The Pressure of BookTok

The Pressure of Booktok. 

Every day I sit on my phone and scroll through tiktok. My flatmate says I spend too much time on it. She is correct but I laugh and excuse it by saying it is work. On my tablet I come up with a schedule of videos to make. I like to come up with fun ideas and think about how best to connect with the community. My days are filled with endless book content and I feel too overwhelmed to post. The only posts I consistently make anymore are about Teatime Bookshop. Which I do because I genuinely believe in their products. 

I feel a little out of place within Book Tok. I love reading. I would spend my days reading if I could. But I love classics, Austen, Bronte and Gaskell. I enjoy that they are not just a glimpse into history but the history of women and the lower classes who are so often ignored. I also love crime books and horror books. I was a teen during the 2010s so have a good appreciation of dystopian and fantasy. 

I do struggle with some of the fantasy and romance books. They either feel very fake or pandering. These are the books that are most popular so I feel an innate need to enjoy them. The amount of times I have tried to read a fantasy book and found to my dismay it is a bastardisation of my culture. The Celtics, the Scottish, The Welsh and The Irish are treated as make believe. Runes have become magic symbols instead of divination and germanic language. The Gaelic or Gaeilge language is butchered or confused. Tales of my history told to me when I was small are twisted. It completely puts me off the books. I feel oddly dirty. Like I am being mocked. 

There is a small discussion about this online but not enough. I do not mind people who borrow from the Celtic world as long as they are respectful. But it's the people who treat them as something mythical. Our history is not properly taught and therefore not taken seriously .I think my culture and history is rich and beautiful and should be shared. Maybe if it was shared more appropriately then this would not be such an issue.  

I do not know if anyone else feels this weird pressure to like all the books everyone else likes. Maybe I need to lighten up and be more relaxed about reading.  

My dream is to get a job in Publishing. One of the best ways nowadays to show experience is to have a strong interest in the industry via social media. Now these videos are not just fun but my little window into the publishing world. With such a saturated market, how is one to make themselves stand out, whilst also fitting the mold?