Why are Book Covers Looking Like That? BookTok and Modern Literature
Last week, I walked into my local Books-A-Million. Among the initial shelves, before the rows of literary fiction and the stacks of religion and self-help, were the “trending” books. You’ve likely seen them— fantasy covers with thorny vines with deep jewel tones. The romance books with minimalist, cartoonish characters. For general fiction, the ‘blob’ covers dominate, where swirls of bright colors back large titles bolded in white font. Looking through the shelves, they begin to feel monotonous. I’m left wondering: why are book covers looking like that?
It could be chalked up to fads. In previous decades, different book cover styles have gone in and out of fashion. The 1950s’ prominently saw vintage illustrations displayed on the front of books, while the 60s’ covers moved to focus more on large text. The 70s’ moved back into vibrant graphics while 80s’ book covers favored large bold titles. What we are seeing today could simply be viewed as what is in fashion, something that will fall away or transform in coming years as trends typically do. While it is almost certain that what we are seeing is a modern fad, contextual factors such as the overall reading decline and the rise of social media platforms shouldn’t be ignored.
In a recent study conducted by the University of Florida and University College London found that the proportion of people who read for pleasure on an average day dropped from 28% in 2003 to 16% in 2023. The results of their study were consistent with downward reading trends captured as early as the 1940s, suggesting that reading for pleasure has continued to decline for around eighty years. While reading has continued to decline, in recent years, it has been repopularized via social media, specifically TikTok.
Social media and TikTok (specifically its subgroup, BookTok) have created ripples in the book world, but the effects have been questionable. According to Forbes, BookTok had amassed 370 billion views by 2025. Book advertising and influencing via TikTok has certainly led to new readers entering the scene, specifically younger women. Even though BookTok has captured new readers, with books being advertised through short videos, they are often reduced to popular tropes and buzzwords, like “enemies to lovers,” “slow burn,” “romantasy,” etc., to quickly convey a book’s content. BookTok also prioritizes the aesthetics of books, as aesthetics can act as another way to communicate a book’s themes in short clips. However, when several books are published to please the demand for trending tropes and aesthetics, BookTok texts can not only lack originality, but they can near the point of oversaturation. The book covers I noticed in Books-A-Million are a product of these demands, as covers are matching BookTok tropes and popular aesthetic movements. But is BookTok bad? Not entirely.
While BookTok has raised eyebrows due to the types of books it promotes, the positive is that it is getting people back into reading. Books popularized on BookTok may often be meant for entertainment value (their covers reflecting this purpose). Books have commonly been published for purely entertainment purposes for years, not necessarily requiring the need for critical engagement— similar to some tropey books featured online. Some works popular on the app will objectively not be acclaimed pieces of literature, but getting more people back into reading shouldn’t go unnoticed. On a similar note, while some books promoted on BookTok may be more simplistic and aim to satisfy trends, several excellent works of literature have also been popularized on BookTok, reaching audiences who otherwise would not have discovered a certain book. BookTok may be able to act as a bridge for a new reader, possibly leading them to more complex works from the initial literature a user was exposed to. Even if those who came to reading via TikTok remain in the sphere of popular BookTok trends, in an era of reading decline, new readership should be celebrated.
As a writer, I initially viewed the book covers I saw in Books-A-Million with hesitation. I saw them as a part of a mysterious game of advertising and publishing politics that I didn’t (and still don’t quite) understand. I’ll admit, some of the modern book cover trends are not my favorite, but now I see them with more positivity. They make me consider the new readers— the ones stepping into the literary world for the first time. BookTok may be a place of tropes and trends, but it is also a place where people have begun an exploration of books and reading that they otherwise never would have.
