Literary Elitism in the Age of BookTok

Image Courtesy: WHNT News 19

Let’s address the elephant in the room – literary elitism. I have succumbed to the shame of it more times than I can count, when faced with the pressing question of  “what are you currently reading?” or even, “what is your favorite book?” It is hard to resist the temptation of spewing out some revered title like War and Peace or Jane Eyre when in reality it might be a romance novel by Emily Henry that caught my eye on a trip to Target. 

I found myself in the world of “BookTok” for the first time in the summer of 2021. Since I began reading in the first grade, I have gone through periods of enthusiastically reading every book I could get my hands on, followed by months of a reading slump, but, overall, I would consider myself to be a reader at heart. It was TikTok’s niche of reading content that pushed me to make an impulse purchase on Amazon before I went on vacation, when I chose to purchase A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I was one of those kids who had a borderline embarrassing obsession with the Harry Potter books in the third grade – followed by a truly embarrassing obsession with The Hunger Games series in the sixth grade – which is why it should have come as no surprise when I finished A Court of Thorns and Roses in under 24 hours. I have always been a lover of fantasy and dystopian stories, but, while it seemed to be socially acceptable at the age of thirteen, it felt a bit shameful to say it out loud at the age of twenty three. I can still remember the sense of shame that I felt sitting in a beach chair with my book propped open for all to see. As someone who enjoys looking at what other beach goers are reading, there was an aspect of embarrassment that I had chosen a widely known fantasy book that involved fairies and more than a few romantic scenes. According to many of those on BookTok, this shame is rightfully earned because you are not choosing to read the classics or works that have been deemed “genius.”

Image Courtesy: Tik Tok

As crazy as this all sounds, there is a very real debate on the Internet about what actually counts as “reading,” and furthermore, what is actually considered to be educational and worth your time. I cannot begin to count how many times I have seen a BookTok influencer claim superior intellectual status because they do not read authors like Colleen Hoover or Sarah J Maas. Some have gone as far as to suggest that those who favor those authors are elementary level readers, who are “rotting their brains” by choosing lighter reads. Openly browsing the BookTok table at a bookstore now sparks a sense of shame. For the most part, BookTok is a source of reading inspiration and excitement. I cannot tell you how many of my new favorite reads I have discovered through the app. With this being said, these pretentious influencers, however few and far between they may be, manage to do an excellent job at planting that seed in my head.

Image Courtesy: Twitter

It is the thought of reading “English class” novels that were once forced upon us that pushes most away. I can say I fell prey to this preconceived notion. Now, I am proud to say that I am a firm believer that no genre of reading is “better” than another. If you like smutty romance, read smutty romance. It makes you just as intellectual as someone who reads Jane Austen in their free time. 
I am here to affirm my belief that all reading is reading. And yes, I do like many of the so-called cringy BookTok favorites. Let’s all learn to hold our books up proudly on train commutes or while lounging on a beach chair; the world of literature will be a better place for it.

Strike Out,

Elisabeth Olsen