#Booktokers

[multi-fandom-lunatic]

I think the thing about book boyfriends and booktok is that fiction draws from real life. A male character coming up with a nickname for a woman he's just met and never calling her by her real name, being toxic, not communicating properly and getting possessive isn't someone that many women would choose to be their partner. "It's a fantasy!" booktok fans of this cry. "It's just fiction!" Well, I don't see them condemning these actions. I also don't see them saying that women should be able to choose someone who is kind. "He's a bad boy, people love bad boys!" maybe on booktok. In an era where misogynistic men whine about 'male loneliness' and 'friendzoning' as a way to get women to enter relationships with them and force them to do emotional labour, I don't think it's good to constantly see the same type of cis men be idealised and romanticised.

100% agree. I absolutely hate it when the toxic behaviour of (usually) cis straight white men get excused because "it's just fiction!". It's blatant anti intellectualism, since because of Booktok, people simply refuse to engage critically with books. It's very troubling.

It also highlights the number of people willing to ignore toxicity because a dude is conventionally attractive. So much is forgiven and excused in the name of being "morally grey" that the word has been diluted to mean "hot asshole with a sad backstory".

It's escapism. And the kind of delusional escapism that makes anti-Booktokkers look at them and ask what the fuck is going on. Clearly, Bootok users are in a position where they can afford to dream about toxic men because they haven't actually met any of them/recognised them as toxic. This signals to toxic dudes that the behaviour is okay and acceptable and it continues to thrive instead of being shut down.

Real life bleeds into writing. You can't make art without a perspective and even existing and being alive means that there is perspective. So when these toxic tropes and excuses are created, the question we should be asking is "why are people creating/idolising it?". So far, my answer has been simply that Booktokkers generally don't know what a healthy relationship looks like. People joke that Booktok is makes people delusional but it's more than just delusions. It's glorification and along with it, tolerance. And when tolerance is given to misogynists, it just tells them their behaviour is okay and breeds more behaviour like it.

In truth, the book boyfriends that seem to be the gold standard are closer to Andrew Tate and his pack of alpha male idiots. Truly, I fear for Booktokkers when reality comes crashing down on them. But I fear more for their "gold standard" to become the reality.

Thanks for the ask, as always. Book boyfriends and anti intellectualism is a very interesting conversation, and I love digging deep into it.

[animentality]

kicking a hornets nest.

[writtenroses1813]

I’m so sorry but in the nicest way possible do yall actually read books or just read words??? Cause I’ve been seeing that trend of people not understanding how “snarled” and “eyes darkened” and “eyes softened” etc. was used in a book and like…

Genuinely, do yall just not have imagination?? Or not understand figurative language??? Also eyes do literally darken and soften have you not lived a life??? How do you read with no imagination? Is this how you get through so many books in one month - you simply don’t take the time the understand the words as they are read?

[azure-arsonist]

Our fandom forbearers did NOT suffer through Anne Rice, strikethrough, and other bullshit for fucking ACOTAR and Harry Potter fans to fucking ruin it for all of us by selling fanfiction. I am not losing novel length yaoi epics because some of you don't know how to act in fannish spaces and yes I do blame the booktokification of fanfic but I also blame those of you that treat fandom like content to consume and not a community to engage with.

[foxglovedforest]

AND THEY’RE FUCKING CORRECT

[geekpopnews]

TikTok para falar sobre literatura: O fenômeno dos Booktokers

Entenda o fenômeno dos booktokers. Quem são os criadores de conteúdo sobre literatura e do que eles falam. Comunidades com leitores e críticos de literários vêm se tornando cada vez mais comum no TikTok. #Booktokers #TikTok

Courtney Henning Novak ficou conhecida após postar no TikTok o quanto gostou de Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, de Machado de Assis. A escritora e podcaster americana tem mais de 50 mil seguidores na rede social. Ela é um exemplo entre vários influenciadores que usam a rede social para comentar sobre literatura, os famosos Booktokers. Os BookTokers são os criadores de conteúdo do TikTok,…

[sugas6thtooth]

Remember Hind. Remember Reem. Remember all the little boys and girls who are more than mere numbers. They are dreams, humanity's innocence, and most importantly they are not to be forgotten.

[fictionalaffection]

you talk like a book.

[swordandstars]

Friends!

Are you feeling hopeless in the face of the oncoming MAGA-pocalypse? Want to do something fast, easy, and free that will make a difference?

If you're in Michigan, keep reading! If you're not, signal boost this to your Mitten State Mutuals!

