Booktok has its positives and negatives.
With the rapid growth of streaming services, new apps, a reliance on social media and the hatred of reading due to endless pages of reading as a result of education, reading seemed like it was becoming a forgotten love. Young people weren't reading as much, and it seemed like books were either being targeted at pre-teens and below, or jumping straight to the middle aged. The in between ages weren't the target audience anymore.
As a direct effect of COVID, Booktok rose to prominence in 2020 with people needing a distraction from their boredom, and a change to their lifestyles since being stuck in their homes 24/7. As TikTok grew, it quickly became the fastest growing app for users ages 16-25 - the exact demographic that reading was losing. People were flocking to the app, so those that still read used it as a platform to build community whilst simultaneously inviting more people to reading. They enticed users by showing the benefits of reading while recommending authors, books and genres; and people (like myself) were reintroduced to a love that they neglected, and others were newly introduced in the first place.
Booktok boosted the book community, and transformed the book industry - one that has always been quite traditional and old-schooled in the way they do things. The emergence of BookTok forced them to completely rewire the way they market and advertise.
Twitter user @msalli_ went viral at the beginning of January for reading a book in less than a day, which stormed up discourse surrounding reading. Many were shocked that a discourse was sparked up in the first place, where for others, the shock factor lie in the fact that she was able to read a (presumably) 3-400 page book in a matter of hours. People were even shaming her and insulting her intelligence, stating that she was skimming over the words or reading six-page kiddie books.
That starts the topic of this post. Book shaming.
Colleen Hoover and Sarah J. Maas are two of the most popular authors to have come out of Booktok. In 2022 alone, Colleen Hoover sold 8.6 million copies alone - more than the Bible, and J. Maas has sold over 38 million copies of her three series. Mentioning these two authors specifically is of importance because while both their names and books are some of the biggest in the Booktok community; it's not all positive reception.
Hoover has received a LOT of backlash; not only for the content of her books - which is often accused of romanticising abuse and trauma - but she is allegedly a sexual assault apologist (ALLEGATIONS) after issues arose surrounding her son and a minor. She is also described to write like a school student/Wattpad fan-fiction writer. This is actually quite disrespectful to Wattpad writers because it insinuates that they have no skill; which just isn't true considering those that have gone on to have published their books successfully. Many have boycotted her books as a result (in addition to their disdain of her personally).
J. Maas has also received similar fallout surrounding herself and her books. Unlike Hoover, J. Maas has not been accused of trauma dumping and romanticising abuse, but many readers consider her work to be 'trash'. She has also been accused of being a racist Zionist (thought someone needs to give me credible sources to verify).
Both anti-author groups have passed just discrediting the writers, but have gone as far as to scorn those who continue to read and enjoy their books.
Thus poses the question: Is Book shaming valid?
Maybe I am triggered (not), but I am someone who fits in both of these boxes. When reintroduced to Booktok in March 2022, the first books I was recommended were by Colleen Hoover. 'It ends with us' is her most popular book, and I was eager to see what the hype was about. I then went down something of a rabbit hole, ultimately reading nine of her works - the majority of which I enjoyed at the time. I did notice common themes of excessive trauma - especially where not needed (Confess), and I didn't like how her synopses did not advertise the sensitive content that was in her works. For someone that is fortunate enough to not have been affected by the content that she writes about, it was unsettling to read, but I was able to get through it. For those who have actually experienced some of these topics, I can't imagine what their thoughts and feelings would've been whilst reading.
In regards to Sarah J Maas, really the content and writing of her book is really the only thing people have complaints about. Aside from the questionable age gaps between the love interests (immortal and mortal love), many just accuse her work of being objectively bad.
I am of the belief that people just want to feel smart and hierarchical. Those who read used to be considered smart and nerdy, and this gave them an air of superiority because academic validation and intelligence is something that they value. However, with the influx of new readers, and writers creating work based on the new demographic, just simply reading isn't enough.
They need to be placed on a pedestal, separated from everyone else, letting it be known that they don't read popular works of fiction, or exclusively read independent works - which there's nothing wrong with - or the classics. Some videos have even gone viral on the app, where creators make jokes about not actually enjoying Victorian literature, but realising it makes them look good and therefore continue because of the perception that it creates about them.
As a society, where the attention spans of young people are getting increasingly lower, and kids are developing at a much lower rate than the generations before them; we should celebrate people reading - regardless of whether or not other people find it worth reading or not. Ultimately, reading will always be better than spending six hours a day mindlessly scrolling through different social media platforms, regardless of whether the content is academically enhancing or not.
There are different factors to consider when reading a book, and it is extremely ignorant to dismiss an author or label them as 'objectively' bad just because you didn't enjoy their work. It goes without saying that you don't have to enjoy the work by any means, but to trash work that has sold 10's of millions of copies says more about you than the author. Furthermore, labelling something as 'objective' whilst giving your opinion is the silliest contradiction ever.
Separately, there's nothing wrong with not wanting to spend your time reading 'literary trash'. Not everything has to be educational and provide 'value' in your life. If someone wants to read a book that provides them that escape or just entertainment, they shouldn't be shamed for it.
It goes back to one of my original points stating that people just want to create hierarchy, and feel that they're better than because they navigate reading differently. As a society, when we stop acting like everything needs to be done with the intentions of gaining social capital, the world would be not only a happier place, but a more tolerable one.
If you see a 35 year old woman reading Cathy Cassidy or Jaqueline Wilson on the train, mind your business.