TikTok Is Ruining Books (As Proven by ‘The New York Times’ Bestseller List)

Welcome back to The Report Card! I’d like to start this week’s issue with a celebratory toast. First, I’d like to thank all of the lovely subscribers. Over the weekend, we crossed the 400-subscriber mark, which may not seem like a lot, but given that most of you don’t know me in real life and I started with zero, I’m taking this as a huge win. Second, next week will be the first anniversary of The Report Card, which I also think is quite a feat. Many writers launch newsletters, and then slowly let their site wander off into oblivion, so I feel very proud to have stuck with this for 365 days.

And speaking of accomplishments, Spider-Man: Brand New Day just cruised by the $2 billion mark in its third week of release. It’s currently the eighth highest-grossing film of all time, and with plenty of wind in its sails, it should continue to climb the charts over the next month. Similarly, The Odyssey, currently at $1.3 billion in its fifth week, is also continuing to rake in money, and as the IMAX tickets continue to sell, it could crack the top 20 highest-grossing films of all time when all is said and done. (It’s currently slotted at #27).

The biggest box office story of the week, however, revolves around a movie that won’t premiere for months: Dune: Part Three. Tickets went on sale this week, causing lines around the block at New York City’s IMAX 70MM location, another shutdown of the AMC app, and pandemonium on Twitter. IMAX really needs to build some new theaters, because this is getting ridiculous and there’s no end to the IMAX madness in sight. (I will say that I managed to snag tickets to the movie this morning, but I will be seeing the film at 9 am on Christmas Day).

Awarded to THE standout figure of the week, recognizing exceptional talent across disciplines.

A movie that I'd love to see in IMAX, should they ever re-release it, is Anne Hathaway’s latest star vehicle, The End of Oak Street, about a 1980s Michigan neighborhood that is mysteriously transported back to the Jurassic period. Things go grusomely awry for the town’s inhabitants, many of whom are mercilessly eaten by roving dinosaurs. The tight script, impressive action set pieces, and plot curveballs make this 100-minute adventure highly watchable, and every single critic is more than happy to tell you that it’s “the best Jurassic Park movie since Jurassic Park.” It’s one of the most exciting original films of the year, and I’d highly recommend watching it, especially if you’ve already checked Spider-Man and The Odyssey off your summer watch list.

Awarded to the best-dressed individual of the week, either a real-life human or an on-screen character.

Yes, Nicole Kidman and a dragged-up Troye Sivan are both in this music video, but Sasha Colby walking down the middle of the street looking puss as hell is the only image I’m taking with me. I’ve had the song on repeat, just thinking about Sasha wearing that coat.

Awarded to the best use of the English language in the past 7 days.

You know that Woke 2.0 is in full bloom when Rosie O’Donnell is back hosting a talk show. It feels like Rosie is finally getting her redemption after years of scorn from the media post-coming out/feuding with Donald Trump. I’m choosing to take this as a positive omen for the direction society is moving, and I pray that the midterm elections back me up on that. While Rosie’s 15-minute-long monologue could have probably used a smidge of a trim, I was still grinning the entire time. Welcome home, Miss O’Donnell. You’ll always be Ole Golly to me.

Awarded to the individual(s) who deserve(s) an Oscar for their remarkable performance(s) on screen, large or small.

The stoner comedy is not a genre that I find myself particularly drawn to, but I do really adore Kristen Stewart, so I thought I’d give this one a chance. As luck would have it, The Wrong Girls is an absolute delight. Kristen and Alia have great chemistry as a pair of best friends/roommates, and their nonchalant attitude while the world crashes and burns around them is effortlessly watchable. This month is really racking up a series of strong premieres.

Awarded to the entity with the worst energy, most unwell aura, and bleakest constitution.

When I started working in book publishing back in 2015, the industry was mourning the death of the “mid-list author,” or an author who consistently sells well without becoming a national bestseller. In the days before social media, when books were primarily sold based on word of mouth or bookstore displays, there would be authors who could make a living off of their writing without ever reaching a Stephen King/James Patterson level, because they’d sell well regionally or within a specific demographic, and readers who enjoyed their books would keep coming back. Also, people just read more books before the smartphone explosion around 2010.

In the decade since 2015, however, not only has social media killed off the mid-list author, but plenty of bestsellers as well. Instagram, and now TikTok, have really taken a two-pronged attack method to ensure that only juggernaut books sell. First, social media decreased the number of books a person actually reads each year. In recent years, the median number of books read by an American is two. (The average is eight books, but that’s yanked way up by the small handful of readers who polish off 20-100 books a year). So people aren’t reading much because they’re on their phones during periods they previously were reading (on trains, before bed, on vacation, etc.)

And if you’re only reading two books a year, you’re likely reading books presented to you on social media, which brings us to the second prong. Social media, and especially BookTok, increasingly point readers to the same small handful of books, meaning that each year, there are a dozen mega blockbusters, while most other books sell less than 1,000 copies.

For some anecdotal evidence, let’s look at the current New York Times bestseller list. Across the three fiction bestseller lists (Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and Combined), 24 of the 45 slots are filled by books that have been on the list for over 10 weeks, while only 14 of those slots were filled by 10+ week books at the same time in 2016. And that’s not to mention that a full 10 slots this week are clogged up by Dungeon Crawler Carl books. This means it’s either feast or famine for writers. If your book isn’t one of a handful of breakouts in a year (like The Correspondents, Yesteryear, or Theo of Golden) that squat on the list for months, then your book isn’t selling copies.

And this is a fairly natural development. People want to read what their friends are reading, and we’re desperate for the return of the monoculture, but unfortunately, this really narrows the breadth of stories that get told, and forces publishers to only greenlight books they think can become instant successes.

So what’s the solution? There really isn’t one outside of getting people to read more in general, which is a systemic issue. Fund schools? Give tax breaks to readers? Expand Book-It to adults? I don’t really know the solution, but if you’re only reading two books a year, you’re gravitating to the ~20 megahits. If you’re reading 30 books a year, then there’s more room to venture into odd pockets of Barnes & Noble, so the key is to get people reading more.

But if you do want to support authors and expand the literary community, here are a few small things you can do to help:

1. Buy books from real bookstores instead of Amazon, because authors/publishers get a larger chunk of the money that way.

2. Actually buy a book rather than download a bootleg version online, something that enrages me beyond belief. $30 isn’t going to make or break you. People will easily drop more than $30 on a dinner that lasts for an hour, but baulk at spending that on a book, which will bring them hours of reading pleasure (and if you buy the physical copy, it will look good on your bookshelves). If you’re really hard up for cash, use the library, which pays for the right to lend the book out, or snag an ebook version.

3. Try to regularly read more obscure titles. Sprinkle them in between the bestsellers if you want to stay up in the conversation.

4. If you do read a book that people aren’t talking about, tell your friends about it. Word of mouth is still the biggest driving force in book buying, and people need recommendations that aren’t Project Hail Mary and The Odyssey.

5. Give books as gifts. If you like a book, buy a copy for a friend.

If you’re going to engage with media in the upcoming week, this is what you should be engaging with.

We should all aspire to be as effortlessly warm and fearless as Chanty. May we funnel her energy into our lives.

Sorry kids, but it’s time for the grown-ups to talk. If you’re a paying subscriber, feel free to read on for gossip, hot takes, and potentially controversial subject matter for your eyes only.