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Washington Post
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The perfect man exists. He's called a ‘book boyfriend.'
He's respectful. He listens when she talks and remembers what she says. He would probably kill for her — and he would definitely die for her. Needless to say, he would not have to be begged to take out the trash. He is what romance readers call a 'book boyfriend.' On BookTok and Bookstagram — the thriving social media communities dominated by romance and fantasy readers — the term has become ubiquitous. 'Book boyfriend' describes characters who seem to have strode, galloped or brooded onto the page from somewhere in the recesses of the reader's deepest desires. If you have ever closed your eyes and imagined waking up in Pemberley to a shirtless Fitzwilliam Darcy asking if you would do him the honor of accompanying him on a turn about the park, you could say that you've had a book boyfriend. Simply put, a book boyfriend is a character you can't stop thinking about — and longing for — beyond the page. Conversations about book boyfriends tend to be as wry and playful as two protagonists flirting on a yacht off the coast of Italy. Readers use the term as shorthand to convey a particular reading experience. It does not describe imaginary friends. 'We know what we read is fiction,' said Jeanette Moreno, a BookToker whose running list of top book boyfriends features 49 carefully selected names. 'We're not delusional.' 'When we read a romance book, and the main character is a billionaire who takes a woman on a date and flies her to France, we know that's not real,' she said. 'We don't care that he's a billionaire or that he buys her jewelry. We care that he remembered she doesn't like pickles in her sandwich, and he takes her coffee to bed. It's the little thoughtful things that really stick with us.' Romance book sales continue to soar, bolstered in part by readers who pass around these lists of fictional men as if sharing the details of a particularly gentle dentist or a skilled massage therapist. Publishers market new romance books with the words, 'Let me introduce you to your new book boyfriend.' The phenomenon seems to speak to a new, or more heightened, way that some readers are fulfilling their emotional needs through fiction. It also seems to reflect strain in heterosexual dating dynamics: Men are from Mars, women are conducting emotional affairs with fictional astronauts. 'If you want to talk about what romance really is, it is a genre that tells us about how people want to live their lives,' said Marcela Di Blasi, an assistant professor in the Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies Department at Dartmouth who is working on a book about the politics of romantasy, the popular genre that combines romance and fantasy. 'People who don't read romance or romantasy might hear the term 'book boyfriend' and come to the same conclusions that people came to when 'Madame Bovary' came out,' she said. In Gustave Flaubert's classic 1857 novel, Emma Bovary reads so many romance novels that she 'became herself, as it were, an actual part of these imaginings,' slowly ruining her life by living as if she were a romantic heroine. But book boyfriends aren't just an escape into fantasy, Di Blasi said. They give readers a blueprint for talking to their loved ones about how they want to be treated and how they don't. Consider Malakai, the romantic lead in the 2022 novel 'Honey & Spice' by Bolu Babalola. Malakai has a 'lethal' smile, and he makes the protagonist laugh. He appreciates her mind and tells her, 'I like me better when I'm with you.' Babalola said that hearing that her character has been heralded as a book boyfriend is 'the biggest honor.' But she doesn't see the man she wrote as an exercise in fantasy. 'I want people to come away thinking that there's hope to find people like this in real life,' Babalola said. 'The things that I give a male protagonist, they are not far-fetched things: It's kindness, it's tenderness, it's seeing the woman as an individual and knowing her ambition.' Are fictional men, with their jutting cheekbones, thick wallets and bottomless wells of empathy turning women off flawed-yet-corporeal men? Female romance readers sometimes struggle with the question. Some men feel that book boyfriends have set an unreasonable ideal. Moreno said she hears from men all the time who tell women readers, 'It's so hard for us because you compared us to the book characters that you read!' But are men really suffering from comparisons to their fictional counterparts? Moreno says that in her actual dating life, few men do things as basic as offering to pay for coffee, holding a door open or texting her to ask if she got home safe. Reading about better men in novels, she said, 'makes you think, 'Wait — no, I do deserve better!'' 'Why do men get so frustrated about us having book boyfriends?' she wondered. 