Welcome to the final week of rom-com month at Fully Booked! In this episode, we’re continuing our ongoing discussions about romantic comedies and the romance genre to close out the summer months. We’re kicking things off by chatting about what books we each currently have sitting on our nightstands-Shirin is reading It Happened One Summer, a recent rom-com by bestselling author Tessa Bailey (very appropriate for this month). Meaghan meanwhile is about halfway through the delightfully campy memoir Yours Cruelly, Elvira by Cassandra Peterson, best known for creating the iconic horror hostess character of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
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Moving into the meat of the episode, we’re diving into a spirited discussion about the noticeable resurgence in popularity of romantic comedy books and movies thanks to the explosive rise of BookTok on TikTok. TikTok’s For You page algorithm and the prevalence of short-form viral videos have made it extraordinarily easy to find book recommendations, and the hype created causes it to spread quickly on the platform.
Last summer, Shirin found herself in a reading slump after getting bored plowing through dry textbooks and academic material. But then she discovered BookTok, fell down the rabbit hole, and ended up enthusiastically reading a whole trove of buzzy, heavily talked-about contemporary romance books over the summer months. Even major bookstore chains like Indigo in Canada have taken note of the trend, creating special in-store BookTok recommendation tables and displays to cater to the growing craze.
We have an in-depth discussion about how the romance genre, particularly romantic comedies, used to be seen as more of a taboo or guilty pleasure – something primarily women would only feel comfortable reading privately behind closed doors. But thanks to BookTok, these once “guilty pleasure” romance books are becoming much more mainstream.
On the whole, the female main characters in today’s rom-com books are written as stronger, more independent, and more well-rounded rather than incomplete damsels just waiting for a man to come complete them. However, we can also acknowledge many problematic and toxic tropes still remain prevalent in a lot of popular romance stories-thanks Twilight.
When beloved romance or rom-com books get adapted into major Hollywood movies, controversies and critical debates inevitably arise around things like casting choices, storylines, or toxic tropes being exposed to a much wider mainstream audience through film. Yet oftentimes the source books themselves tend to fly under the radar and avoid pre-emptive controversy or outrage of any kind.
Overall, we’re happy that BookTok is creating more buzz and excitement around reading in general, even if it means some authors are churning books out at a rapid pace to capitalize on trends. The upside is that lesser-known backlist titles or hidden gem books also get discovered and shared widely on social media.
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Honestly, we’re glad to see the lessening of stigma around the romance genre thanks to BookTok normalizing women unashamedly reading romantic stories for pleasure. While social media does have its downsides, platforms like BookTok also have value in helping worthwhile books spread quickly via word-of-mouth recommendations.
For avid readers and consumers, it makes discovering new books and authors easier than ever. We encourage everyone to read whatever specific genres make them happy, without shame or judgment. Fiction should entertain!
At the end of the day, we believe it’s a great thing that books are being talked about and read more, regardless of genre. The world can always use more readers. We hope this podcast episode provides some interesting food for thought and discussion around BookTok, rom-coms, and how social media trends shape the publishing industry. Please subscribe for more bookish conversations. Until next time, happy reading!
Enjoying this episode? Be sure to check out all of our coverage of the genre over at https://fully-booked.ca/. We’re a listener-supported podcast! Please consider pledging and helping Fully Booked to grow our library over at https://ko-fi.com/fullybooked, or by leaving us a 5-star rating and review wherever you’re listening. Thanks bookworms, and don’t forget to keep on reading.
