by Charlie Fabre
Immediately it may seem odd to critique the consumption of books: isn’t it good that people are reading? Shouldn’t people read more?
Yes! It is good people are reading and I will always advocate for literate communities and for people to pick up books of what ever genre, topic, and difficulty. Reading is good and beautiful and the best!
But, in the past year, perhaps even longer, I, and others, have noticed a trend towards what some have called the ‘fast fashion-ification’ of books. While on the surface this boom in book sales and this turn towards reading seems like a good thing for publishing and authors and readers, I’d like to discuss why this trend could become detrimental.
What is the ‘fast fashion-ification’ of books?
To keep it simple, the ‘fast fashion-ification’ of books refers to a growing practice in publishing which is driven by social media trends and demand, and results in the very quick and high production of low-quality books just to keep up – much like how the fast fashion industry operates.
By low-quality books I mean books that perhaps lack editing and did not get the proper care because of rushed schedules, books that don’t deliver on their premise, or books where the plot and/or writing relies heavily on clichés and lacks originality. Books like these exist in all genres and in both ‘literary’ and ‘commercial’ spaces.
An example of books being churned out to match current trends includes the rise of the ‘enemies to lovers’ book. If you are a Fantasy/Romantasy reader and frequent this side of BookTok, you may have seen the rise in popularity of the ‘enemies to lovers’ trope and the sudden influx of Fantasy/Romantasy debuts which feature this trope. Of course, this isn’t a new dynamic and it has existed for a while, but there has been a recent boom in readership for this trope which the industry is now trying to match. I am not trying to suggest that every new Fantasy/Romantasy book which features the ‘enemies to lovers’ trope is bad; just that as a result of the popularity, certain publications may fall flat because the trope was shoe-horned in to fit the trend, or not executed in a satisfactory manner, etc.
This isn’t new by any means and the publishing industry has always followed trends. 2019-2021 saw a lot of Greek Mythology retellings through a feminist lens pop up, and 2021-2024 was filled with the ‘hot sad girl’ book phenomenon (which still exists but with variations now). Publishing is a business at the end of the day, so it makes sense to follow the zeitgeist and therefore follow the money.
But where it does become a problem is when the industry puts pressure on authors to write and release content at rapid and detrimental paces, and when readers end up consuming these books in quick succession without taking the time to properly engage with the material and approach the text critically. Over time, this has also led to a decline in literary standards facilitated by the intended quick consumption of new titles.
This isn’t to say that every book published within these trends is low-quality – obviously amazing books and amazing authors still exist and not every book is intended to become a Booker Prize winner -, and this isn’t to say that engaged and critical readers don’t still exist; but on the whole the way we write, publish, and consume literature has fundamentally changed.
Why is this happening?
The turn towards easy and quick to consume media can be seen in many different areas – like TikTok, for example. There is a proven effect that short form and easily accessible media has created an open-loop circuit of dopamine dependency, hence why we all engage in ‘doom-scrolling’. If I’m not hooked by a video in 0.1 seconds, I can scroll to the next, and the next, and the next, on an endless cycle. There’s no end to the media I can consume, which makes me incredibly picky about the media I do consume.
This is what is happening with books. Reading a book is fairly time-consuming, right? So, if I’m going to spend say 2-3 days reading a book, I want to make sure it is the best book so I’m not wasting my time. If it doesn’t grab me in the first 10 pages, if it doesn’t have all the tropes I love, why should I keep reading? Obviously DNFing a book is fine, you don’t have to stick with books you don’t like, but what is happening is a growing unwillingness to push through the dislike and the discomfort and give things a proper chance. And if the next New York Times Best Seller is just around the corner which features all your favourite plot points, etc., why should you?
But it’s not so much about forcing yourself to read bad books you don’t like. It’s more that true critical thinking and true knowledge is gained through perseverance. If you give up at every small hurdle, if you never push past the initial dislike or discomfort, you’ll never learn anything new, and reading should always hold an element of learning.
Not to mention, in my personal opinion anyway, there is value in finishing a book you don’t like because if anything it helps you understand why you like the things you like in the first place! When you are engaging critically, there is nothing lost – only something gained.
