https://archive.ph/qDkc4
>My professional life revolves around reading and writing books. But for years, I carried a little secret: I didn’t read much for fun or pleasure.
>This wasn’t always the case. As a teen I devoured books, and my library card was my most prized possession. In college, I passed the slow hours of my part-time job at a hotel gift shop lost in works of magical realism — where ghosts lingered, kitchen spices conjured heartbreak and love defied the laws of nature.
>But somewhere between graduate school and professional academic life, books became objects to analyze, critique or assign. After I spent my days deciphering dense academic jargon and grading student papers, the last thing I wanted was to crack open a book at night. Slowly, without realizing, I traded reading for binge-watching Netflix and doom-scrolling social media.
>But after November’s election, the doom-scrolling that once numbed me only fueled my anxiety. I needed an escape from the barrage of dread. In a bid to improve my sleep and reduce the time I spent staring at my phone, I bought an e-reader. At first, I loaded it with books I thought I should read — prizewinners, critical darlings. But that just felt like homework. Soon, I was back to social media.
>Then, late one night, the algorithm led me to a whimsical and hilariously dramatic corner of TikTok known as BookTok, where people gush about novels that supposedly altered their brain chemistry, or that they wish they could inject directly into their veins.
>The algorithm caught on, and soon my feed was full of people speaking passionately about the thrill of a good story — reading on lunch breaks, or in moments where the joy of reading overpowers exhaustion. Of course, the algorithm also recognized my personal usage, filling my feed with queer and BIPOC creators and providing a different picture than someone else might get.
>Among my favorite creators is a queer bookworm who begins each video with a joyful “Divassss!” before breaking down the latest novel he read as if he’s serving hot gossip over brunch. He persuaded me to read a surreal book about a self-obsessed actress with plot twists that I still don’t understand but will likely never forget. I also began following a wholesome couple who post about their favorite reads like they’re exchanging love letters, marveling at the emotional ride each book takes them on.
>In the aftermath of an election that left so many of us feeling powerless and adrift, the simple act of reading fiction — and finding community among fellow readers — offers more than comfort. To read for joy, for wonder, for emotional truth is to hold onto something deeply human. And in a moment when the stories we’re allowed to tell and read are increasingly politicized, if not outright banned, that act feels quietly radical. In this context, reading for pleasure becomes more than self-care — it becomes a form of defiance, a way to reconnect with imagination, emotion and the fragile work of hope.
>I began my BookTok reading journey with a fantasy novel about a woman cursed with immortality. I downloaded it on a whim after a young Black content creator raved about it as a book she’d recommend to anyone. Her love for it was so palpable, I couldn’t resist. And sure enough, I was sobbing through the final chapters. It wasn’t a perfect novel — as someone who thinks critically about race I couldn’t help wince at a historical novel that unfolds across centuries without a single mention of slavery, colonialism or racism — still, it cracked something open in me. Escapism, it turns out, isn’t always avoidance. Sometimes it’s a way back to yourself.
>In the past five months I’ve read more novels than in the previous five years combined. I’ve gotten lost in tales of time travel, dystopian pandemics, sentient sex robots and men mutating into sharks. Some were profound, others absurd. But all stayed with me in unexpected ways.
>According to the American Library Association, book bans hit record highs in 2024. Just this month, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that public library collections constitute government speech, and are thus not protected by the First Amendment. Across the country, school boards and state legislatures are pulling titles from shelves that feature trans and queer characters, grapple with climate change, engage with Black history or simply profile figures like the baseball legend Roberto Clemente and the Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
>As politicians work to erase these stories from classrooms and libraries, young people are seeking them out, turning to books for what they can’t find on the news: nuance, empathy and the space to imagine a different world. We should all double down on reading for pleasure, and to feed our imaginations.
>Writers of color have rightly called out the lack of diversity on BookTok. A preliminary 2024 study found that while female creators and authors are well represented on the platform, the most-discussed books still skew white and heterosexual, with authors of color and L.G.B.T.Q.+ voices trailing behind. Yet, that imbalance reflects the publishing industry as a whole.
>In any case, many creators are actively working to shift the tide, challenging themselves and their followers to read more broadly and explore unfamiliar genres and perspectives. They also make space for playful, deeply nerdy debates about the act of reading itself. Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? (BookTok remains divided.) When you read, do you see vivid movie-like scenes in your mind or just the words on the page? (For me, it’s a fuzzy film with indistinct faces.) Are all good books literary works of art?
>Some critics dismiss BookTok as shallow or consumeristic. But the critiques miss the point. At a time when creative arts are under attack, when libraries face cuts and outright purges, BookTok creators are encouraging people to read. Not for grades or prestige, but to find joy and sanctuary in deeply troubling times.