'Is it just because they can't step up?' Indeed, the real-life book boyfriend is not a contradiction in terms: On social media, a man who raises his girlfriend's chin to kiss her gently on the head, or a man who reads in bed, is labeled a real-life book boyfriend. And plenty of real-life couples keep lists of book boyfriends, while also staying true to their real-life boyfriends and husbands. Great book boyfriends who live in books may tell us about how we want to be loved. But they don't offer a set of instructions that can or should be followed precisely in life. Peeta Mellark of the Hunger Games series is considered an iconic book boyfriend for his yearning heart and strategic mind — so committed is he to Katniss that his love only waivers when the government injects him with a venomous mind-control substance. On the other hand, Rhysand from the mega-popular 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' by Sarah J. Maas is widely celebrated as an all-time great book boyfriend in part because he heals and protects protagonist Fayre. But he also sexually humiliates her and coerces her into spending time with him. Of course, neither the fantastical nor the problematic book boyfriend is new. In 1848, a literary magazine reported that 'New England States were visited by a distressing mental epidemic, passing under the name of the 'Jane Eyre fever.'' Boarding schoolgirls and governesses were the most likely to be afflicted, the writer reported, as well as young men who, inspired by the book's male protagonist, 'began to swagger and swear in the presence of the gentler sex, and to allude darkly to events in their lives which excused impudence and profanity.' This was, presumably, a result of women and girls expressing attraction to a made-up character who kept his wife in an attic and who, the text tells the reader repeatedly, isn't even handsome. Like today's book boyfriends, Mr. Rochester's impact seems to be a joint production of the writer's deftness and the readers' wild imaginations. As in 'Jane Eyre,' book boyfriends in the 'dark romance' genre commit acts that would send real boyfriends to prison. 'I think readers are very aware that there is a difference between a fictional man on the page written by usually a woman or femme, and an actual human man who has been shaped by society,' Di Blasi said of violent and controlling book boyfriends. 'Having these characters is a way for a lot of readers to explore those things in a safe way.' A more unique and recent trend, Di Blasi noted, is romance novels in which 'men learn from their mistakes.' In books such as those by the writer Adriana Herrera, 'they are accountable,' Di Blasi said. 'They don't wait to be educated by the women in their life.' This is quite a contrast to Jane Eyre who, 178 years ago, had to go crawling door-to-door begging for porridge and then nearly married her creepy cousin before Mr. Rochester was changed enough for the two lovers to reconcile. Recently, Babalola gave a talk about her books at a high school. A teenage girl raised her hand and said that she loved reading 'Honey & Spice,' and confessed: 'It made me not want to date these guys in high school.' If a guy wasn't going to act like her best friend, be fun to hang out with and add value to her life, what was the point? Babalola was happy to hear a teenager articulate that you don't have to just accept whatever a man offers if it isn't what you really want. 'At the crux of it, I just want women to maintain their standards,' she said. 'And here's the thing: I don't think it's necessarily 'high standards' to want a man who's kind, and loving, and tender.' Jenny Singer is a freelance writer in San Francisco.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A New Chapter Begins: World of Hyatt and Reese's Book Club Bring Page-Turning Adventures for a Limited Time at Under Canvas and ULUM Camps
This summer, World of Hyatt members can escape to "Camp Unwritten" for a storybook-inspired glamping adventure that blends luxury, literature and the great outdoors CHICAGO, June 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This summer, pack your bags for Camp Unwritten – a one-of-a-kind glamping getaway where you're the star of the story – created by World of Hyatt with Reese's Book Club and Under Canvas. Think summer camp vibes, but all grown up: these limited-time bookable camps transform glamping into a literary escape, complete with curated book moments, luxe campfire settings and outdoor adventures that turn every guest and member into the main character of their summer. "With BookTok, Bookstagram, experiential travel and outdoor adventures all having a moment, we saw the perfect chance to bring it all together," said Laurie Blair, senior vice president of global marketing, Hyatt. "Camp Unwritten lets our members unplug and capture that leading role feel – cozy reads by the fire, wide-open skies and a setting straight out of a summer novel. It's one more way we're continuing to lean into experiences for members that spark joy and connection." Limited-Time Series Reimagining Campfire Tales from Check-in to Chapter One This is not your average book club. World of Hyatt and Reese's Book Club are bringing members face-to-face with today's most talked-about authors – The New York Times bestsellers and Reese's Book Club picks – in stunning, off-the-grid Under Canvas settings. These are bespoke escapes where guests can lean into their passion with campfire conversations, author inspired programming, curated