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I totally agree with your point on hyper dualism in critique. As a gamer, I’ve noticed so many games (cough cough TOTK and Elden Ring) where people feel/act as though a game has to be seen as either a masterpiece or a disappointment without any nuance. But criticizing a book or a game doesn’t have to be an either or.

Wow, this video was incredibly refreshing. Subscribed!

The only words important to someone who buys a book because the ads said so are, "Stanley" and "steel".

“A Little life” being seen as a “smart book” is so horrific…… what is “smart” about a book with no plot that is just gay torture porn………

“A Little life” being seen as a “smart book” is so horrific…… what is “smart” about a book with no plot that is just gay torture porn………

I’d much rather be a “hater” who thinks critically than some smoothbrained “liker” that gobbles up whatever romantasy book, superhero movie or poorly written Netflix series I’m being told to by my peers and people online.

I love being a hater. I love spreading negativity.

This is a topic that's close to my heart not for books specifically, but for video games and to some extent to content in general, and I have to say I appreciate your passion and conviction. It's something I've wished I had better ways of articulating for years, now, so it's nice to see someone actually do so in a way that I so fundamentally agree with. I also extra appreciate that you took some time to have a go at that "cant you let people enjoy things" cliché. I hate that phrase, it's like (even here on CZcams you see it a lot) you can't even comment on some creators videos in ways thats aren't like.... "reddit approved copypasta" comments without people attacking you for "ruining other people's fun" - as though what I think about something affects their ability to enjoy things, somehow. And yet time and time again the same handful of "cAn wE aLl TaKe a MoMenT tO aPpReCiAtE...", "i dont know what this is but i love it", "whos watching in 2024?" inane, nothing comments get rocketed to the top of the page by sometimes literally tens of thousands of votes. It's actually mind blowing. Anyway, great rant. I'm 100% with you. People need to stop being so lazy with how they consume content, and need to be more discerning and critical of what they choose to support because the quality of future literature (and therefore communication) is ultimately at stake - Power to the haters! 💪

Fourth Wing encapsulates "We can begin the book confidently, knowing the enemies will turn into lovers and the fake dating will turn into real dating - all will be tied up with a neat bow” to perfection. I read it online after seeing a bunch of hate on it with no other context. As soon as the dark, brooding and potentially murderous Xaden shows up, I knew he was the love interest. Just like Divergent with Four. It's like the author inserts their own type and runs with it instead of creating a reasonable situation and perspective for the world in which the story takes place.

I absolutely HATE spicy books. The first book I bought with my money was ''Beach Read'' by Emily Henry. Y'all, I was unsure whether to buy it or not, but it was one of the few books that called my attention. I even asked the clerk ''Is it age APPROPIATE?'' and she was like, "Ummm....yea....''. I should've KNOWN it was NOT. I liked romance books before, but that book TURNED OFF any romance for me. I should've bought ''The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo". ;-; Worst thing is that my guy friend gifted me ANOTHER EMILY HENRY BOOK on Christmas. LMAO. It's probably gathering dust right now on the bookshelf, but I am really trying to make progress in reading it once in a while.

Can we talk about how the newspaper she showed literally had everything written she had said in the video before then?! Truly a masterpiece of a video!

This is the most genuine, thorough, and interesting video essay I've watched in a long while. Thanks for this :)

this is perhaps the most important video i've seen in years

I'm probably gonna get sht on for even mentioning this in a space of physical book readers, but I feel like "let people enjoy things" and "if you don't like it, just don't read it" only applies to fanfiction, as those people don't capitalize off of their readers (except for wattpad I guess)

YESSS I love being a hater! I've been trying to put into words why I haaate the current iteration of 'tropes' and you hit the nail on the head. My friend once described the popular book tok books as the 'junk food' of literature; great in small quantities but easily bingeable, incredibly satisfying at the time, but leaving you a bit empty and unfulfilled soon after. I tend to get bogged down in how much i want to be a 'reader' that I go for quantity over quality, but I am inspired to actually be more discerning and read books that will challenge me! Let's goooooo!

thank you for this great video. i’m always telling myself i ought to read more but never end up doing it. this reminder of how my ability to read at a high level and engage with the ideas in front of me reminds me how lucky i am and the privilege i hold in being able to expand my mind in the comfort of my own home. i now work at a cafe attached to a library (which i have a card to!) so i have no excuse, i will go check something out :)

perfect to listen to while playing roblox

Random but related point: we should pirate books illegally. It fights against the rapid consumerism AND also does not encourage the soulless publishing industry! Well, providing that you can stand to read books digitally in the first place.

