Can We REALLY Trust BookTok & Bookstagram?

Social media has completely changed the way we discover books, but can we actually trust the recommendations we see on BookTok, Bookstagram, and YouTube? Are these books really worth the hype, or is it all just marketing? Let’s dive into the truth behind viral book recommendations and whether they’re helping or hurting readers.

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Hey there, I’m Cinzia DuBois On this channel, I talk about dark and ancient history, literature and folklore.

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[CinziaDuBois]

Oh no!! I'm sorry Patreons, I just saw that the patreon list doesn't roll in the video!! My apologies, all your names were put in, I must have un-clicked the "roll" box accidentally. THANK YOU TO MY PATREONS: 👇

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[ThoughtCemetery]

I'm strangely grateful for those "booktok made me read it" signs on shelves and tables. This way I definitely know which books to avoid like the plague.

[shauno]

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I'd be much more likely to pick up a book recommended to me by a friend or staff member than anything I'd see online. The only exception is if the author themself posts something compelling.

[justcatb]

I work in a library and I’ve done TikTok displays that haven’t been touched, yet our staff picks are constantly being used and a lot of patrons make a beeline for it! Maybe it’s different between libraries and bookshops. I prefer people recommended books to social media. Interesting topic though.

[hannahbrennan]

The kind of books that are popular on BookTok and Bookstagram aren't my cup of tea, but I've gotten so many amazing recommendations on BookTube,

[neonoires]

If someone recommends "A Little Life" to me, I assume they hate me.

[RangerGucci]

You absolutely can't trust anything on tiktok lol

[MrGadfly]

Books are a very personal thing. There has to be a connection for the reader and far too often what is popular is what is advertised the most. The benefit of wandering in bookstores is browsing. The power of browsing through a bookstore is immeasurable. Somehow doing so in a physical store makes a difference. "Crank" does sound like a very manipulative book, I totally understand why you wouldn't like it.

[hallievanoutryve]

Dude, did not know the author of Crank was estranged from her daughter who inspired her book! Thank you for your empathetic comments for her daughter’s position. I hear so many judgmental and/or ignorant about people with addiction, so often from creators that I wouldn’t expect it. Having a tough day, so thank you. ❤

[amybond]

Loved this, and I completely agree! I also currently work at a bookstore, and most of the people under 30 that come in already have a set idea of which book they want, which they can usually grab on one of the tik tok displays, and that is ok! But, if you wish, challenge yourself to go into a bookstore without a book in mind, and browse around until you find the one. It is such a calming experience, I want to bring it back!!!

[mally]

I just cannot get over the absolute horrid quality of "fantasy" (or "romantasy") books on TikTok. I saw someone online say that people who didn't enjoy Rebecca Yarros' books (Fourth Wing, etc.) simply "didn't understand world-building or know the fantasy genre well enough") EXCUSE ME?! Those garbage books have nothing on The Wheel of Time, the Mistborn series, The Poppy War, etc. These people are reading horrible quality literature and then looking down on people who call it out for being low quality. It's baffling.

[kitteninabowl]

Thanks for shouting out my Etsy shop!!!

I'm really happy with my Jane Austen pattern and want to make more author sewing patterns soon. If anyone has any pattern suggest feel free to let me know!!


I see a lot of books getting hype online and typically I just ignore it. With that being said recently I saw "parable of the sower"getting hype online and that book is a MASTERPIECE!!! So now I'm back to square one, unsure to believe online hype or not....

[tulsimason]

The algorithm is flattening all our experiences - it is just regurgitating what we’ve already liked into a more extreme version of itself to keep us engaged. I found your channel Cinzia because you are speaking about classics and ancient history, rather than the hot new read - keep doing what you do!

[nathantaradiercks]

As a prior bookseller, I completely agree. Talk to booksellers, browse shelves, frequent your library, speak with friends.

[thcusandsunny]

Very personal stance here but I was in my late 20s when I learned being a "NYT bestseller" doesn't mean anything as to the quality of the writing or whether it's for me.

[jacquiheywood]

Please dont ever stop making videos. I love your discussions. I use a variety of ways to choose which book to read next. Never TikTok, as I don’t have an account. I spent the first year of the Covid lockdowns soaking in BookTubers recommendations, but after buying a years worth of dud books, I discovered that I need to stick to my own tried and true methods. (Favorite authors; plots that interested me; friends recommendations etc.)

[ToriMorrow]

I think it’s unfortunate people treat all of Booktok the same because of the trendy books they see on the surface. Like any bookish space, we have to find the creators and recs that work best for us. Booktok is massive, with creators who’ve built large platforms on literary and translated fiction, classics, scif/fantasy, Black romance, nonfiction, historical, etc. But I feel no one ever goes beyond the ACOTAR and Colleen Hoover recommendations

[mammasflapjax]

I'm a huge fantasy fiction reader and I fell victim to BookTok during the Fourth Wing hype but my word, did I learn my lesson after that.

[robo]

I worked at a retail bookstore in the 90's and they began to 'encourage' us booksellers to push certain titles every month. I hated it! I even tried reading a couple of the recommended books and never once liked them which is why I just ignored them. How was I supposed to push a book about an extinct shark, I believe the title was Megladon and it was supposed to be the next Jaws, to a father buying his son his first dictionary for school. The man did thank me for my insightful recommendation for one appropriate for his child's age and grade level. I can only imagine what he would have thought if I would have said, sure you need a dictionary for your kid to be successful in school but what about this novel about a shark eating people? I never felt comfortable lying to my customers.

[elizabethgardner]

One of my favorite quotes "Whenever I see a book that I don't want to read, I'm relieved!" Most TikTok books fall into that category for me. However, it doesn't bother me much if they are popular with others. There are plenty of other books published that do interest me plus all of the other books that have been published in the past couple hundred years. I don't think that I'll run out of reading material in my lifetime.