Booksology Towards Booktok Canon’s grand unified theory
Alyssa Morris is as close as the scholars of Booktok Studies, and her attempts to establish Booktok Canon are a gift to readers and industry experts. Working from the combination of atmosphere and observations gathered from deep engagement with the platform, Morris identifies the most popular subgenres among Tiktok users. Yes, there is romance and romance, but there are also “The Strange Girl Lighting” (Big Switzerland, Bunny), “The Crying Book” (Nightingale, Evelyn Hugo’s Seven Husbands), thrillers, new adult, sci-fi and fantasy. Morris said, “Booktok Canon has been influencing increased diversity in publications since 2020,” and hopes that describing “a wide audience on a platform that goes beyond mere romance and romance” will help contribute to the efforts of writers and Creators of Color workers to increase work visibility. May her efforts succeed.
Today is a book
Sign up today with the book to receive daily news and more from the book world.
Judge approves $1.5 billion settlement in human AI lawsuit
The authors decided a significant victory this week as a federal judge in California approved the terms of a $1.5 billion settlement this week between AI company humanity and the author who allegedly pirated training in large-scale language models. The settlement, which applies to an estimated 465,000 books, pays the author and publisher $3,000 for each title. Judge William Allsup delayed approval of the settlement during the September 8 hearing, expressing concerns about how both parties will handle the complexity of identifying eligible parties and paying funds. The settlement is the first of its kind, setting a key precedent for what remains a roller coaster ride, as AI and copyright questions pass through the courts and one day advance into law.
The book behind I’ll fight one after another
Did you know about Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film? I’ll fight one after anotherwhich theaters will be hit this week, based on books? Vineland is one of Thomas Pynchon’s more accessible novels, but since it is Pynchon, the accessible meaning is relative. Jeff and I went over our brains to decode this fascinating postmodern classic in the latest episode of Zero to Well Read.
