What Is Good Literature & Is BookTok Making Us Worse Readers?

"There is no wrong way to read- only not reading at all is wrong." But is that really true? Are all books of equal worth, or do clear distinctions exist between good and bad literature? And if they do, who has the authority to decide? Can well-read critics and scholars truly judge literature objectively, or is every reading experience inevitably shaped by the reader’s own perspective?

These questions are more complex than they seem and have preoccupied literary studies for centuries. What one reader finds profound, another may dismiss as trivial. And yet, not all books are the same. Some challenge us, demand more from us, and linger in our minds long after we’ve turned the last page, while others are easily consumed and quickly forgotten. But does that alone determine what is truly valuable? And if not, what does? That’s exactly what I want to explore in this episode of the Literature Café.

00:00 Introduction
02:15 Trivial vs. High Literature
04:22 What is Good Literature?
07:38 The Role of the Reader
12:57 Literature allows us to see
17:49 Booktok