Reading has become an aesthetic

But is it such a bad thing?

On any social media site you stumble into, you will find dreamy posts about the beauty of reading and perfect pictures of books. Many people have taken to the comment sections of these posts to point out that reading is being made into an aesthetic, but why is that so bad?

How is reading being turned into an aesthetic?

Many social media sites now come with tags related to books, for example:

Instagram = bookstagram

TikTok = Booktok

YouTube = Booktube

These tags are filled with content about books, people sharing aesthetic pictures of them reading and holding up their current read to their faces, their books in pretty places, piles of books bundled in an organised mess, and more.

Most accounts under these tags are dedicated to books and reading; it’s like a space for them to post freely about their hobby, and this doesn’t just apply to books, of course. The community is huge on almost every platform, and the accounts can contain reviews, recommendations, memes, and/or pretty pictures. The community has grown so much that you will find sections in book shops labelled ’booktok’ filled with popular books from the social media platform TikTok.

For as long as I've been on the internet, I remember bookish-based social media and accounts, but I think there was a huge rise in the number of these accounts after lockdown, when people finally had time to read books they'd been meaning to, and when they had opinions but no one to tell them to, they turned to the internet and joined a large community full of like-minded individuals.

Aesthetics are something that has ruled the internet for a while now; it’s something that people seeking identity are drawn to (myself  included). There are hundreds of aesthetics, but the academic aesthetic definitely rules the book world.

“Dark academia is an internet aesthetic and subculture concerned with higher education, the arts, and literature, or an idealised version thereof."

“Light Academia is an academic aesthetic and the visually lighter counterpart of Dark Academia.

Dark Academia typically involves intense and negative themes, including literary tragedy, existentialism, heartbreak, oppression, substance abuse, depression, and death. In contrast, Light Academia’s themes are generally positive, focusing on optimism, sensitivity, joy, gratitude, friendship, motivation, and happy endings.”

Why do people criticise online bookish spaces?

To some, the issue that arises is people who want to be seen as readers who are interesting and smart rather than actually reading for cause or enjoyment. Many angry middle-aged men have taken to the internet to express how they feel these types of readers (in particular women) are ‘ruining literature’. The problem is that when you look into these communities, the majority of people identify as women, and many of them are young women. It makes you wonder if the critique is about how they perceive and consume books or if it’s just the fact women can’t have hobbies in peace without being told they’re faking it for attention or to look ‘cool’. Many of these women’s social media comment sections are filled with hatred from men, who claim they are faking reading or not reading real literature’.

My take

I don’t think books being aesthetic is a bad thing; it’s motivating people of all ages to go and pick up a book, but most of all, it’s influencing young people to enter the world of books. If something is encouraging young people to read and genuinely enjoy books, why are we so against it? I think it’s wonderful to open social media and see people loving books and sharing their thoughts. You can see all the books someone loves or hates within a few clicks, and you can learn about them as a person through their favourite authors and genres. I think it’s so beautiful that we can connect through books so easily now, and I’m truly convinced that the hate for this community is fuelled by misogyny.

While we’re here, if you like poetry about mental health, I have a poetry book called 'Borderline'.