I have not heard of BookTok before. So I'll have to check it out before I could comment on it decently. I typically have four or five books I'm reading concurrently, usually fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry and a book on CD. So if I want to relax I might read something just for fun (like the Great Irish Tales of Horror I'm enjoying because it's October) or if I'm more energized take on something more challenging like the play Volpone by Ben Jonson. All candy and cookies all the time is likely not good for anyone.
I agree, reading different types of books is better as an all-round experience, and also because we’re not machines and are not always in the same emotional setting. I was never one to read multiple books simultaneously but this year, I’ve started doing it and am very glad I did.
I have mixed feelings on booktok. The prevalent feeling is happiness that more people are reading! Simply that. I also think that anyone can read whatever book they want and no one should judge or feel superior. However, I do think some books that are releasing fall into the booktok trap where they almost make sure to check the tropes off their list rather than write their story. Also, I have seen some toxicity, but everything has that!
Yes, I get the point of your frustration about the trope check-list trend but it’s my opinion that great books (or great art in general) is an expression of some of the writer’s deep feelings that they can’t express any other way. And if someone doesn’t have that, they simply won’t have any good story to offer. Whether they write check-list books or not, they were never going to write anything meaningful anyway.
I have not heard of BookTok before. So I'll have to check it out before I could comment on it decently. I typically have four or five books I'm reading concurrently, usually fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry and a book on CD. So if I want to relax I might read something just for fun (like the Great Irish Tales of Horror I'm enjoying because it's October) or if I'm more energized take on something more challenging like the play Volpone by Ben Jonson. All candy and cookies all the time is likely not good for anyone.
I agree, reading different types of books is better as an all-round experience, and also because we’re not machines and are not always in the same emotional setting. I was never one to read multiple books simultaneously but this year, I’ve started doing it and am very glad I did.
I have mixed feelings on booktok. The prevalent feeling is happiness that more people are reading! Simply that. I also think that anyone can read whatever book they want and no one should judge or feel superior. However, I do think some books that are releasing fall into the booktok trap where they almost make sure to check the tropes off their list rather than write their story. Also, I have seen some toxicity, but everything has that!
Yes, I get the point of your frustration about the trope check-list trend but it’s my opinion that great books (or great art in general) is an expression of some of the writer’s deep feelings that they can’t express any other way. And if someone doesn’t have that, they simply won’t have any good story to offer. Whether they write check-list books or not, they were never going to write anything meaningful anyway.