menus and unforgettable moments with the minds behind the books you love. These limited-time and limited-availability experiences will offer immersive moments with fan-favorite books from young adult to murder mystery genres, including: July 14-16: Under Canvas Columbia River Gorge with Alexene Farol Follmuth, the bestselling author of Twelfth Knight, which was Reese's Book Club Summer 2024 Young Adult pick. You'll enjoy fireside s'mores with the author, a private toast under the stars, a new copy of her newest unreleased book Girl Dinner and an intimate Q&A that brings the pages to life. Learn more and book here. July 28-30: Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains with Ally Condie, author of The Unwedding, which was Reese's Book Club June 2024 pick. You'll have the opportunity to get lost in the magic of campfire chats, a nightcap under the stars and a close-up conversation with the author that blurs the line between fiction and real life. Learn more and book here. August 19-21: ULUM Moab with Reese's Book Club 2025 July pick. This mystery author and their book will be announced in time for the Reese's Book Club announcement in early July. From s'mores by the fire to guided adventure under the Looking Glass Arch, you'll connect in a way that feels straight out of a novel. Stay tuned for more updates and book here. "At Hello Sunshine, we see books as a way to unite people," said Sarah Harden, CEO of Hello Sunshine. "Collaborating with World of Hyatt allows us to bring beloved Reese's Book Club stories to life in enchanting settings, fostering meaningful connections among like-minded travelers under the stars." Missed This Chapter? Write Your Own For members not able to participate in one of the limited-time experiences, World of Hyatt members can create their own "Camp Unwritten" experience with friends, family, with a book club or even solo to unplug this summer. Members who book stays at any of the Under Canvas or ULUM locations through Hyatt in June (for stays throughout this year) will also receive a complimentary Headspace subscription for a year to create moments of mindfulness beyond the camps. See here for more information, including offer terms. More Rewarding Ways to Camp This Summer From starlit skies to campfire stories worth remembering, now's the time to join World of Hyatt. With new destinations like Fields of Michigan—now bookable on World of Hyatt through Under Canvas' acquisition of the South Haven, MI camp—your next unforgettable outdoor escape can be closer than ever. Members can also be even more rewarded while reconnecting with nature at Under Canvas locations including ULUM Moab with two available offers: Stars Above, Miles Ahead: Earn 1 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus mile per eligible $1 spent at participating Under Canvas locations when booked through Hyatt for stays completed between June 15 and September 15, 2025. Members must register by September 14, 2025 to qualify. Learn more here. Offer subject to terms. Road Trip, Earn and Save: Earn 500 World of Hyatt Points and save up to 35% off Avis car rental base rates. Book through Avis using AWD number K817738 and provide your World of Hyatt number to earn points. Car rental must begin by December 31, 2025. Learn more here. Offer subject to terms. Not a member? Sign up for free at The term "Hyatt" is used in this release to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates. For further information: About Hyatt Hotels Corporation Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company guided by its purpose – to care for people so they can be their best. As of March 31, 2025, the Company's portfolio included more than 1,450 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 79 countries across six continents. The Company's offering includes brands in the Luxury Portfolio, including Park Hyatt®, Alila®, Miraval®, Impression by Secrets, and The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®; the Lifestyle Portfolio, including Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, The Standard®, Dream® Hotels, The StandardX, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, JdV by Hyatt®, Bunkhouse® Hotels, and Me and All Hotels; the Inclusive Collection, including Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Sunscape® Resorts & Spas, Alua Hotels & Resorts®, and Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts; the Classics Portfolio, including Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Destination by Hyatt®, Hyatt Centric®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, and Hyatt®; and the Essentials Portfolio, including Caption by Hyatt®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios, Hyatt Select, and UrCove. Subsidiaries of the Company operate the World of Hyatt® loyalty program, ALG Vacations®, Mr & Mrs Smith, Unlimited Vacation Club®, Amstar® DMC destination management services, and Trisept Solutions® technology services. For more information, please visit About World of Hyatt World of Hyatt is Hyatt's award-winning guest loyalty program uniting participating locations in Hyatt's Luxury Portfolio, including Park Hyatt®, Alila®, Miraval®, Impression by Secrets, and