Are Some Books Really More Important Than Others? : A BookTok Analysis

 Are Some Books Really More Important Than Others? : A BookTok Analysis

Recently, primarily on TikTok, however conversations have emerged on YouTube, discourse surrounding the content of books has gained massive exposure, and arguments over what defines a "book" have been argued by many. Whether the author is Colleen Hoover or Jane Austen, readers debate what constitutes an "intellectual" read, or a "real" book, but why are we so focused on uplifting ourselves by tearing others down by their hobbies? 

Reading has been a privilege since the beginning of language. Countless groups of people have been dissuaded from education, and even today many groups struggle to learn. In a country riddled with falling literacy rates, specifically in minority groups, reading for pleasure has become rarer and rarer. The rise of BookTok has halted many Barnes and Noble bankruptcies, but the problem withstands that Americans are simply not reading like they used to. 

Despite what many may argue, privilege in reading is not determined by pretentiousness, but by discouragement, so even if one book may not be as culturally relevant, important, or intellectual, a story is a story, and hobbies like reading should not be qualified by how "good" one is at said hobby. 

"BookTok" books like Colleen Hoover or Sarah J. Maas have been criticized in recent years for being full of "smut", or sex scenes, reducing this act of reading to simple pornography. Although these stories may rely on sex scenes for plot, many of them do not. Grouping a category so large as BookTok books, or books mentioned on an entire platform, to one simple genre reduces the effort that authors have put into their stories through a mass generalization and a stereotype. Instead of celebrating the resurgence of recreational reading, people target others-primarily women-for reading "pornography", as if embracing one's sexuality should be criticized. Pornography is not a healthy addiction, but many of the women on BookTok are not addicted. Women who read "smutty" books are degraded, but men who watch pornography are not. The dissonance between how women interact with their sexuality and how men act with their sexuality explains how little progress we have truly made in terms of acceptance, because women have just as large of a sex drive as men but are not praised for engaging with it in the same way that men are. A woman reading Yours Truly is the same exact thing as a man buying Sophie Rain's OnlyFans, but one of them is "addicted to porn" because of the taboo societal standards surrounding women's sexual health. 

If someone said that they played tennis on the weekend, you likely would not ask them whether they are going to the olympics. If someone said that they draw in their free time, you likely would not expect their artwork to be hung in the MoMA. If someone said that they make YouTube videos, you likely would not expect them to own a ruby play button. Although extreme, all of these examples are reasons that a hobby can be just a hobby. A person does not have to be an expert in order to enjoy something, recreational hobbies exist. Reading does not need to be competitive. Just because a person reads, that does not mean that they need to have finished War and Peace or Moby Dick in order to form an opinion and enjoy something. Reading the classics is important to understanding the evolution of language, but it is not necessary to open a book. Many people forget that there is no levels in reading. It is entirely a personal activity with a personal system. Nobody needs to share what they read, why they read, how they read, or anything of the sort. Tiering others based off of how intellectual they are perceived due to the amount of Dostoyevsky they have read does not give a person a higher IQ, it just gives them less friends. Instead of focusing on other peoples business and stories, everyone should focus on themselves, and then maybe reading levels may increase. Discouraging others by convincing them that some books are not "worth" as much as others is an elitist, useless take that has been entirely exhausted in online spaces. 

Although reading a book is beneficial no matter the content, some books are objectively better than others. Many of these "BookTok" books do not have the longevity of a classic, and will not withstand the test of time like the Brontës. They do not comment on the human experience, they do not have philosophical dialogues, and they do not provide anything new or innovative to the industry. Objectively, they are poorly written and inconsequential. Despite these flaws, "BookTok" books are gateways into reading, and they can promote readers who are new to the space to explore more than a few tables at the bookstore. Classics are important to understanding the significance of a book, and the power a book can hold, but they are not essential. You cannot be forced to read Metamorphoses unless you want to. The Illiad will never be thrust upon you instead of Haunting Adeline. Although nobody can prevent you from reading what you would like, I would highly suggest reading intellectual books, but they are not required. Read what you would like, no matter what anybody tells you. 

Reading has been controversial since the beginning of time. The people who can read, what they read, etc. has tormented our society for centuries, but we have reached a point that it is not reasonable to limit people's access to books or to shame them from reading. While I will never say "why can't we all just sit down and have a cup of tea?", partially due to my third grade substitute's response to that question (terrorism and suicide bombing), I do not think it is acceptable to deter people from an activity that brings them joy solely because you consider it stupid. Problems with BookTok are certainly evident, but no book is more of a book than another. Let people read what they like, and never shame people for what brings them joy, because that is the true reason literacy rates are dropping. 

This message is provided by a bitch who finished The Yellow Wall-Paper, Macbeth, and A Winter's Promise all in one day.