BookTok has been embroiled in more drama after an enraged TikToker hit out at their idea of good literature.
In the clip, which has amassed 3.7 million views, TikTok user Maddie Clark declared that she does "not trust" BookTokers' recommendations.
"Talking about 'This is five stars, this is one of the best books I've ever read,' Meanwhile, when I was 12 years old, I was reading one direction fan fiction written by someone whose first language was not English on Wattpad, and it was still better written than half of the books I'm seeing pushed out on BookTok." she complained.
She continued: I'm gonna be the [expletive] and say it: some of you need to go back to a high school-level literature class, because the lack of reading comprehension that I am seeing is scary."
Then, Clark specifically called out those who called the BookTok hit series Gild a "literary masterpiece," claiming that when authors are using "actual literary devices and, I don't know, nuance," they get pushback by BookTokers who claim that the book is "too confusing and too convoluted."
"Critical thinking, babes," she said. "Learn how to do it. I love a little fun romantic vibe as much as the next girl. Like romantic is one of my favorite genres, however, that does not mean that it has to be poorly written. And I'm just gonna say it, not everyone should have their book published. Sorry, I'm a [expletive]."
What did commenters think?
For the most part, commenters appeared to agree with Clark. "Diva only say facts," one wrote. "Thank you!" a second added. "Someone had to say it!"
"The amount of fanfiction I’ve read that has been better written than books by real authors," a third wrote, while a fourth opined that "Kindle Unlimited is basically the fast fashion of literature."
However, there were commenters who strongly disagreed with the creator, with a fifth writing: "Write your own book and see how people respond before you have ago at everyone else, books are subjective, what you don’t like might be someone else’s favourite book your entitled to your opinion but if you don’t like BookTok books, don’t read them."
And a sixth added: "Can we just let people love and talk about things openly and loudly, without putting them down or judging? You don’t have to enjoy reading advanced or complex texts to appreciate a book with a good story, and you have just as much right to talk about it. So tiring."
What else did she say?
In a second video, she argues that "the literary world is turning into fast fashion."
"For those of you commenting on my video saying, 'Just let people enjoy things,' the entire message of the video went over your head," she said.
"No one is saying that you can't enjoy a purely entertaining book," she explained. "God knows that I have read my fair share of those Kindle Unlimited romantasy smutty books. Does that mean that they're good writing? No. And the issue is a lot of these authors are copy-pasting each other's works, dumbing down the right style, checking tropes off of a list to appeal to the masses on BookTok."
For Clark, the "fast fashion-ificaton of books" hinged on letting "a random girl on TikTok that you don't know validate what you do or don't enjoy."
She added, "We are in a critical thinking and intelligence epidemic."
In subsequent videos, Clark claims that BookTok is trying to "cancel" her and that she has BookTokers sending her death threats and hate messages over her opinions.
Then, in a final video on the situation, she says, "Was my delivery nice? No. Do my points still stand? Yes."
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