The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®; the Lifestyle Portfolio, including Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, Dream® Hotels, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, JdV by Hyatt®, The Standard®, The StandardX and me and all hotels; the Inclusive Portfolio, including Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Sunscape® Resorts & Spas, and Alua Hotels & Resorts®; the Classics Portfolio, including Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Destination by Hyatt®, Hyatt Centric®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, and Hyatt®; and the Essentials Portfolio, including Caption by Hyatt®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios, and UrCove. Lifestyle Portfolio brand Bunkhouse® Hotels will participate in World of Hyatt in the future. Members who book directly through Hyatt channels can enjoy personalized care and access to distinct benefits including Guest of Honor, confirmed suite upgrades at time of booking, diverse wellbeing offerings, digital key, and exclusive member rates. With 56 million members and counting, World of Hyatt offers a variety of ways to earn and redeem points for hotel stays, dining and spa services, wellbeing focused experiences through the FIND platform; as well as the benefits of Hyatt's strategic loyalty collaboration with American Airlines AAdvantage®. Travelers can enroll for free at download the World of Hyatt app for android and IOS devices and connect with World of Hyatt on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. About Hello Sunshine Founded by Reese Witherspoon, Hello Sunshine puts women at the center of every story it creates, celebrates and discovers. Hello Sunshine tells stories across all platforms – from scripted and unscripted television, feature films, animated series, podcasts, audio storytelling, and digital series – all shining a light on where women are now and helping them chart a new path forward. Hello Sunshine is also home to Reese's Book Club. Fast growing in reach and influence, this community is propelled by meaningful connections with stories, authors, and fellow members. Hello Sunshine is part of Candle Media, an independent, creator-friendly home for cutting-edge, high-quality, category-defining brands and franchises. By bringing together elite talent operating at the intersection of content, community, and commerce, it helps to position leading entertainment businesses for accelerated, sustainable growth in the current market and beyond. Candle is run by its Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs, leading entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, and backed by investment capital from funds managed by Blackstone's flagship private equity business. About Under Canvas The leader in upscale, outdoor hospitality, Under Canvas is the ultimate outdoor destination experience. Its safari-style accommodations perfectly embrace their natural surroundings while featuring indoor luxuries, allowing guests to discover their outdoor self in comfort and style. Under Canvas operates 12 camp locations: North Yellowstone – Paradise Valley, West Yellowstone and Glacier in Mont.; Moab, Zion, Lake Powell – Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon in Utah; Mount Rushmore in S.D.; Great Smoky Mountains in Tenn.; Grand Canyon in Ariz.; Acadia in Maine, and new in 2025 Columbia River Gorge in Wa. To grant further access to the nation's most coveted national parks, Under Canvas expanded their footprint in the luxury outdoor hospitality space with the launch of ULUM, a bespoke resort brand that debuted its first location in Moab, Utah in spring of 2023. In 2025, Under Canvas introduced its Outdoor Collection- distinctive properties that offer nature-based stays and experiences, curated with place and purpose in mind. The Fields of Michigan in South Haven, MI, and Bar N Ranch in West Yellowstone, MT, are the first properties in the brand's new collection. For more information, please visit and View source version on Contacts Media Contact Kaitlyn Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Wire
A New Chapter Begins: World of Hyatt and Reese's Book Club Bring Page-Turning Adventures for a Limited Time at Under Canvas and ULUM Camps
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This summer, pack your bags for Camp Unwritten – a one-of-a-kind glamping getaway where you're the star of the story – created by World of Hyatt with Reese's Book Club and Under Canvas. Think summer camp vibes, but all grown up: these limited-time bookable camps transform glamping into a literary escape, complete with curated book moments, luxe campfire settings and outdoor adventures that turn every guest and member into the main character of their summer. 'With BookTok, Bookstagram, experiential travel and outdoor adventures all having a moment, we saw the perfect chance to bring it all together,' said Laurie Blair, senior vice president of global marketing, Hyatt. 