Ah, BookTok. Single-handedly responsible for the massive resurgence in the popularity of reading for millions, BookTok – like most online spaces – is rife with some of the wildest takes you’ve ever seen. However, a video circulating social media of a BookTok influencer claiming the book she’s reading as “too many words” is perhaps the wildest yet, and the internet has things to say about it.
TikTok user @yannareads was not a fan of a certain BookTok favorite
In the now-deleted TikTok, Yana said her followers recommended she try out Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. The book is incredibly popular on BookTok, so it seemed like a natural fit for her. However, Yana barely got through the first 30 pages or so.
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“Can I just talk [expletive] for a second? Why the [expletive] is this book – first of all, the writing is so tiny. Second of all, why are the pages so filled with so many words? Like what the [expletive]?”
She said the pages were way too full
“I like pages that aren’t filled with this many words. Like literally every page is, like – look at this! Are you [expletive] kidding me? […] This book is so [expletive] difficult for my brain to follow. I’m only 2 chapters in, okay, I understand. But all these words, I have no idea what’s going on.”
Sounds to me like she probably prefers a bigger font size. However, the wording of her complaints left a lot to be desired, so X users (formerly Twitter) immediately jumped on the video.
The reactions poured in
While I generally ride hard for people reading whatever they want, however they want, I do think it’s uncharitable to read a book you know is far outside your comfort zone and judge it before you’ve finished it. There’s nothing wrong with having a preference for certain things, but you should know the deal if you’re reading something that isn’t to your taste!
Others said attention spans are to blame
Fantasy is pretty dense as a genre, so you’re not going to get a lot of the information you need right up front. In fact, I can’t think of a single genre that does that, perhaps outside of the romance genre. Stories unfold at the paces their authors design them to. That’s kinda the whole deal with storytelling.
This is one take I absolutely agree with
While we’re not talking about a Colleen Hoover book, the point does stand. As someone who grew up on FanFiction, I feel a lot of the things BookTok wants are actually just sub genres of Fanfic. They consume books the way a lot of us consumed Fanfic as teens (and as adults). This certainly doesn’t apply to everyone, but I do think it may apply to Yana.
The book seems to be an easy read
For those who enjoy fantasy, this little excerpt from the novel seems like a great selling point. I’ve never read Six of Crows, but this passage is really fun and silly, and it actually does make me want to read it! We love an unexpected book recommendation!
The pages DO look pretty standard
I am of the firm belief that Yana was trying to voice a preference for a certain page layout, but even I have to admit that book looks 100% normal. The font size seems fine, too – even a bit large, if anything.
However, people left out some important context
Though many were quick to judge her for her struggles with the book – including outlets covering the story – virtually none mentioned that Yana was born and raised in the Ukraine, arriving in the United States at the age of 15. She says she is still fluent in Russian, but has lost most of her knowledge of Ukrainian. English is her second language.
Now, this doesn’t explain everything, but it does help clear up some of the issues Yana may have been having. Certainly not all, but some!
It honestly seems high fantasy isn’t the genre for her
The genre of fantasy is very far-reaching and ever-expanding, and it seems to me that perhaps fantasy that involves a lot of lore might not be her cup of tea. And that’s okay! It’s not mine, either – I’m more of a sci-fi girlie.
Though the TikTok is deleted, Yana did post a follow-up
She took a very tongue-in-cheek visit to Barnes & Noble to browse a genre a lot of people were recommending to her after her viral video: a picture book.
“According to Twitter, I need picture books only. No words,” she deadpanned, selecting The Smart Cookie as her next book. Seems to me like that smart cookie sure got the last laugh!
