I’m not exactly new to the bookish blogosphere. For a short time in 2022, I had a book blog under a different name, but with a similar review style. It was a rough year that ultimately made me lose interest in reading, so I ended up deleting the blog and its social media accounts, thinking I’d never want to return. Thankfully, I’m doing much better now, and reading and blogging have called me back. Except the book blogging community appears to have changed.

I remember when the book blogging community on Twitter (now X) was going strong, and new bloggers were joining and had goals. Things seemed different. More busy, more alive.

I remember one of the issues some bloggers had regarding the lack of engagement, specifically with their reviews. The vast majority of book blogs were/are largely made up of reviews. Memes and tag games weren’t and still aren’t at all uncommon, but discussion posts were rather occasional and continue to be so, more or less. Coming up with a book-related topic isn’t easy. Reviews, memes, and tag games are easier because you already have something to work with. Plus, a lot of bookish topics—paying book bloggers, the relevancy of blogging, the importance of diversifying your bookshelf, the moral dilemma and financial impact of piracy, etc—have been covered plenty.

Because of the sheer amount of book reviews, standing out was a struggle, and so there was an emphasis on finding one’s voice and style. The truth was, book reviews were often more miss than hit for the following reasons:

• Some readers are only interested in discussing books they’ve read.
• Some readers don’t want to add more books to their TBR lists/piles.
• Some readers don’t want to be influenced by other reader’s opinions and prefer to form their own first.
• Some readers don’t want to stumble upon spoilers (though I suspect this is less common since most book bloggers know better).
• Some readers simply don’t find book reviews that interesting.

When I launched my previous blog, I wasn’t under any illusion that my review style would be everyone’s cup of tea. I had no intentions of monetizing my blog or turning myself into a brand. And none of that has changed. I’m still reading books for me and reviewing them like someone who can actually visit written worlds for me.

Although a lot of book blogs are still active and posting, a lot of others aren’t, and new book bloggers seem few and far between. Making unique book reviews isn’t the focus anymore. Now, it’s… I’m not sure!

If I were to hazard a guess, perhaps the new focus is maintaining community.

Considering the generative AI boom and all the spam it’s produced, I wouldn’t be surprised if the remaining book bloggers choose to remain out of pure love for the hobby. There’s no point in competing with machines—or, more accurately, people using machines when you’ve accepted you’ll never get paid for this. So, you step away from the capitalistic rat race and keep to your books, blog, and the connections you’ve made, things that don’t have to be “enshittified.” Oh, and the real world, of course.

I won’t pin this problem of “enshittification” entirely on AI, though. AI is a symptom. The Internet was fated to become a soulless, corporate-run husk with the rise of Web 2.0 and search engine optimization (SEO). Did everyone forget the life stories you have to scroll through to find a simple recipe? Well, you can thank Google for demanding more words because more words equals more keywords. People fought to show up in the top results, no longer intent on sharing, but selling, and that’s what we got: human-generated nonsense, all for the sole purpose of gaining views and subscribers.

I don’t recall book blogging ever having been profitable, but people still started book blogs because they were fun and discussing books was fun. Compared to social media profiles, book blogs are far more customizable and suited for real, in-depth discussion. They’re just better, you know?

I hope that one day the book blogging community will flourish again. Personally, I think it will. In time, I imagine some will grow tired of trying to keep up with the algorithms and the fast-paced nature of short-form content, as well as networking and maintaining an aesthetic for the camera, and wish to return to simpler, slower, and more meaningful corners of the Internet.

What do you think?