Being literate is sexy.
This big booming renaissance of reading isn’t as new as many of us would think. It’s been about ten years in the making. Some may say it started on Tumblr because of the poetic freedom the app offered, others say it was the Facebook captions containing book quotes under hipster photos. Other birdies would say that it was thanks to the peak in popularity of academia core or a result of people following up on one of the Hadids’ newest accessories. The fact of the matter is we cannot pinpoint exactly what, when, or how… but reading is cool again!
Now, here we are, bombarded by Instagram reels and TikToks showcasing the next aesthetic book to have in your endless to-be-read list (which you do not touch…). There are even entire store aisles dedicated to BookTok recommendations. In hindsight, it’s such a bittersweet thing for me to think about, even though I do believe it’s definitely beneficial for this new generation to read and acquire creativity and healthy sources of escapism. Big pros to this influx of Booktok overload is the rediscovery of such great pieces that just seem to age exquisitely as the days and the years go by.
Emma Chamberlain once posted a video on Youtube titled “Reading is hot,” and what do people want to be? Hot, trendy, up to date, and fitting in. There’s a very thin line in the phenomenon between who’s here to post a photo of the book and who is intellectually competent enough to recognize that reading has never gone out of style; it’s always been here, fun, colorful, and fruitful.
Some are saying BookTok killed the joy of reading, but I believe it just broadened the horizons of so many people, opening doors that past generations didn’t have access to. Although the recommendations offered on the app aren’t the best sometimes, nor age appropriate for the target audience, that quite literally does not fall on the person that promotes the books, it falls on the person that buys them *side eye*…
It just takes one doom scroll through social media to stumble upon so many influencers that finally tell you what so many others have been screaming at the tops of their lungs for decades: reading is, in fact, cool! Books and the act of reading in current times has shifted the literary culture and have become an integral part of pop culture. Books are now even accessories. It’s astonishing really, how mere pieces of paper can bring out so much emotion and conversation. The act of reading in and of itself shows the wonders and beautiful capabilities of how brain muscles create and explore within the vicinity of our pretty heads.
My whole point here is that, as we grow, books and reading grow along with us, they help us present alternate realities, mirrors to our psyche, through fiction, autobiographical, self-help books… the list goes eternally on. I know learning what your yum is can be tedious, what with such vast varieties, but you might surprise yourself along the way of exploring and experimenting. Don’t knock it till you try it, baby.
P.S. These are some of my recommendations to actually get into reading! Some are more rocky and raw, but they’re so so worth the read as a literature major.
1.House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (Beginner Friendly!)
2. The Giver by Lois Lowry (Immersive, Quick, also Beginner Friendly, AND Fiction)
3. Persuasion by Jane Austen (It’s Austen…duh)
4. Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel García Márquez (A CLASSIC)
5. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai (my favorite book of all time)