tiktok!!
what was supposed to be a quick lowkey discussion video turned into a 40 minute long breakdown of readers on tiktok, booktok, identifying as a reader and tackling the common criticisms of booktok. oops.
hope you enjoy 🙂
“Reading is different now” by @merphynapier42 : https://youtu.be/JwboZxdow4E
“You don’t need to rebrand” by @NicoleRafiee : https://youtu.be/M6auj-VWoeM
00:00 intro
3:42 ‘tiktok only recommends the same books’
7:41 ‘Reader’ as an identity
14:10 potential pitfalls of identifying with your hobby
19:08 reading as an *aesthetic*
28:59 books as part of your # personal brand
33:37 the REAL problem
🌼 s o c i a l m e d i a
• goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23388825-leonie-dams
• twitter: @thebookleo
• instagram: @thebookleo
• business enquiries: thebookleo.business@gmail.com
🌺 a b o u t m e
Hi! My name is Leonie and I am a 25 year old who loves talking about books! From YA to non-fiction to classics, I read it all (although fantasy will always be my fave). I live in the Netherlands and go to university, but make booktube videos in my spare time 🙂
🌹 m u s i c
Music, art, and video by Jokabi
▸ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXIV…
▸ https://twitter.com/jokabibeats
▸ https://instagram.com/jokabi.beats
▸ https://open.spotify.com/artist/7F93s…
Download / Stream Lost Woods
▸ http://smarturl.it/LostWoodsJokabi
—
Music Credit: Dj Quads
Track Name: “This Time Of The Year”
Music By: Dj Quads @
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbUNPWEZjSzhWRTJHMjE3bUhMdTVoRnNDbFFCQXxBQ3Jtc0tsWlhCV05NcjFaU3lQeU84QUtIT1JaWUJ4TTNfVnVmNHRMWGhmRDRDVmRvOWRVb25SQTVGMGZyV0I4ck5LMlk0eHhHZnAwRHZkMUxIeWpVOVFuaFgweUhxOUNWQ2RBMmxObUxwLUx5MnJlVW1WckEyOA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Faka-dj-quads&v=t1jVC1kKw_g
Original upload HERE –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDmRaQAQDuM&t=0s
– SoundCloud Release HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFJ6TGQwZnJiWVJGX2VYVlhxOERCVEw1bDVVd3xBQ3Jtc0trRlpDS3dKU2RzcnhNNnRBZkJRRkJVYjF1dWlTRnlBV2c1SDMxMHRZQmVPVWxXc2oxbEEtVEFtRGJWSl91el9va2dmNTI1ODIzU29EUjRxQ210YTNENDMtLTlxNlZkU0dYZ3drM29UZ3did1NlRFZwZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Faka-dj-quads%2Fthis-time-of-the-year&v=t1jVC1kKw_g
• Music promoted by NCM:
https://goo.gl/fh3rEJ
Welcome back to another episode of ‘Leonie over-analyses the internet’
Edit: Yes, the audio in this video is a little fuzzy, sorry! Should be fixed in my next videos 🙂
when i watch your videos i feel like yes, i can read 200 books in the span of two weeks
Ah! Can’t wait to watch. I love how intelligent and concise yet understandable you are in these kinds of videos. <3
I really like this video idea! I’ve heard booktok criticism here and there, but have never really seen anyone actually address it. On another note, have you by chance read the book “The Sword of Kaigen”? I recently finished it and found it to be a really awesome book and a fun yet dark read.
Yessss, a 40 minutes Leonie video was everything I needed today ❤️
Have you thought about starting a podcast? you are the only one in the Booktube community who makes videos like this. I love Sundays just because I know your video is coming
So interesting! I love this topic as someone new to booktok but has been a “reader” since childhood. I am seeing a new trend in book influencers being real about unhauls and talking about how they don’t even know why they have some books on their shelves. Deinfluencing is the influencing trend this year ironically
I didn’t even realize this video was 40 minutes. You spoke so eloquently. Love this conversation.
As someone who has watched booktube since early 2013, it’s so funny to me how all these ‘booktok criticisms’ are all topics that booktube community discusses like every 6 months. The buying way too many books, buying multiple copies, recommending the same authors, the stress of having a perfect shelf and lightning, the question of “are you a reader if you only read a certain genre, aka YA/romance”, etc. It’s all so old to me. However, I really enjoyed your video. You always make these ‘dissertation’ videos so fun to watch 🙂
Thought this was an old video, turns out it was posted 45 min ago lol. I started reading again in the past two years as a way to get away from tictok. I realized the barrage of mediocre, very short content was affecting my mental health. So in a way tictok did make me read more
Honestly I love to read and I love reading content, but I’m sure that just like me the vast majority of people doesn’t even have TikTok installed in their phones.
the funny thing about the intro article is that book collectors have always been into aesthetic over reading. That’s why perfectly preserved 1700s first editions sell for thousands but can lose value if they aren’t in pristine condition.
This isn’t a new thing, it’s a trend that comes and goes in mainstream popularity, but there are always people who want to appear like readers without actually reading lol
I think teens identifying as readers is great! Sure, some of the popular picks may seem a little cringe… but every book worm can probably look back and go “Man, I can’t believe I used to like that!” or “Well, I still kinda like that for the nostalgia, but…” So judge the books, if you must*, but don’t judge the readers!
* I must. I can’t help myself. Even the books I love I have a few things to complain about.
Kids getting into reading need to start somewhere right? I def didn’t start reading Tolstoy (my fav author) at 12 years old, I started by reading the Twilight series! The journey itself as a reader is precious. I do kind of giggle when I see tiktoks of someone annotating The Love Hypothesis but who am I to judge lol 😅 At the end of the day if tiktok inspires young people to read even just 1 book a year then I’m all for it, no matter the type of books.
Personally, I feel like anything that encourages people to pick up books is a good thing whether I choose to partake or not. You and others, Leonie, have made me enjoy reading and discussing books again. For that I thank you!
As someone WELL past their teen years and a lifelong “reader”, imo book lovers have always had something of their own aesthetic. Books and reading have always been associated with certain aesthetics like coziness, academia, etc. Plus, hardcore readers just naturally tend to gravitate towards aesthetics that reflect what we love to read, right? For example, I particularly love historical fiction, fairytales and beautiful children’s lit art, so my home decor style is very Victorian cottage. To me, it just seems very logical that the aesthetics tend to “match” with the books.
On the note of overconsumption, I feel as if something that booktok kinda “sleeps on” is buying books used. As someone who works in a thrift store, you would not believe how many books we throw out every day. There are ways to consume and keep on buying books, but not promote waste. Like buy overstock copies, things from local thrift shops, from your library, from local bookstores, etc. Just be mindful!
I will say booktok/booktube got me back into reading, but I do understand how it promotes over-consumption. I think that tracking how much money I saved by reading library books instead of buying them has helped me fight against buying too many books. There is no way I could afford 15 new books a month if I didn’t rent 90% of them.
Ok I had to share this silly little tidbit about the passage you read from The Great Gatsby. When I read this in school my teacher shared that apparently rich people would buy blank books to put on the shelves. Like the name was on the cover but nothing was inside. They were like a status symbol saying “look at how smart I am! I have all these books!” While simultaneously saying “look at how much money I have that I can buy all these books and never read them and use them as decorations”. I just thought that was an interesting little addition to the point you were making