Booktok Got Me Back into Reading
I feel like I’ve been in a reading slump since I got out of college, which was now five years ago. I used to love reading, especially fiction books and it was something I could escape in. I loved reading fantasy books and about worlds other people created. But when I got into college I was so overwhelmed by all the official reading I had to do that I lost the joy of Fun reading reading. I never really was able to create a balance between the two, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to as I am now going back to grad school! (I’ll report back)
I have tried to pick up books over the years since graduation and get back into reading but nothing really stuck or got me super hooked into reading. I read Pachinko and absolutely adored that, and recommend it all the time! But other than that nothing really pulled me back into that love of reading until I got onto booktok.
I didn’t think it was going to get me back into reading, but the small edits, highlighting of quotes and photo collages that people post to describe the books they’re reading or writing was such a good visual to make me want to read them. Once I found a few books I liked I was able to create a stream of other recommended books. I now have a tbr list that feels like it’s never ending.
I did decide to start with this book on top, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, and I tried to read it back in January when I felt like my world was collapsing, but eventually I came back to it. It was suggested to me as a book to read if you like studio Ghibli and although I can see where they got that, I wouldn’t compare this book to the worlds of studio ghibli. The world is incredibly beautiful and the world the author has created is wonderful so I do recommend it!
After I read that I picked up Twisted love, which I know isn’t for everyone, but this was the final push to hook me into reading again. I really wasn’t expecting to love this series the way I do now, but there’s something about her writing style that’s very easy to digest and enjoy. The combination of these two books had me making tbr lists and buying books on prime day to save for later. I had to stop myself from reading a different book in one sitting on my flight to Colorado recently, haha. But I didn’t realize how much I missed reading, and the worlds I could escape into until I started reading again. It’s definitely a new hobby of mine so I’ll be sharing a lot of the things I’m reading on here.
My tips for reading and getting back into reading would be:
Find a book or a series, either through friends or booktok, that you know will get you hooked. You can’t always predict this but having a general feel that you’ll love it after reading or hearing the description is a good start.
Don’t let any pressures worry you. There are no deadlines on when to finish, this is for you. I know that was one of my first pressures after I graduated was I felt like I was on a deadline still about my books.
I personally didn’t have a series I loved reading as a kid that I wanted to reread and revisit, but I did look into more adult written series that gave off a similar energy to the ones I liked when I was younger.