'Camp Unwritten lets our members unplug and capture that leading role feel – cozy reads by the fire, wide-open skies and a setting straight out of a summer novel. It's one more way we're continuing to lean into experiences for members that spark joy and connection.' Limited-Time Series Reimagining Campfire Tales from Check-in to Chapter One This is not your average book club. World of Hyatt and Reese's Book Club are bringing members face-to-face with today's most talked-about authors – The New York Times bestsellers and Reese's Book Club picks – in stunning, off-the-grid Under Canvas settings. These are bespoke escapes where guests can lean into their passion with campfire conversations, author inspired programming, curated menus and unforgettable moments with the minds behind the books you love. These limited-time and limited-availability experiences will offer immersive moments with fan-favorite books from young adult to murder mystery genres, including: July 14-16: Under Canvas Columbia River Gorge with Alexene Farol Follmuth, the bestselling author of Twelfth Knight, which was Reese's Book Club Summer 2024 Young Adult pick. You'll enjoy fireside s'mores with the author, a private toast under the stars, a new copy of her newest unreleased book Girl Dinner and an intimate Q&A that brings the pages to life. Learn more and book here. July 28-30: Under Canvas Great Smoky Mountains with Ally Condie, author of The Unwedding, which was Reese's Book Club June 2024 pick. You'll have the opportunity to get lost in the magic of campfire chats, a nightcap under the stars and a close-up conversation with the author that blurs the line between fiction and real life. Learn more and book here. August 19-21: ULUM Moab with Reese's Book Club 2025 July pick. This mystery author and their book will be announced in time for the Reese's Book Club announcement in early July. From s'mores by the fire to guided adventure under the Looking Glass Arch, you'll connect in a way that feels straight out of a novel. Stay tuned for more updates and book here. 'At Hello Sunshine, we see books as a way to unite people,' said Sarah Harden, CEO of Hello Sunshine. 'Collaborating with World of Hyatt allows us to bring beloved Reese's Book Club stories to life in enchanting settings, fostering meaningful connections among like-minded travelers under the stars.' Missed This Chapter? Write Your Own For members not able to participate in one of the limited-time experiences, World of Hyatt members can create their own 'Camp Unwritten' experience with friends, family, with a book club or even solo to unplug this summer. Members who book stays at any of the Under Canvas or ULUM locations through Hyatt in June (for stays throughout this year) will also receive a complimentary Headspace subscription for a year to create moments of mindfulness beyond the camps. See here for more information, including offer terms. More Rewarding Ways to Camp This Summer From starlit skies to campfire stories worth remembering, now's the time to join World of Hyatt. With new destinations like Fields of Michigan —now bookable on World of Hyatt through Under Canvas' acquisition of the South Haven, MI camp—your next unforgettable outdoor escape can be closer than ever. Members can also be even more rewarded while reconnecting with nature at Under Canvas locations including ULUM Moab with two available offers: Stars Above, Miles Ahead: Earn 1 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus mile per eligible $1 spent at participating Under Canvas locations when booked through Hyatt for stays completed between June 15 and September 15, 2025. Members must register by September 14, 2025 to qualify. Learn more here. Offer subject to terms. Road Trip, Earn and Save: Earn 500 World of Hyatt Points and save up to 35% off Avis car rental base rates. Book through Avis using AWD number K817738 and provide your World of Hyatt number to earn points. Car rental must begin by December 31, 2025. Learn more here. Offer subject to terms. Not a member? Sign up for free at The term 'Hyatt' is used in this release to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates. For further information: About Hyatt Hotels Corporation Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company guided by its purpose – to care for people so they can be their best. As of March 31, 2025, the Company's portfolio included more than 1,450 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 79 countries across six continents. The Company's offering includes brands in the Luxury Portfolio, including Park Hyatt®, Alila®, Miraval®, Impression by Secrets, and The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®; the Lifestyle Portfolio, including Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, The Standard®, Dream® Hotels, The StandardX, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, JdV by Hyatt®, Bunkhouse® Hotels, and Me and All Hotels; the Inclusive Collection, including Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Sunscape® Resorts & Spas, Alua Hotels & Resorts®, and Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts; the Classics Portfolio, including Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Destination by Hyatt®, Hyatt Centric®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, and Hyatt®; and the Essentials Portfolio, including Caption by Hyatt®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios, Hyatt Select, and UrCove. Subsidiaries of the