It's funny how i prefer no spice in my books now that i'm an adult. Whereas when i was younger, that is all i was looking for😂

I don't belive the act of reading should only be in the pursuit of knowlage but that does not mean i want people to be ignorant. I myself read a lot of fanfiction which often has similar elements to boktok books. It's trash tv but in book form and i think that people should be able to enjoy that but it's also imprtant to undersatnd that thats the kind of thing you are reading.

Sounds like the stuff that killed video games and cinema. Making low brow, recognizable stuff that is prescision designed to only make money. All the star wars, ubisofts, marvels, call of duties, 80s franchise reboots or bethesda games Doesn't even matter that they're all variations of the same original thing or even well made. If it sells and you don't like it, you're a gatekeeper.

yall haters be mean af

during my brief stints being an assistant lecturer at a few english lit courses this definitely hit everything i’ve been saying. i remember talking to the professor after my first lecture, he told me people used to not take english lit courses because they didn’t think a degree could validate them, now people almost only take the course so they can get validation despite lacking a sense of literary understanding. neither extreme is good, but the fact we only move in extremes is frightening.

Here’s my argument against Booktok from a capitalist perspective. Books (usually) are not cheap, they’re also an investment of time and effort. Why buy a book that’s thinly veiled pron when you can get the actual thing and get more bang for your buck? Additionally, critics are a consumer’s best friend. They’ll tell you all you need to know about product, and you’ll have enough information to know if it’s worth your time or not.

I too like hating things, go on funny woman...say more.

I hate things worth being hated, and yet I am wrong for it.

you are incredible! I’ve been so sad about the state of media/art criticism especially in the younger generation but you’re giving me hope. If you have any books you’d read while camping let me know!

As someone that only reads horror and grimdark stuff, these books scare me and repulse me more than any of the stuff I normally read lol.

I'm not a hater, but ill hate on booktok

This video made me remember why I chose to take so many AP and Honors classes in high school, and why I am an English major in college, and why I deleted all my socials in anger of what you discuss here. Everything is as deep as you are willing to explore. Critical consumption is the responsibility of all people who live in a consumer-driven society. Amazing video.

you criticize a book according to your set of values. people like the book, what can you do about it? their values don't necessarily have to align with it to like it, they might be even blind to it, as long as they are entertained. people go to McDonalds. and eat unhealthy fast food. and it fills them! you pointing out all the negative aspects (animal cruelty, use of pesticides, fat clogging up of their arteries), it all doesn't stop them from going to McDonalds and even enjoying the process of eating it. you say: but don't you want to enjoy a 5 star meal? it is so much better! true food! true taste!

When the intro is suspiciously similar to your life: Whose in my walls But yeah my dad me read as many murder mystery books as he could at age 3 and by 4th? Grade I was already reading books with 500+ pages and they don’t only take my books, they tear them.

girl please drop your Goodreads profile, I wanna see ur shelves so bad. great vid btw <3

Not only should criticism and being a hater be encouraged, we need to bring back the concept of a healthy dose of shame. Shaming deliberate, wilful, defiant ignorance. Call it out and make that person feel fucking embarrassed about it, because embarrassment is certainly one of many things that should be felt about the worryingly conservative and mindless direction that books and their availability is heading.

Capitalism failed everyone so, so dramatically. I'm not hating on these people, because it would be like hating on myself, and I recieve enough hate already. We all do that in one way or another, because society is an organism and we're all a part of it. This is not how healthy people function. This is a defence mechanism, escapism, clear as day. I'm not mad anymore, I'm just sad for us all.

"Romantasy" as a genre annoys the hell out of me. Partly because _fantasy_ isn't a genre, it's a _setting_ A Romantasy is just a Romance.

Can i have some book recomendations

As I grew into an insecure young teen, buying books on what’s popular was what I thought I needed to help fit into something. It was not until really last year I had to stop myself and think “this is not what I should be doing” in over spending on books. I’m slowing getting through my horde while also picking what books I am going to donate to my local library and school. I’m not one for going to libraries as I’m too nervous and I have always had anxiety about forgetting to bring the books on time (thanks library teacher), but if I am able to stock up more books so local people can access them then I am more than happy.

