i don’t like it at least i have a book on my shelf” girl to a “information should be free and accessible, and even if i can’t keep it on my physical bookshelf for more than a couple months, it’s worth reading because reading is worth it” girl. i also really advocate for audiobooks and ebooks for people that have mobile devices. overall, i am always happy to see fellow 20 somethings checking out books, no matter how "high brow" or "trashy" the covers make them out to be.

[soho]

My favourite authors are Dostoevsky and Hakan Gunday (a Turkish author) and one time I was reading Dostoevsky and a guy came up to me and said "you don't have to pretend you like Dostoevsky"... I was flabbergasted. People thinking reading is being pretentious is interesting to me because I know a lot of smart people who don't read and as a reader myself, I am definitely not smart lol
But then again TikTok uses everything as an aesthetic and literally ruins absolutely everything

[lucyryan]

The point that to be an author today actually means you have to be an author, editor and publicist is not only true but almost an understatement. I'm a writer and bad a book come out with an indie publisher (who are great, dont get me wrong) last year and the amount of work I had to do on social media to drum up interest as someone without an inbuilt audience was intense. If any tiktok gals want to make my book the next aesthetic find it would be a weight off my shoulders frankly. I will also say that I read in public all the time and am rarely questioned on whether I'm REALLY reading something, but I do occasionally get a little old lady asking what I'm reading and how I'm finding it, which is an interaction I never get tired of.

[hannardee]

Mina’s book recommendations:
1. Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham
2. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
3. Kindred by Octavia Butler
4. Notes On An Execution by Danya Kukafka
5. Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott

Noted down for myself but might be useful to others here.

[meadowrae]

My son and I are both autistic and hyperlexia is a part of that for us. I'm in my late 30's and the assumption that a large vocabulary means you're stuck up and pretentious isn't new. In my head I was trying to select the best words to be understood, but others thought I was showing off. I also had an extensive knowledge of insects, random science facts, etc. I learned that other people are constantly comparing themselves to others, so I had to be a little less "interesting" (weird) in a group situation. You also aren't supposed to show too much interest in one person in a group in particular, because that means you're either flirting or making fun of them. It's exhausting, which is why books are preferable to human company most of the time.

[rachelsmith]

Bookshelf wealth is real! I used to work for a large used book store in NYC and a decent chunk of our business came from interior decorators, set designers and other “books by the foot” clients who wanted to bulk-buy books for display purposes. On one hand, it was a little sad to know the books would probably never be read by their new owners, but on the other hand, it kept the lights on.

[K_]

Ive been reading Northanger Abbey recently, and I know it isnt a historical account, but its such a big thing in the book that novels and especially gothic novels were trashy and girly, only non-fiction books were "high brow" its amazing to see how even 200 years later that this is still such a big theme in society.

[TheKrusso]

As a librarian, whatever gets people reading is fine with me. I love it.
I'd love to hear more book recommendations. Can you do them more regularly? I would definitely watch. Thanks!