The literary middle: Loving books that don't go viral

In the age of algorithmic discovery, it often feels like the same ten books are everywhere. You open Instagram, you see Fourth Wing. You open TikTok, it's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Twitter/x? Something about Babel or The Secret History. 

There’s nothing wrong with loving a popular book. The best ones resonate for a reason. But in all the noise, it can be hard to hear the quieter voices. The books that didn’t land on a major award shortlist or trend on BookTok, but still left something behind in you.