Home Libraries, book series that becomes a world wide phenomenon, and book clubs are not new concepts. Having the ability to read was once a status symbol in itself because it meant you were able to take the time to learn it rather than work to contribute to your family. Similar impression was given to those who had a room in their home for studying or holding "All their books".
So it no surprise that when social media meets this mindset, it will be amplified and exploited every which way. A by-product of this we are seeing it cliches, gatekeeping and hot button views.
We have those who have always seen reading as a regular part of life, those who had a love for reading rekindled via a reel or tok as well as those who fully latch on to the aesthetic and monetization of reading for this finical gain (or ego gain). The latter group is even producing content complaining about the "wordiness" of books, or how their don't care to hear of character background and descriptions of the environment, they only read the dialogue. Granted, many of us can remember thinking that about a book or 2 that didn't strike true with us. But to say this about all books ever, clearly shows a construed interest in something their target audience whole heartedly appreciate all the pieces that come together to make a great book.
Their is also the pressure to read as many books as possible. Not able how much you learn, the quality or topic, just as long as your number of books read is as high as possible. This cheapens the content and energy that went into creating the story, the information, the time a person took to produce an novel worthy of someone else time. This causes superficial works to easily be hyped up beyond what they deserve, gaining massive exposure on a viral tiktok or tweet. There are pages, groups and media account dedicating exclusively to pictures and video of bookshelves full of the most trending books, not just in complete collections but various special editions and excerpts from the darkest romance causing a buzz.
BookLover Playlist on my channel
To find what I'm reading Goodreads