and why there is more benefit than harm

in recent years, books are back on the hype — they are read in the subway, filmed in reels, discussed in stories. only now the trend for reading is set not by literary critics or publishers, but by influencers.

the main book fairy — actress Reese Witherspoon. if she adds a novel to her book club, its sales increase by 700%. following her, although without such a wow effect, are Emma Watson, Emma Roberts, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

nothing new: in 1996, Oprah Winfrey launched her club and since then could make a bestseller out of a book that no one had heard of. 

but trends are also set by people with much smaller audiences. we wrote that the podcast 'the rest is history' recently brought an ancient Roman work to the top. without a warm listener audience, it would at most be read in graduate school.

another force — BookTok: bloggers who simply talk about what they've read. and they do it sincerely, with memes and tears.

It is understandable that there are those who feel: the tastes of stars and TikTokers — aren't great, and books should be selected by professionals. But the industry currently lacks the resources to promote texts itself — and the million copies print runs are a thing of the past.

so while critics lament their lost power, people with an audience just take action and do. and, probably, they are creating some new tools, which professionals in the book market will start applying over time.