what is your problem with tiktok or booktok and colleen hoover lmao its not that bad surely

the fact that it actively promotes overconsumerism, the way it sells books to you by just playing into already heavily milked out tropes with very specific character niches that are seen in every book nowadays and how the reading is just seen as something aesthetic or a part of the "it girl routine" maybe? if those are enough reasons for you?

does the fact that these books are the first things you see when you walk into a bookstore not bother you? when you ask someone for a book recommendation they'll follow it up with "its a romance slow burn enemies to lovers". it's always about the aesthetic of the book, how many lines can you take out of context and post as a compilation of your super cute romantic annotations page on instagram. no analyzing the book, no theories, no symbolism or meaningfulness at all. how people stand reading those kind of books and still feel any kind of emotions over these flat as hell books with no world or character building is genuinely baffling to me

no one seems to know about actual literature anymore, which not to sound like a boomer but i think its definitely true. there's always been trend cycles, i agree such as the harry potter craze from the 1990s to the 2000s and the dystopia hunger games/maze runner/divergent blast in the early 2010s but tiktok has just.. shortened these cycles so much. as a result, people like our darling colleen hoover whose written around 46 books since 2015 (according to google) try come up with as much fresh content as they can as quickly as possible for the readers (see overconsumption). the fact that this lady outsold the bible is not outstanding to me, its fucking concerning.

and after all that, the result is badly written books with characters who're about as dimensional as a piece of paper, overuse of tropes, read like they've been written by a toddler, toxic-ass relationships being romanticised, very unnecessary sex scenes and countless other things. seriously if i wanted to read about the kind of stories hoover tells i would just open a wattpad account.

not clowning on those who made the choice to read it. i'm trying to highlight some of the flaws i find in authors like colleen hoover, sjm, ali hazelwood, casey mcquinston. some of them might be good, i wouldn't know because i actively try and avoid them at all costs. also i am BEGGING u all who will have an objection to this post to reach out of your comfort zone and read something different like non-fiction or fantasy or one of the classics for once if you only read booktok like seriously it might be hard but just do it for the love of god!! if you're annoying on this i will block you by the way i don't care

I feel Apollon in my veins. I feel his hands guide mine as I pour my soul into the piano. I hear his voice, gentle as the summer sun urging me to keep going. letting me know that I am not too ambitious for choosing to seek knowledge. I feel his rage in my blood when men speak to me as if I know nothing. As I walk to perform or present a project, I know he is there. Watching over me and when I am done, his cheers are always the loudest.

steady and firm, a strict teacher and a gentle healer. Letting me know that I will be okay. Someday, I will wake up, greet the sun and the joy I shall feel will not be a lie.

I begin to sing of Hestia, first among the deathless gods;

Beloved goddess, who dwells in the midst of every home with your vast everlasting flame.

last among the deathless gods, for without your grace mortals hold no banquets. revered daughter of strong-spirited Rhea, ethereal and blessed, gentle-minded saviour.

Holy maiden, breathe upon us safety and love.

divider by @\graphics-cafe

this is your reminder that the gods love you. you are not a bother or an annoyance for asking them for help. they love you and they wish the best for you <3

NOUMENIA PRAYER TO LORD ZEUS

Father Zeus, protector of the home. Lord Zeus, giver of good. King Zeus, ruler of all I hold dear.

Please keep my home safe from any harm physical, emotional and financial in this coming month. Averter of evil and saviour of all, help me keep my home safe and at peace.

As I take today to praise your name, please renew the energy in this house and make it a place of love and joy. Father Zeus, giver of good; Thank you for your guidance and I hope you accept this prayer as a token of my gratitude.

Great god of hospitality, and father of the people. Praise be to you.

orignal prayer for noumenia

i had some free time from college so i went ahead and made more user boxes! someone in the tags mentioned that their deity was underrepresented and don't worry, i've got you. i made boxes for deities i don't see much rep of in the tag!! feel free to use them with credit!

i'm open to making these under request, just send me an ask with the deity you'd like a box for!! please be nice, too.

gods in this post: Asclepius, Iris, Eris, Hebe, Harmonia, Nemesis, Nike, Pan, Psyche, Phobos & Deimos, Themis, Tyche & Gaia.

my fav mother Athene epithets <3

🫒 Νικη (Nike) - victory 🫒 Αλεα (Alea) - escape (to refuge) 🫒 Απατουρια (Apatouria) -deceiver 🫒 Κισσαια (Kissaia) - of the growing ivy 🫒 Μητηρ (Mater) - mother 🫒 Κελευθεια (Keleutheia) - of the road 🫒 Γοργολαφας (Gorgolaphas) - gorgon - crested 🫒 Οξυδερκης (Oxyderkes) - sharp sighted 🫒 Σωτειρα (Soteria) - Saviour 🫒 Παιωνια (Paeonia) - Healer

Wolfgang ll Saturchella

I hear the birds on the summer breeze, I drive fast I am alone at midnight

face don’t matter

every day i learn more insane things about my family

I kinda see yr point re booktok but at the same time like........how different is it from pulp fiction that's been around for decades? there's the performance of reading element now (tho this probably existed in diff forms pre socmed) but I ultimately see it as like, not too different from the ppl who read every new James Patterson book or exclusively read Amish romance novels, like cheap, quickly produced fluffy reading material is by no means the new phenomenon here.

there was nothing wrong with pulp fiction by itself, you literally said it's always existed. the problem occurs when it becomes a part of the mainstream and theres a drastic drop in literature other than these kind of cheap novels. when you think of books written in the early 1800s, minds would immediately go to jane austen or the brontë sisters. likewise with the early half of 1900s makes you think of the great gatsby and to kill a mockingbird and if i asked you to name 3 books from 2005-2012 then you could do that very easily, with percy jackson and the hunger games. alongside these books, which would be read for generations over generations and go down as a cult classic, these colleen hoover/emily henry books can't hold a candle to the iconic literature of an era. sure, james patterson make a lot of these cheap fictions but how many people considering themselves "readers" actually read exclusively their books?

the current generation has devalued reading so much with the introduction of tiktok and instagram. since 2019 or so, there are so many books being put out of the exact fanfic-y nature that it destroys literature to a commodity and aesthetic to profit off of. none of these books actually have what it takes to be classified as literature. borrowing some stuff from @espressopdf 's reblog, when the consumption of books becomes so fast paced and meaningless at such a rapid rate with no intentions of slowing down, it is a bad thing. when these books are introduced as mainstream, they leave a lasting impression of literature of the 2020s. when future generations look back to these books and the craze they stirred up, they would try to imitate them and then every single book will be as senseless and bland as these current ones are on the pathway of being. it's not something that's harmless entirely, and the more people understand that is the better but lets be real here the people who read these kind of books exclusively are not going to listen to a word of what we have to say.

The weather is colder, but the fire grows brighter. Warming parts of my heart I had long forgotten. In the darkness of night and in my moments of hopelessness, your flame keeps me going. Lighting the way and giving me a place to rest my weary soul. Lady Hestia, daughter of golden-haired mother Rhea. Presiding over the hearth of deathless gods and mortals alike. I praise you and I thank you for staying by me and being home when no other place filled the cold space in my heart.

a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods. Born with the dawning, at mid-day he played on the lyre, and in the evening he stole the cattle of far-shooting Apollo on the fourth day of the month; for on that day queenly Maia bare him.

source

you ever think about how kind the gods are? because I cannot wrap my head around it. they're just so so kind and loving, I'm -