Company operate the World of Hyatt® loyalty program, ALG Vacations®, Mr & Mrs Smith, Unlimited Vacation Club®, Amstar® DMC destination management services, and Trisept Solutions® technology services. For more information, please visit About World of Hyatt World of Hyatt is Hyatt's award-winning guest loyalty program uniting participating locations in Hyatt's Luxury Portfolio, including Park Hyatt®, Alila®, Miraval®, Impression by Secrets, and The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®; the Lifestyle Portfolio, including Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, Dream® Hotels, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, JdV by Hyatt®, The Standard®, The StandardX and me and all hotels; the Inclusive Portfolio, including Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Sunscape® Resorts & Spas, and Alua Hotels & Resorts®; the Classics Portfolio, including Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Destination by Hyatt®, Hyatt Centric®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, and Hyatt®; and the Essentials Portfolio, including Caption by Hyatt®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios, and UrCove. Lifestyle Portfolio brand Bunkhouse® Hotels will participate in World of Hyatt in the future. Members who book directly through Hyatt channels can enjoy personalized care and access to distinct benefits including Guest of Honor, confirmed suite upgrades at time of booking, diverse wellbeing offerings, digital key, and exclusive member rates. With 56 million members and counting, World of Hyatt offers a variety of ways to earn and redeem points for hotel stays, dining and spa services, wellbeing focused experiences through the FIND platform; as well as the benefits of Hyatt's strategic loyalty collaboration with American Airlines AAdvantage®. Travelers can enroll for free at download the World of Hyatt app for android and IOS devices and connect with World of Hyatt on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. About Hello Sunshine Founded by Reese Witherspoon, Hello Sunshine puts women at the center of every story it creates, celebrates and discovers. Hello Sunshine tells stories across all platforms – from scripted and unscripted television, feature films, animated series, podcasts, audio storytelling, and digital series – all shining a light on where women are now and helping them chart a new path forward. Hello Sunshine is also home to Reese's Book Club. Fast growing in reach and influence, this community is propelled by meaningful connections with stories, authors, and fellow members. Hello Sunshine is part of Candle Media, an independent, creator-friendly home for cutting-edge, high-quality, category-defining brands and franchises. By bringing together elite talent operating at the intersection of content, community, and commerce, it helps to position leading entertainment businesses for accelerated, sustainable growth in the current market and beyond. Candle is run by its Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs, leading entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, and backed by investment capital from funds managed by Blackstone's flagship private equity business. About Under Canvas The leader in upscale, outdoor hospitality, Under Canvas is the ultimate outdoor destination experience. Its safari-style accommodations perfectly embrace their natural surroundings while featuring indoor luxuries, allowing guests to discover their outdoor self in comfort and style. Under Canvas operates 12 camp locations: North Yellowstone – Paradise Valley, West Yellowstone and Glacier in Mont.; Moab, Zion, Lake Powell – Grand Staircase and Bryce Canyon in Utah; Mount Rushmore in S.D.; Great Smoky Mountains in Tenn.; Grand Canyon in Ariz.; Acadia in Maine, and new in 2025 Columbia River Gorge in Wa. To grant further access to the nation's most coveted national parks, Under Canvas expanded their footprint in the luxury outdoor hospitality space with the launch of ULUM, a bespoke resort brand that debuted its first location in Moab, Utah in spring of 2023. In 2025, Under Canvas introduced its Outdoor Collection- distinctive properties that offer nature-based stays and experiences, curated with place and purpose in mind. The Fields of Michigan in South Haven, MI, and Bar N Ranch in West Yellowstone, MT, are the first properties in the brand's new collection. For more information, please visit and
Khaleej Times
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
How BookTok single-handedly transformed the literary world
