The Good and the Bad of BookTok Recommendations
There’s no doubt that TikTok has made an impact on the book world. Step into any Barnes and Noble and the first thing you’ll see, right next to the New Paperbacks and Staff Recommendations, is a table dedicated to all the books you hear about on Tik Tok. Here’s an idea of what this table looks like: Normal People, The Secret History, and anywhere from three to five Colleen Hoover books (most notably It Ends with Us or Verity).
This summer, I took it upon myself to read some of the more popular books you come across on Book Tok as “masterpieces” to the community. And while some of these books didn’t blow me away, I can recognize each book for what it brings to the table. I am not the ultimate book critic, nor am I attempting to gatekeep reading in the way I have seen others on Tik Tok. Obviously, literature is in the eye of the beholder, and many of these books have amazing reviews on GoodReads and others have overwhelmingly bad reviews. Reading is subjective and perhaps one of the most important activities for your brain, whether that be Wattpad Harry Potter Fanfiction or Tostoy (both of which I adore).
Diary of an Oxygen Thief, Anonymous — Three Stars
I think there’s something to be said about an author publishing their name under a pseudonym. Charlotte Brontë, Steven King and many others wanted their personal identity to remain a secret while their authorship flourished. Many women disguised their feminine name in order for their book to be more respected in the misogynistic world of 20th century publishing. But for an author to simply publish their book under the name Anonymous adds a mysterious element that drew me (and the internet) towards it. The cover is bleak: a rake plunges through a creepy looking snowman, only adding to the mystery.
I had high hopes for this book, but for the first half, I contemplated ending my pain and mystery dozens of times. The narrator is simply insufferable. Why would I want to hear the tales of a twenty-something alcoholic man who uses his charm and wit to seduce and then hurt women. It all just felt like this all-too-familiar 21st century dating world filled with ego-trips and men claiming to be in their “Ernst Hemmingway era” (ick). I really didn’t think I would make it through all 147 pages, but I persisted.
The second half of the book chronicles this man moving to New York City and falling in love with a woman named Aisling who brutally emotionally manipulates him. Finally, I couldn’t put the book down. It felt like this personal account of betrayal and pain—everything this man put on to others—was a satisfying revenge. I even had to stop myself from pitying this man.
The writing itself matched the narrator's grim and passive actions. And as the story progresses you can see his once confident language crack with every scar Aisling left. I wanted, more than anything, to say that these last 70 pages brought the book together; that I had some ‘ah-ha’ moment like this man getting hurt was supposed to make up for all of his wrongs. But it didn’t. All I found in this book was a very accurate depiction of this new modern dating world centered around egotism and this unrealistic strive for perfection undoubtedly stemming from fictional characters, the horrible pornography industry, and social media.
If this book were written by a woman as sort of a satirical commentary on young impressionistic twenty-something year old men in today’s age of dating, then I would immediately award it 5 stars. But that’s the problem. Because the authorship is deemed Anonymous, I can’t help but think it’s truly a man venting about how he is a horrible person in some attempt to gain sympathy from his intrigued readers. Although this book made me angry and confused, I recommend reading it, because at the very least, it gives you a window into what appears to be the “modern day” man’s thoughts and even sheds a little light onto just how terrible some people choose to be.
The Secret History, Donna Tartt — Five Stars
When aesthetics first became a trend on TikTok, The Secret History always became associated with dark academia. Between flashing pictures of silhouettes running through dimly lit corridors and private school uniforms was this book. Now after reading it, I can see completely why. The whole premise of this book is about a secret society friend group of rich kids (or at least, kids pretending to be rich) at an elite college in the middle of nowhere Vermont. The cigarette smoking, corduroy-blazer wearing, ancient greek speaking characters perfectly summarize this idea of dark academia, and I loved every second of it.
Unlike Diary of an Oxygen Thief or many other books discussed on TikTok, The Secret History did not become popular because of its circulation on TikTok. The novel was published in 1992 and has sold millions of copies since that date. My friend even told me that it was required reading for her in high school. Thus, I don’t consider this a TikTok book, but rather, a book that feeds into BookTok and aesthetics that are widely romanticized on the app.
This book exceeded my expectations, far beyond what I assumed was a classic murder mystery centered around spolied rich kids who always seem to avoid repercussions. In fact, the main character’s humble background provided just the refreshing narration I needed after attempting to stomach Diary of an Oxygen Thief.
I read this book after finishing Anna Karenina to break my classics phase. I saw similar language between what we think of as classical books and The Secret History, mainly because I believe Tartt was striving for that intellectual prowess commonly acknowledged in classics. This truly was the first “modern-day” book that felt like literature. I found myself happily dissecting the plot and searching for symbolism even weeks after I finished. For the first time, I wanted to have an English Class discussion about why the characters acted irrationally or erratically.
Acts of Service, Lillian Fishman — Two Stars
I saw acts of service floating around the more controversial space of BookTok grouped with Bunny and The Virgin Suicides. I chose to read this book because it promised an intriguing narrator exploring her sexuality in New York City. And while that wasn’t a misleading premise, the delivery of such explorations turned me off of what I initially thought was an intellectual coming-to-terms with sex as a young adult. Instead, this book featured a narrator who spent half the book gushing over how amazing this mediocre man was at sex all while cheating on her girlfriend.
The new trend (it seems) in popular books on TikTok is this narrator who is all-around a bad person. Acts of Service is no exception. The main character, Eve, cheats on her girlfriend and (spoiler-alert) testifies on behalf of a man (Nathaniel) accused of work-place harassment. I’ll admit, I did enjoy following such a morally-controversial character through her sexual confusion, but I did not understand why Fishman had Eve almost possessed by Nathaniel to the point where she chose to support him in court even when she knew he, more likely then not, was guilty.
However, I do believe that this novel was an honest interpretation of exploring sexual urges because the very act of this exploration can be contraversial. The situations that Eve was put into, romantically, are experiences that many can relate to: the second guessing friends with benefits situationship, the infatuation, and the longing for something more. But even though this novel offered insight and a plot I have not yet found in the literary world, the main character’s decisions made the book somewhat unenjoyable.