Is BookTok Actually About Reading?

“Most people who complain about BookTok have never seen a BookTok.” Alyssa Morris drops that insight about two-thirds of the way through the episode, and it’s such a good point that I almost want to make it the title of the episode. Most people have an idea of what BookTok is (people talking about books on TikTok) but no real understanding of the immensity of BookTok. It’s talking about what you’ve read, sure, but it’s also about recommendations, and performance, and the aesthetics of reading culture — and the criticisms of it have a lot more to do with weird ideas about what reading (or talking about reading!) “should” look like.

If you’re interested in reading culture, you’ll be interested in this episode — full stop. Let it surprise you! And make sure to check out Alyssa’s BookTok newsletter, which has quickly become one of my favorite reads of the week.

Show Notes:

• Check out more of Alyssa Morris’s work here — and subscribe to Romancing the Phone!!!

• Alyssa breaks down a bunch of the different “genres” of Booktok here — it’s so good

• One of my favorite Alyssa pieces on the appeal of the hockey romance

• The Hinge “No Ordinary Love” Collection featuring Roxane Gay

• The Atlantic piece I reference re: “college kids can’t read books”

• The Rachel Cusk reading order Tok

• The VERY FALL Laurie Gilmore books

• The special edition Bridgerton hardbacks

• Yes / No / Maybe

• Underhyped / Appropriately Hyped / Overhyped

• How Much I Read This Week (With a Full Time Job)

• Glen Powell in a White T-Shirt Recs

• SOME OF THE DAHLIA THINGS I MENTION: Kristine Albrecht’s Dahlias: From Seed to Bloom, Swan Island Dahlias, The Saran Wrap Method, The Dahlia Growers FB Group (which is absolutely full of gall pictures right now). And if you want to read the other things I’ve written about dahlias

We’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:

• THE STATE OF KIDS TOYS — what’s weird? What’s interesting? What doesn’t make sense?

• Why does it feel like thrifting sucks now

• The new Gladiator + Paul Mescal JUST GENERALLY

• Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment

• You can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here (this is the subscriber-only form!)

For today’s discussion: What’s your relationship to BookTok? What are your thoughts on book recs as a popularity contest? Why do you think some people get so cranky about other people reading a lot?

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