Book reviewers vs bookstagrammers

As influencers fill their feeds with year-end ‘must read’ lists, professional critics must rethink the future of their trade

- Somak Ghoshal [e-mail]

It's that time of year again when, as a book critic, I’m expected to compile a list of my favourite reads of 2025. My colleagues and I have done such a roundup (see P12), but even as I was going through the exercise, I couldn’t help wondering what it means to be a reviewer today, when social media is flooded with reading recommendations from influencers.

Do professional critics—that dwindling tribe paid by media platforms to review books—matter when so much of public taste is curated by algorithms and influencers promoting books for cash or traction? This question feels especially urgent in India, where the market for English language books is much smaller than those in Indian languages, making the role of the reviewer even more niche.

In the last 20 years, as a critic (and, briefly, as a book editor), I have heard prophecies of print media being eclipsed by digital platforms. I have noticed writing styles becoming chattier and more opinionated. I have seen the space for book reviews shrink, move to the blogosphere, then migrate to social media.

Instead of a well-argued review of a new book, you're more likely to see reels telling you to get out of your reading slump by shelving your books according to the colours of the rainbow. Someone parroting the publicity material of their “favourite read” on camera. Or simply an aesthetic photo of a book next to wilting flowers and a steaming beverage, with templated praise in the caption. In case a writer or publisher is so inclined, all these services can be bought for a neat sum of money. (Earlier this year, Lounge columnist Sandip Roy wrote about the rate cards offered by “reviewers” to promote his book.)