The rise and continuing perseverance of BookTok has led to homogenous masses of near-identical novels. In this article, we are looking into the Tropeification of novels and asking ourselves: What does it mean to be a reader?
Tropes are useful tools in literature and beyond to help recognise patterns. Originally encompassing any kind of figurative or rhetorical devices such as similes or metaphors, today, tropes might be most commonly understood as over-used, easily-recognisable clichés. In digital spaces, they are most often associated with certain genres: romance, fantasy, or romantasy, a mix of the two. Stepping into a bookshop today means discovering that a list of tropes used in the novel is now a common addition to the blurb. Enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, second chance romance, grumpy x sunshine, single dad, small town romance, fake dating – the list goes on. Browsing the bookstore, at least in the BookTok-section, seems almost dystopian: tables upon tables overwhelmed with covers that all look like variations of the same book. Either pastels or jewel tones, two humanoid figures, often hugging or with their backs against each other, mostly a woman and a man, a vine or meander framing the two. Even the titles often follow the same building blocks. You know exactly what you are going to get. Exhausting, boring – or helpful?
The commercialisation and aestheticisation of reading has led to bookshops being filled with homogenous masses of recycled content, twisted slightly differently each time. That does not mean that these books are categorically bad or unenjoyable. Genres in itself have a formulaic element to them. You know that a fairy tale starts with “Once Upon a Time“, you know that fantasy novels often contain military elements, and you know that in most romances, there is a third-act break up. But when there are additional lists of tropes, imaginations of the characters on the cover, and allusions to other series, what is left to imagine? What gaps are there for your brain to fill? Do we still need to actually read the novel? Some would argue that this might be the point: you do not even have to read anymore – you can simply skim to fill your yearly reading goal.
Misogyny? In 2025? Groundbreaking.
The resurgence of reading on social media looks roughly the same: (mostly) young women are excited to finally read the books that all their friends or mutuals have told them to read for so long. They love it – or feel they have to – and read the next book of the series, because of course it is a series, and also start buying the accompanying accessories, like book carts, little dragon statues or other “bookish“ accessories so they themselves and their spaces can start to look the part, too. They are a reader now, after all. Many only read romance novels, often by questionable authors. Many claim to read a hundred books or more a year, competing with others who can read faster or more. They are part of a community now, easily able to connect with strangers because they all love the same books. The counter movement consists of „serious readers“ who only read underground indie authors, such as Dostoyevsky or Plath. They love to make fun of the Romantasy Girlies because they are just not as intellectual as them. A tale as old as time: making fun of women enjoying themselves. What should be perceived critically is the consumerism of it all.
Fearing that TikTok books are creating the downfall of the world as we know it is silly. Many of the books we think of as eloquent, literary classics today would have been considered trashy back then, as were novels at a time. Insisting that being a serious, intellectual reader means solely consuming hundreds of pages filled with tragedy and despair and that fluffy romance books are for peasants sounds like a weird take on the Ständeklausel. It should be painfully obvious that not every book you pick up has to change your life. Not every book you choose has to be a classic (and what is considered canonical is just a result of patriarchal white supremacy, anyway). A book does not have to be objectively good to be enjoyable. Read for knowledge, read for enjoyment, read because you want to. People who claim perceived intellectual superiority to diminish what you like are not as smart as they claim to be.
Take it analogue
So then why does it feel almost soul-crushing to see those walls of pastel covers? Because of the implications. Book culture on social media suggests that simply reading is not enough anymore, you have to fit the aesthetic now, too – with that comes the death of individuality and a perpetuation of consumerism. You want your books to fit the aesthetic, after all. Countless talented authors who work hard on their craft but might not fit the economic zeitgeist will never get a contract with a publishing house. An audience on social media, however, can get you this contract fairly easily – those books are guaranteed to be successful, no matter the quality of writing or originality of plot. Bestseller lists have never reflected what is good or who is deserving, just what is popular at the moment. But with the lucrative echo chamber that is BookTok having an effect on publishing, new releases, strategically constructed to remind people of that one book they like, often seem lazy and unappealing. So how can we prevent an uninspired reading culture?
Lose the aesthetic, take it analogue, diversify your reading (if you want to). There is a sweet, wholesome aspect to book culture on social media, or at least the beginnings of it. Wanting to share a hobby or a book you loved with other people is cute. Looking up book recommendations online is helpful, but in addition to that, you could ask someone you know if they loved a book recently – it is unlikely that they are recommending something with financial gain in mind. Start or join a book club, read books you have never heard of before, read anything you can. Read local authors, read authors from other countries, try a new genre. If it comforts you, read the same book for the rest of your life, or read twenty books that all have the same plot. Just keep in mind that you do not have to fit into a made up box if you do not want to. You do not have to stick to what you know if you do not enjoy it.