You did an incredible job with this video! I am inspired. Hello from another person in Atlanta, and keep up the good work!!

I think it’s very annoying that people get SO caught up in what others are reading. As long as it doesn’t effect you, you should leave the person alone. I always look at booktwt & booktok with a side eye cause the majority of the problems yall talk about is self inflicted.

LOVEEEE THIS VIDEO!! One thing I think would really elevate your videos would be doing less quotes/paraphrasing more. I LOVED hearing you talk about your opinions, and the amount of quotes gets in the way a bit. A lot of the quotes just repeat a point you already made very well, anyway :) awesome job!!!!

Beautiful

man i would love to see a comparative analysis of early 2020s booktok with the early to mid 2010s 'booktube' and 'bookblr'. Those YA novels weren't fantastic either, but its seems to me that the people who didn't have a reading phase back then got into spicy booktoks in their 20s

This “let people enjoy things” attitude feels a lot like the “of course it’s bad; it’s for children” defense. Even escapist entertainment can be better or worse. And even if you only want to read YA fantasy, you should still be free to talk about it on a level above “did you read [title] too? Omg, wasn’t it great?”

I think this trend of consumption is ultimately a symptom of late stage capitalism on readers. If things dont change I expect the american literary environment to reflect alot of the traits we see in Japan today. Japan is by far the most hyper-capitalistic country, putting extreme pressure on peoples ability to work and produce and constantly reinforcing restrictive and conservative cultural values. Alot of people criticize manga for lacking subtext, but there is a real reason for it. After an 80 hour work week, capitalist burnout doesnt leave room for subtext. Reading and understanding subtext requires active engagement, and most people dont want to use their brain after over exerting themselves at work- so readers then gravitate towards work which doesnt challenge them and stimulates their most basic human impulses, such as porn and gore. That last part is especially concerning as over consumption of porn and gore is a defining trait of sociopaths and psychopaths. As americans get shuttled down the hyper capitalist pipeline, more and more people are turning off their brains and filling it with non-critical stimulation.

very well articulated. disagreed with a few points but they were all very minor. also, the first several minutes made me tear up for reasons i imagine i will have to take a long time to unpack. excellent video, subscribed.

For the longest time, I never knew was book tok was. I just would go to Barnes and Noble and find my next book based off what looked good to me, or what friends recommended. I wasn't much part of any book reading community, so I didn't know what was popular. Then I saw the section for "popular on book tok" for the first time. I thought, "hey! If people on tik tok love it, maybe there's some merit behind it!" And I was wrong. They were all just... Bad? I say that with a ? because *most* weren't absolute 1/5s, but I definitely did not understand the hype. They all just felt generic and bland. Like I had read the same synopsis 5 times before already on other shelves. Then I realized, after watching some book tok clips, that these books were popular for exactly that. They were all spicy, often smut, female led (nothing wrong with that. But man, can we get one fantasy romance from a male perspective?), with an enemies to lovers romance. And for a guy like me, who enjoys a reserved, slow burn romance (as in, holding hands is a big deal, let alone a hug. Don't even get started on a kiss), there was nothing on book tok that impressed me. I still remember a friend of mind raving about Fourth Wing. I asked her to describe it for me and she went on about a lot of interesting plot points, so I was intrigued. But then she told me it wouldn't be for me, and that "it wasn't actually good." I didn't know what she meant until I opened a couple pages at Costco. My friend enjoyed the book, but recognized it wasn't good from a critical perspective. It shocked me to see that her mindset was not shared at all by book tok. For a while I had thought that I was crazy and that how I approached books just wasn't correct. Thank God I found this video and learned that there are others like me.

2:50 The beginning of a truly interesting Villain Arc.

I agree with you, but we need to also consider these people are mostly teens. You know what I read as a teen? Fanfic that was poorly written, overly dramatic and easy romance novels/supernatural novels. What I read now? A bit of everything. The difference is that I wasn't sharing everything online for strangers to judge. I was allowed to be dumb all by lonesome. So, maybe the problem here is the overexposition of your children/adults to the internet and for strangers to judge them?

Ignorance is killing creativity.