>Thanks to a BookTok tutorial, I learned how to connect my library account to my device, allowing me to replace the infinite scroll with the infinite read. In a political moment defined by scarcity — of empathy, of imagination, of hope — it has given me a new feeling of abundance.
>So if you’re spiraling, as I was, open a book. Download a novel. Listen to a voice that’s not your own. Get lost in an absurdist plot. Not because it’s noble or productive or good for you, but because it’s fun. And if it happens to alter your brain chemistry? Even better.
I liked it. On one hand it does hurt my soul to see those dismiss all serious literature as boring and tedious, but I suppose I understand where they're coming from; the serious literature of this age would be wise to try and be fun and entertaining as well.
>>24471604 (OP)>writes about racedon’t these retards claim race doesn’t exist?
>>24471604 (OP)>But somewhere between graduate school and professional academic life, books became objects to analyze, critique or assign.Funny, that happened to me as an undergraduate, and convinced me not to pursue a career in academic lit. I couldn't bear the thought of killing one of the few joys in my life. Even so it took years to recover my love of reading fiction.
But this woman clearly is obsessed with identity politics and it has poisoned her ability to enjoy anything. She can't even enjoy fiction without it being filtered to her through some oppressed minority.
>>24471631They claim biological race doesn't exist. Instead it is a "social construct", i.e. an imaginary thing that is made real by people believing in it, collectively, and using it as a basis of laws and traditions and prejudices.
They are correct that a lot of what we perceive as race is a socially constructed farce, but are demonstrably wrong about there being no biological basis for it. Every day more and more genetic evidence is compiled which clearly shows inalienable differences between broad racial categories. These categories don't neatly correspond to socially constructed racial identities, but they lie beneath them as the foundations of such beliefs.
Fighting against racial prejudice has required the concerted effort of countless people across generations, and countless trillions of dollars spent on education, propaganda, and policy lobbying, and if it has had any success it has been minor. All of this effort to try and erode a supposedly imaginary concept underpinned by nothing but fear and ignorance. Something feels off about this, doesn't it? If it requires this much monumental effort to destroy racism, how did it ever start? Is it truly that easy to create a mass delusion when it is so difficult to banish it? There must be a reason racial bigotry is so deeply entrenched in the human experience, so as to be nearly universal.
TDS so bad she conquered her reader's block? This is a professor?
>>24471604 (OP)If niggers and trannies want me to discuss their books they can go ahead and release one worth talking about any day now. Ninety percent of the time-wasting slop these fags (literal) pump out is on about the same literary level as the daydreams I had in math class in middle school.
>>24471631Race exists as a social construct.
>>24471683There are countless social ills that transcend time and culture. That doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile to temper them.
can someone summarize it, i dont like the voice three sentences in so i stopped reading it
>>24472081>can't readaverage /lit/izen
women will find joy in anything that is in fashion, how do you think they survived violent men, this is the most profound thought esther vilar comes up with, whether it's tolerating abuse from men or enjoying absolute trash in literature, if other high status women enjoy it then i must pretend until I enjoy it, once you get this, then you've understood all women which is why the tradwife movement is doomed to fail, we are never going back, men and women will continue drifting apart till they replace each other with AI
>>24471604 (OP)Big long article about nothing
putain que ces meufs sont connes...
>>24471604 (OP)>I dont read books>but I enjoy internet content about emshe'll fit rght here
Are there any /lit/ approved BookTokers?
I want to read more modern literature, don't really care if it's the more serious literary fiction stuff or dumb cheap pulp thrills, I'd just like recent releases.
Unfortunately I don't think there's much dumb easy stuff published for men, I can't really think of any genre that does it, maybe dark brooking crime like Mick Herron but even Slow Horses was released fifteen years ago.
Men probably enjoy fantasy more but that's often long and dense, easy modern fantasy is catered more to the female romantasy demographic instead.
Basically, if anyone knows decent booktokers who engage with either the serious or dumb stuff I'd be surprised but interested. Even if they aren't great or deal with "woke" stuff".
If you watch Tiktok/Youtube shorts/Instagram reels/any other similar short video content you are a moron who willingfully destroys his attention span and rots his brain for nothing. The Tiktok format is the worst thing that came out of the internet, literally anything is better than that shit, even mindlessly scrolling this dump is better. And i'm not talking about content quality.
>>24471609>Some critics dismiss BookTok as shallow or consumeristic. But the critiques miss the point.So she admits that it's shallow and consumeristic?