BookTok’s Marketing
Usually when a new book comes out, debut or not, it is marketed with it’s blurb – I mean, that’s what the blurb is for. It gives you a flavour of the plot: just enough to intrigue you and figure out if it’s something you’d enjoy, but not enough to entirely spoil the plot and the character arcs, etc.
This is still standard practice for publishers of course and most authors, but I have noticed a shift in how books are marketed amongst content creators, especially on BookTok. To take the above example about the ‘enemies to lovers’ trope commonly found in Romantasy books, many new books of the genre are marketed using the tropes.
But isn’t this a spoiler? And have we forgotten that ‘tropes’ used to have a negative connotation? Tropes used to be things to avoid or to subvert, not openly embrace, and certainly not things used to entice readers into purchasing your novel.
Yet certain areas of BookTok have massively embraced the use of tropes as marketing tools, and now debuts are being pushed onto readers with tags like ‘bad ass FMC’ and ‘enemies to lovers’ and ‘grumpy x sunshine’ etc., with no indication as to what the plot actually is.
What this creates is a hyper-tailored market in which readers can shop and look for the exact book they want: the one that checks the most boxes within their literary preferences. However what also happens is that many books end up being undermined and marketed to the wrong people, or just flat out misunderstood. Alchemised by SenLinYu, a recently published dark fantasy novel about the harrowing and lasting effects of war and PTSD and women’s suffering, has been branded on BookTok as the newest ‘dark romance’ and ‘enemies to lovers’ which would baffle someone who has already read the book (myself included) as this is a gross oversimplification of the plot and incredibly heavy topics discussed, and would under-prepare a potential reader who may not expect such a grim read.
Marketing and discussing books in such a way is both a disservice to the author and to the reader, and it also results in the overconsumption of books.
Overconsumption as a result
When I talk about the ‘overconsumption’ of books I mean several things:
- The physical act of buying way more books than you need (I am also guilty of this, my overflowing bookshelf is judging me as I write this) which results in commodification.
If I buy every book from BookTok which fits my criteria (like tropes), when will I ever get the time to read them all? 90% of people won’t, which results in overflowing bookshelves (guilty) and never-ending TBRs. The pressure to read the latest title and hop on the trends and stay within the current conversations is immense; but it results in waste.
- But overconsumption also refers to the act of reading at a fast pace without taking the time to engage with the material.
Even if you are reading and keeping up with all the newest titles, are you actually reading them?
Certainly not all books are written to be dissected and read with the critical eye of a PhD candidate, but critical consumption and reading doesn’t only lend itself to the classics either. In general, reading with a critical eye is good practice, even if you only come up with basic and shallow results.
The reason reading is so important is not just because it works as a form of escapism and helps build vocabulary and opens up your world to experiences and points of views you’ve never had; it’s because reading is a fundamental tool in critical thinking skills which in turn helps you see the world around you for what it is and helps you navigate it.
Without getting too deep into the politics of it all, if you cannot engage critically with things then you fail to think for yourself, and fans of Orwell’s 1984 know how that ends…
How to battle this overconsumption
So, how do we combat this?
Slow down
Social media creates a competitive landscape – we know this, and as wholesome as the book community is, there can be pressures to read 100 books a year and whizz through novels as fast as possible to appear well-read and keep up with the trends, etc. I’ve fallen for it many times and still do, but really what’s the rush?
As much as I have talked about reading being a critical exercise, it is also something we do for fun and to unwind and relax. So go back to that! Slow down – you don’t need every new book right as it comes out, and if it is something you truly want to read, just hang on a minute, it’ll be there when you finally find the time (and wait until the paperback release, it’s cheaper).
Borrow a copy from a friend
I haven’t touched on this that much, but another issue with the overconsumption of books is simply the environmental impact. Printing books = paper = trees = so many other things I’m not qualified to discuss. If you’re buying books just to buy them and never read them, it becomes wasteful.
Try to borrow books from a friend where you can, or better yet if you want your own copy, buy them second hand.
Read with intention
Lastly, in order to curb this fast fashion trend in literature I think it’s important to read with intention. You may not be an academic or a writer yourself, but taking the time to read between the lines, to slow down and truly engage with the words on the page, is an exercise worth doing. It’s where most of the joy of reading is found, in my opinion, so don’t squander the opportunity!
swim press 