Michiganders, it's time to contact your state reps and tell them to vote YES on HB 6034 and HB 6035. Together, these two bills comprise the Freedom to Read Act and they severely limit the ability of assholes to ban books in the state of Michigan.

Want to read the bills for yourself? Click here:

https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Search/ExecuteSearch?sessions=2023-2024&docTypes=House%20Bill,Senate%20Bill&contentFullText=%22freedom%20to%20read%22

Tl;dr? Here's an article and video summarizing the Act from CBS News:

Not sure how to contact your Michigan state representatives? Text RESIST to 50409 and Resistbot will walk you through it.

It's easy, it takes about 5 minutes, and you can do it from your couch/bed/puddle of despair.

Tips for contacting elected officials:

1) If you're asking them to vote YES or NO on something, say that in the first line. Bonus points if you can tag the actual bill (HB/House Bill) number.

2) Only include ONE issue per communication.

3) 1&2 are because these are being skimmed by interns who keep a running tally of what each communication is about. One communication = one point.

3a) Don't be a dick to the interns. Their lives are hard enough.

4) Keep it short. One sentence very clearly stating what you want. One or two sentences about why they should care about what you want ("As a resident of your district, I know you agree that SOMETHING SOMETHING FREEDOM, SOMETHING SOMETHING LIBERTY, SOMETHING SOMETHING THINK OF THE CHILDREN.") Appeal to the person they claim to be in their campaign ads. Get it, give them clear instructions, get out.

5) No profanity.

6) No threats.

7) No memes/ slang/ sarcasm/ lols. You are cosplaying as someone who thinks salt is too spicy and whose greatest joy in life is sorting their collection of plain white socks.

8) 5, 6, & 7 are because anything you communicate to an elected official will become a matter of public record. It goes into a file. And if anyone ever pulls that file, you want to be on record as the most boring, conscientious, polite, non-threatening motherfucker who ever lived.

Now go forth and make your voice heard!

(Hey @unpretty and @official-michigan-posts, can you help get the word out?)

[podddcasttt]

Friendly reminder that if you talk about how representation is important and how there's not enough diverse media, I implore you to seek out the media that already exists. And if you live in an area with a public library, go to see if they're available at your public library. And then go check them out.

As a librarian, it is demoralizing to see how low the circulation statistics are on lgbt+ books and books by BIPOC authors. I include them in displays and readers advisory, but people still don't check them out as much. Libraries only have a finite amount of resources, including space. We don't get a book then keep it forever. If not enough people check it out, we have to get rid of it to make room for more books. And when James Patterson Book #69 gets checked out 30 times in one year and cool, subversive Sci fi novel with a Black trans woman main character has never been checked out once, the librarian (me) has to make a hard decision.

If you're looking for something tangible and easy to do this pride month, look for lgbt+ books (there are millions of lists online that you can find. It's easier than it's ever been to find diverse books) and check them out from your library.

No time to read? Look for a short story or poetry anthology and just read as much as you have time for. Or just check out a book cus it looks interesting and read as much as you can. We have movies too.

As cool as it would be for me to just keep the books I want and get rid of the ones I don't, I have to listen to the community on matters of collection development. And the community tells me what books they want by checking them out and leaving the ones they don't want on the shelf.

If you think this doesn't apply to you because you live in a progressive area and obviously the books are being checked out, you're wrong. I once worked in a community with a large lgbt population. Those books were not getting checked out. If you want to tell me you live in a conservative area and your library doesn't have any diverse books, you are legally obligated to check the catalog before replying to this post. I currently work in a conservative community and we have lgbt+ and bipoc books. And if you still cannot find any, you are legally obligated to see if your library has a collection request form that patrons can fill out before replying to this post.

[animentality]

[fruit-teeth]

Me: maybe I’m not cut out to be a writer…idk what if I’m not good enough

BookTok romance writers: ‘what if you were just a normal school teacher…but the MINOTAUR wanted to get you PREGNANT’

[destructive-critic1sm]

So we all know that this Olympics has been hilariously fruity BUT it’s also been the most romcom-y thing everrrr

Like we had the adorable letter from the man who lost his ring in the river

Then we had the proposals and that pole vaulter (no not that one) run up to his gf after breaking a record

AND THEN we had the tennis team who broke up but competed doubles anyway and KISSED WHEN THEY WON?!?????

Idk who they hired to write the Olympics this year but they’re doing a great job! :)

[maiarosa]

[bloodybellycomb]

Both the hunger games before and now the ballad of songbirds and snakes proves that the young adult genre can produce some genuinely good storytelling while also examining social issues without talking down to its audience, which makes the ungodly amount of popular bad ya novels all the more embarrassing.