>>24471604 (OP)>But after November’s election, the doom-scrolling that once numbed me only fueled my anxiety. I needed an escape from the barrage of dreadthe thing that frustrates me is that people like this are so close but can't see to connect the dots. like maybe that sense of dread is being deliberately fed to you by political and corporate actors with distinct motivations? there's some great books that could put that feeling into perspective
>>24471683social construct talk was buried forever by rachel dolezal. they treat it as biological now
>anxiety riddle urbanite finds refuge in slop mass produced fiction, served up automatically through algorithmically directed short form video content
This is no different to taking refuge in video games, anime, pornography or anything else. The essence of the article is only an attempt to self justify a retreat from the world into escapist media.
>>24472915"Social construct" doesn't mean, nor has it ever meant "You can be Polish-American and pretend to be black for shits and giggles."
>>24472164this is when i decided to pivot from /pol/ to /biz/ - if everything is irreversibly clown world now then i might as well live it in comfort
I don't use tiktok but I do enjoy a lot of books that are popular on the platform. I love romantasy and ya romance novels. I'm a man in my 30s.
>>24473518Fascinating specimen. What earned Tweet Cute an S+ for you?
>>24473524I found it extremely funny/charming/emotional.
>>24471604 (OP)Why do all female journalists write like this? This type of quirky pixie academic girl voice who throws down not-so-whimsical ancedotes with cherry picked statistics has become so insufferable that it's like listening to rabid foxes fornicating in a blender.
>Tee hee! My most prized possession was my library card! >According to wikipedia, over 70% of _________... Shut the fuck up. This is why literature is dead. Because these people and all their friends and their vapid opinions are what's "in."
>>24471609>Writers of color have rightly called out the lack of diversity on BookTok.You gotta be fucking kidding me. They arent happy with having the lion's share, they want the whole damn pie.
>>24473537They’re taught to write like through exposure to Tumblr adjacent spaces that encourage this form of expression. They then go to university, and meet others who write like this too, which reinforces it.
>>24471631Race isn’t objectively real but somehow focusing on race “as a social construct” in every sector of society is going to improve things, somehow.
Also, despite being made up it’s immutable. Whereas a man deciding he’s a woman is natural and self evidently obvious, getting a wig and a tan and declaring yourself black is not allowed! Why? Nobody can really articulate a reason, but they’re very offended. You can’t just pretend to be another race, like you can 100% metaphysically (and even retroactively; “she was always a woman even as a young boy”) become another gender! That’s ridiculous!
>>24472800The way captions are done, a single word at a time, seems like a deliberate weapon to create illiteracy. They're also completely worthless because they're no faster than just listening to the audio, which I suppose is part of the goal, to condition the watcher to completely ignore text.
>>24472808She can't deby it but will pretend this doesn't matter its a
>subversive joyWomen love this trash lmao
>>24471609>A preliminary 2024 study found that while female creators and authors are well represented on the platform, the most-discussed books still skew white and heterosexual, with authors of color and L.G.B.T.Q.+ voices trailing behind. Yet, that imbalance reflects the publishing industry as a whole.The numbers are low because many people simply don't want to engage with books about fags, blacks, and women.
>>24472545>Are there any /lit/ approved BookTokers?Michael Kist has good recommendations for history and sf/f books. Some of his choices are woke, but he balances them out with plenty of non-woke options.
>>24473518>I love romantasy and ya romance novels. I'm a man in my 30s.You are a faggot.
Why did you post this pointless faggoty shite? Who cares what some retarded whore wrote in some nondescript site. I wouldn't even know it existed if you didn't post it, you nigger.
>>24476733>he doesn't read newspapers
>>24476733This is basically what 4chan is now. Posting irrelevant takes from literally whos and getting mad about it.
>>24472545Get off of TikTok
>>24471663considering she stuck with a low paying career dealing with something she doesnt find any joy in instead of switching to another low paying career that lets her find joy in a hobby again, shes probably obsessed with identity in all its forms. she identifies as a reader so she has to show it in every facet of life.
>>24476790b-b-but all the hot girls are on tiktok
>>24471604 (OP)>American "studies"Red flag.
>writes about race, history, and pulp cultureYeah, I'm out.
>>24472800Well said. It quite literally robs them of enjoying anything that takes patience and thought. I see this in younger friends. They're hopeless. True slaves to dopamine hits. It's like electronic cocaine with a similar stimulant/crash relationship.
>>24473488Shut up. He is right to criticize them for a lack of ideological consistency. Judging by your response, you're one of the deluded people he has rightfully criticized.
>>24473518Transman...?
Get your T levels checked. I can see a trooning out in your near future.
>>24473537I know what you mean. Its not too far removed from Whedon-quip cancer
>>24475625What is subversive about engaging with the same slop that teenage girls enjoy...?
It's a cope
