Let’s admit it. Who most and who least has posted on Instagram a photo of the book they are supposed to be reading. The one who touches Sally Rooneyor any of Eve Babitz or Joan Didion, although never the latter two at the same time. The trilogy of Deborah Levy in primary colors is another contemporary classic. They are usually placed on a lounge chair, next to a glass of wine or coffee. Always with careful editing or retro charm, because few photos of airport titles are seen on the networks.
Who most and who least has searched for titles seen in Rosalía’s stories, or has bought them after discovering them in the publications of people with a lot of vibes and little clothing, as happens with the previously underground novel The Complete Fear of Kathy Acker. This editor is, in fact, one of those dupes. And at the same time, let us also confess, he has made the typical comment of “Now even reading is pure posturing.”
Paper is undoubtedly part of the zeitgeistcontradicting those who predicted its end. Books have crossed the threshold of the personal to become a manifestation of our aesthetic point of view. A sign of our inner world, in a distracted era governed by first impressions, with all the contradictions that this entails. Furthermore, in sectors such as fashion or pop there is a fetishization of the literary. Miu Miu organizes events in bookstores, and new hardcovers are part of style recommendations for the season. Gigi Hadid walks with The Foreigner of Camus as if it were a signature bag, while Dua Lipa, who has set up a book club, takes photos with a copy of we were children by Patti Smith or invite Alana S. Portero, whose debut novel, The bad habit, I had already recommended.
“In the face of a lack of focus and attention, books emerge as that home to which you can return, take refuge and reconnect with yourself,” argues trend analyst Francesca Tur. “Associating with them is not only celebrating the intentional pause and going against the current of this fleeting and hyperstimulated era, but also linking oneself to a specific identity. A mark next to Paul B. Preciado means many things, the same as that girl sitting on the bench reading Juana Dolores. Maybe books not only make us be here and now, celebrating what is physical and endures, but they identify us as people, they bring us together (or separate us) according to groups. So, are books the new logos that tell me and define others?” Tur asks about the renewed romance between fashion and literature.
This cult is not new, bibliophiles have always valued both its content and its content. And books, in addition to being vehicles of cultural and intellectual transmission, are artifacts, more or less beautiful objects that we like to touch, look at and smell. What is striking is that, at a time defined by digital information, the youngest are the ones who have the most love for physical volumes. Today the new fans of books are TikTokers or teenagers who idolize certain authors as if they were rock stars.
If we look at the sector, it is evident that paper is not triumphing despite the digital revolution, but is experiencing a moment of popularity precisely thanks to it, with social networks as powerful channels for the publishing sector. Currently, on TikTok there are more than 38 million videos with the hashtag #BookTok and on Instagram there are 3.5 million publications with the hashtag #shelfie, which boast shelves. On the other hand, there is the rise of literary subscription serviceswhich combine reading recommendations with a personalized experience. eBooks seem to have remained to make invisible the books prohibited on public transport: the most commercial best sellers or erotic literature.
“The editors are very aware that if the book is beautiful, it will be shown on the networks. That’s why they invest in design,” says literary agent Cathryn Summerhayes of Curtis Brown. For some reason, in less artistic and literary environments, where money comes first, they are investing in them. ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, has just launched a paper editorial, 8th Note Press; and thirty-something British businessman Steven Bartlett, podcaster, and author of Diary of a CEO has created a publishing division from his company Flight Studio.
“It shows that reading has a renewed cachet,” reflects Lola Martínez de Albornoz, senior editor and head of Lumen Gráfica. “And although from the beginning there has been a culture of beautiful books, it is true that today there is a fan phenomenon around certain genres. There are names that have followers so in love with their work that they buy all the available editions, and the industry has taken note. During the recent Frankfurt Book Fair, two investors announced that they had purchased two machines for painted edges, an expensive but increasingly popular detail.” Martínez de Albornoz explains that some works take on new life thanks to a redesign. “At Lumen we usually relaunch titles from our enormous fund. We put out volumes of Iris Murdoch AND Natalia Ginzburg with new covers and they worked very well.”
Even Rachel Kushner, whose novels take place in a political and counterculture space, has admitted that an ugly cover is a key factor in not buying a book. For writer Sibila Freijo, design is a very important decision during the publication process. “We always think that people go to bookstores knowing exactly what they want, but, on many occasions, they go to see what comes to their eye. “A cover that attracts attention greatly influences the purchasing decision.” The author of ‘La Sal’ (Espasa) recognizes that she herself has acquired something by looking only at the cover. “I bought Glow by Raven Leilani, which is bright pink, crazy pretty. But normally, when I buy without knowing anything about the author, I look at the synopsis and I always read the first page.”
Technology may have pushed books towards a more pronounced aesthetic dimension, and this kind of reification, or even re-objectification, provokes no small amount of debate. This panorama, despite everything, indicates a transformation of the business, which has broken away from certain conventions.
Marlowe Granados has revealed how during the launch of his debut Happy Hour sent copies to both literary and lifestyle influencers. Industry professionals, the Canadian author has declared, did not know how to promote her novel, which follows two friends who spend a summer of hedonism and empty pockets in New York. She spoke directly to young women, her audience.
At a time when making a living from writing is increasingly complicated, for authors it is a stroke of luck that Kendall Jenner puts your book in her beach bag, or that your cover is aligned with the microtrend of the moment. Freijo is clear that any approach is positive.” “I think it’s fantastic,” he says about the idea of choosing titles based on visual appeal. “Any way in which a reader reaches a work has exactly the same value for me.”