The current scenario of the literary world is such that if you have seen a particular book everywhere, BookTok is likely responsible. For the past five years, BookTok has significantly increased global book sales and broadened the landscape for diversity in the publishing world. A prime example of the former being Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends With Us, which, thanks to its overarching fame, was recently turned into a highly-anticipated motion picture receiving mixed reviews globally. Released in 2016, the novel's sales increased around 700 per cent from 2020 to 2021. In 2024, Hoover was the second top-selling author of BookTok with around 2 million copies sold. The birth of bestsellers 'No one was publishing anything during the pandemic and a lot of books that became popular then were published five to 10 years ago,' says 24-year-old content creator Ayman Chaudhary, who goes by the handle @aymansbooks and has a following of more than 916,000 on TikTok. The hashtag BookTok, a byproduct of the lockdown, saw many young people create book-related content on TikTok which united an international community of book lovers on a scale never before seen, not even on Bookstagram. The power of the BookTok phenomenon was also observed in the case of Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles, the sales of which sky-rocketed after a viral TikTok video made it a first-time bestseller. This was just the beginning of how the bite-sized videos were going to change the way books were being sold. BookToker Ayman was also one of the many who made a viral video of her crying after finishing the heartwarming novel. An avid reader since childhood, Ayman started her BookTok journey in 2020 during the lockdown and became one of the first creators under the hashtag. Bibliophiles obsessed or sobbed over their favourites, ranted, and dressed up as book characters making books instant bestsellers. Publishers were now contacting influential BookTokers and offering payment or free books in return for TikTok videos reviewing and promoting their titles. Authors who have found unparalleled fame thanks to content on BookTok include Sarah J. Maas, V. E. Schwab, Holly Jackson, Emily Henry, Alice Oseman, and even the Russian classical writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky. In 2024, Sarah J. Maas, author of international bestselling fantasy series Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City managed to sell around 5 million print copies of her works only in the first six months of the year. While relatively popular in the Young Adult (YA) literary world before the BookTok era, Maas admitted that her recent unprecedented fame was all thanks to BookTok. Curiouser still, a few authors on the platform managed to bag major book deals after capturing the eye of publishers with their viral concept videos. Colombian-American author Alex Aster's Lightlark pitch video gained such popularity that she simultaneously landed both a book and movie deal, and her novel reached bestseller lists even before its release. As far as publishers are concerned, BookTok is now responsible for creating bestsellers. 'There are a few books that a lot of people associate with me because I made a video to recommend them and it went viral,' says Ayman of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab which topped charts in the US and Alone With You In The Ether by Olivie Blake. Flourishing era of diversity Ayman, who recently attended the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai, was particularly excited to attend the session of author Zoulfa Katouh who made waves in the YA literary world thanks to her debut novel As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow. The heart-wrenching novel is set in Syria and focuses on the struggles of young people under the civil war. ' As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow was trending on BookTok two years ago and I remember the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian community hyping it up [so much] that people outside the community started reading it,' Ayman mentions, adding that her For You page was filled with videos of the novel. The author, Zoulfa Katouh, was delighted to hear that was how Ayman came across her novel, 'I like Ayman's videos a lot. She's very creative with them,' she says. The author was told by her publisher and readers that her debut novel became popular because of BookTok. Zoulfa says that the platform's word-of-mouth recommendations by readers have paved the way for diversity in representation. She believes that if a reader takes time out of their everyday lives to recommend a book on their TikTok, then it must truly be impactful, 'It feels so organic and real when you see videos of people crying and saying a book is amazing.' New routes to travel She adds that BookTok is breaking communication barriers all around the world, 'The way that diversity is being spoken about in TikTok right now for books is helpful for people to widen their perspective of books that they probably never would have thought of reading or have come across on a bookshelf.' BookTok has evolved by leaps and bounds in the past five years with a strong focus on marginalised communities. Even so, Ayman believes that there is still room for improvement, 'My hope is for it to be more diverse and inclusive. It is great how far we've come but I still think we need a lot of work, and I would like to see bookstores and publishers give more space to minority creators and authors.' With bookstores worldwide now housing tables and shelves dedicated for BookTok recommendations, Ayman remarks that the impact of BookTok is astonishing, 'There's a space for any type of reader and anyone who wants to be a reader. It is one of the most diverse communities I've ever been a part of. It's changed book publishing and bookstores forever.'
