The BookTok Apocalypse

Wattpad walked so these grown-ass women could sprint to Barnes & Noble.

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It’s a rare that I finish a book and think “Damn…that was good.”

Most books are fine. You read them, finish them, and forget all about them.

I need something that’s gonna change my life, my way of thinking. Naturally, I turn to the Internet. Specifically, I turn to the girls.

Let’s see what TikTok is reading!

And that’s when I’m hit in the face with the freakiest shit I’ve ever seen. Y’all are some freaks. And not the good kind.

Let’s talk about the decline of taste.

I genuinely blame the No Child Left Behind Act. You’re a grown adult woman approaching 30 and the first book you pick up at a bookstore is written by Colleen Hoover. You walk over to fantasy and grab a book by Sarah J. Maas. Next, romance and grab the newest Tessa Bailey and then you walk to the front counter and hand the books to me to check you out and then ask me if I’ve ever read it. No, I haven’t because I have taste and I’m not 13. Y’all were not real readers when you were kids. You weren’t reading Harry Potter, Twilight or The Hunger Games and you for damn sure didn’t have a library card. If you did you would have read it on Wattpad like I did in 2012.

Why is this so popular with women? Romantic comedies I can understand because men like that do not exist and I’m something of a daydreamer myself, but what is the appeal of poorly written fantasy novels about women having sex with wolves and demons? I thought these Sarah J. Maas books were about dragons or something and instead it’s smut!! I feel so lied to😔

Romantic comedies have even been on a steady decline as of late. There’s simply no chemistry, the intimacy is so lackluster (*cough* Anyone But You.) A lot of media is created with the male consumer in mind, hence the popularity of “the female gaze.” A lot of women are tired of media being so obviously catered to men. For example, The Idol could have been a show that explored the exploitation of female artists at the hands of the entertainment industry and other shadowy figures. Instead, HBO gave Sam Levinson and The Weeknd millions of dollars to make something so pornographic. Girls on HBO is probably my favorite depiction of sex, relationships and being a 20-something. Shit is awkward and it’s weird. These “romance” novels are written as how a lot of men view sex, which is something that is done TO women and not with.

In the end, it’s just very fascinating to see something I used to find so embarrassing become so mainstream. Ten years ago, you had to be on the Internet to even know what Wattpad was and now it’s on a shelf at Barnes and Noble. Y’all talking to me about a “grumpy x sunshine” trope and you’re 36. You need to ask your husband to spend some time with you when he gets home from work. Truthfully, I think it’s a bummer that women have had to find some comfort in such shitty books. I read them at 13 because my life experience was pretty minimal and I thought maybe that’s how life would be. As I approach 25, I realize that’s not the case. Real relationships are complex and scary. Maybe there’s some comfort in knowing a female character with all the traits you dislike about yourself is found worthy by a conventionally attractive male character. At least that’s what my reasoning was when I was 13. It’s also why my favorite romantic comedy is Love and Other Drugs.

There’s much left to consider as a person that minored in Sociology in college. Why do we do what we do? Consume the media that we consume? Who knows.