Let’s address the elephant in the room: BookTok’s influence on publishing has been explosive. Every other week, there’s a new “you HAVE to read this” sensation that takes over our feeds. But here’s my controversial observation – many of these viral sensations follow the same formulaic pattern: spicy scenes, easily digestible writing, and plots that feel suspiciously similar to each other.
Take Fourth Wing – it exploded overnight, and yes, I devoured it like everyone else. But let’s be honest: is it groundbreaking literature, or are we just caught up in the hype machine? I’ve noticed that books with genuine literary merit often get buried under the avalanche of trending BookTok recommendations.
What’s your take – is BookTok democratizing reading by making it more accessible, or is it creating an echo chamber of mediocre content that publishers are now rushing to replicate?
