Has booktok really rotted young readers’ minds?
Most students breathe a sigh of relief at a temporary pause on the seemingly endless march of assigned reading. But what about the students who welcome summer break as a chance to smear on sunscreen, soak up the sun, and get lost in books that capture their interest for a change?
I can count myself firmly in both camps. As much as I enjoyed the required reading for my classes, it gets tiring! The feeling of winding down to relax with a book of my own choice was much missed.
Fortunately, there were students at the University of Regina (U of R) willing to give us an insight into their diverse literary tastes. They range from sci-fi thrillers, to morbid vampire novels, and swoonworthy Young Adult (YA) romances!
Tired of too much romance!
One of them was a third-year physics major, Jack Anderson, who shared with me the book that had engrossed them over the summer.
“I actually read Project Hail Mary. It’s the same author as the book The Martian, which I’ve heard is really good, and I haven’t gotten the chance to read yet,” said Anderson.
Project Hail Mary centres on a man tasked with saving the planet and wholesomely befriending an alien. “It was very hopeful, which was really nice to see, especially in this world right now, although the start of it sounds like it wouldn’t be a hopeful story,” said Anderson.
If you’re anything like Anderson, you might not be a big romance fan. Anderson criticized that most up and coming books are “very romance-focused.”
“And there was no romance in Project Hail Mary, which I really appreciated, because a lot of sci-fi stories have a romance shoehorned in somehow,” he said.
I get why Anderson dislikes romance-centric books. Without a strong plot outside the romance, the story just feels weak and contrived. Great romance needs a balance between the love story and larger themes. That said, I’m not a big sci-fi fan either, unless it’s a classic like Ender’s Game or Brave New World. I once tried reading Dune before bed- an instant snoozer.
Escapism
A third-year Biology student Yesha Patel happened to disagree with Anderson. She spent her summer absorbed in the forbidden love and sports rivalry story, Throttled by Lauren Asher, and couldn’t get enough!
“So, the story is a rivalry, romance thing. He’s her brother’s rival […], and he doesn’t get along, and then she secretly has a crush on him, and then it just follows into their story and how they get together,” Patel recounted for me.
We all have our guilty pleasure reads! I think what makes YA appealing to many is their sincerity. No matter how cliché or corny they are, they provide escapism from life’s seriousness. For me, I find my escape in immersing myself in reading about history.
According to Patel, many miss out on the benefits of reading fiction, “Reading fantasy can be fun sometimes because even though literary books can teach us many things, I just feel that fantasy books are an escape to whatever stress you are facing and you get to just imagine a whole different scenario.”
Fiction can also go beyond escapism and can be a source of philosophical inquiry.
Imagination is interesting. You can read a passage and create what you want out of it instead of having something spoon fed, as far as the video goes. And there is some sort of mental benefit, as to focus [and] creativity. It does take some effort to sit and stay with the book for a bit, but it’s worth it. It trains your brain to do harder things, –Quinn Brosso.
The internet’s rotten book taste?
A Ram’s fan and third-year investment engineering student, Quinn Brosso, read a number of books during the break, including The Incerto Collection, The Witcher, and Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.
Brosso emphasizes the value of students reading literary fiction while blaming tiktok for “rotting” their minds. “Imagination is interesting. You can read a passage and create what you want out of it instead of having something spoon fed, as far as the video goes. And there is some sort of mental benefit, as to focus [and] creativity. It does take some effort to sit and stay with the book for a bit, but it’s worth it. It trains your brain to do harder things,” said Brosso.
Interestingly, much of the popularity of YA romances like Throttled is due to the viral recommendations of booktok.
According to Brosso, U of R students should all read Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist at least once in their lives.
“My dad is a teacher, and to his favourite students at the end of grade nine, he will give a copy of The Alchemist. I love that one. It’s about following your dreams. That’s a great book and definitely one people in Regina, especially, should read,” said Brosso. “It’s important. It’ll throw you down a good course [… ] if you stick to your dreams and don’t give up.”
Try something new!
As I scoured the campus in search of a student who did manage to read over the summer, the question of how to encourage young people to read for themselves followed me. First-year biology student Abigail Ducie helped me find an answer.
“Just don’t be afraid to pick up a book. It can seem daunting, especially, if you’re not someone that reads very often. It’s literally just a movie, but with words. As silly as that is to say. There’s nothing scary about it. It’s just a book, it’s not going to bite,” said Ducie.
“Not going to bite, “ is not how I would describe her summer read, an Interview With the Vampire! Ducie mentioned such books are not her regular reads. However, she enjoyed it more than she thought.
When asked about her next read, Ducie mentioned Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. “I like historical fiction, so that’s right up my alley. [..] And you know what? I might start reading it tonight, actually!” said Ducie.
After hearing students share their own varying literary tastes, I was glad I found another history fan in Abigail!
History is my way to go!
Over the break, my own reading consisted mostly of nonfiction books I found, notably Anne Baring and Jules Cashford’s The Myth of the Goddess and Stacy Schiff’s biography, Cleopatra: A Life. These were lengthy, but worthwhile reads for anyone interested in women’s history.
I enjoyed the detailed research of both works so much that it convinced me to enroll in a Greco-Roman women’s history classics course, which makes me reflect back on the knowledge that reading is the tool that illuminates the path of self discovery.
As my peers and I have discovered, the more you broaden your reading habits, the more you broaden your own understanding of the world around you and how you relate to it.
Anderson’s interest in sci-fi, Brosso’s in literary fiction, Ducie’s in gothic fiction, Patel’s in formula F1 romances, and my own in history all empower us to use the unique perspectives we develop to contribute in shaping the world as we imagine it best.
