\u201cDon\u2019t judge a book by its cover.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lesson instilled in us early, meant to teach us not to jump to conclusions. Yet, on BookTok, books are judged not just by their covers, but by how they make you feel. A single video saying that a book will \u201cemotionally destroy you\u201d or \u201cheal your inner child\u201d can catapult it to the top of the best sellers list. These aren\u2019t just reviews\u2014they\u2019re emotional endorsements that are changing the way we read.<\/p>\n
\u201cBookTok\u201d is a side of TikTok catering to book lovers and avid readers that has gained increasing popularity post\u2013pandemic. It has revolutionized the publishing industry<\/a> by increasing print sales by 9% to a record 825 million<\/a> books in its first year of popularity on the platform, as well as bringing more new authors into the spotlight. However, a less talked about part of BookTok is how a reader\u2019s emotional reactions to books are centered in how they are discussed: \u201cI cried for DAYS,\u201d \u201cthese five books had my jaw on the floor,\u201d \u201cbooks that remind us we are deeply human.\u201d These are more than dramatic captions; they set expectations and make promises. They promote an idea of what someone should feel before beginning a novel, creating a community based on the emotional experience of reading popular books.<\/p>\n One of the most prominent examples of this is A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. The novel is often recommended with disclaimers like, \u201cdo NOT read this unless you want to sob uncontrollably,\u201d or \u201cI will never recover from this book.\u201d On BookTok, readers discussing this novel often record themselves crying, staring blankly at the wall, or covering their mouths in reaction to the story, accompanied by sad music playing in the background.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reading the book, seems to demand a certain level of mental preparation after given the countless TikToks and an extensive list of its trigger warnings. The novel follows Jude, a litigator in New York City who keeps his past hidden from his friends, as he deals with companionship, pain, and complex trauma. Its popularity on BookTok has less to do with its literary complexity and more to do with the raw emotion that the story evokes. Indeed, Jude\u2019s story and Yanagihara\u2019s writing linger in the mind long after reading, leaving behind a haunting sense of emptiness and grief. In this space, it\u2019s not just a story, but a collective experience\u2014a shared emotional journey taken by those who choose to pick up the book. To read it is to belong to a sort of informal club, where the sadness and grief felt from the story create a sense of community.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n