He Didn't Find Love on ‘Love Island.' He Founded a Book Club Instead.
During his 16 days as a contestant, he'd gained more than two million followers on TikTok, up from just 44 before he went on the show. Shortly after his exit, a suggestion from a follower on social media immediately grabbed him.
'Somebody said, you should start a book club, and I was like, oh my gosh, lightbulb,' Brown said in an interview. 'The second I read this idea, I was like yeah, we got to do this.'
When Brown posted about his book club in early July, the announcement generated wild enthusiasm. Soon, the club had around 120,000 members.
'Y'all some nerds,' Brown told his followers.
After polling club members on what genre they wanted to read (romance, naturally), Brown gave them a list of books to vote on, which included BookTok favorites like 'It Ends With Us,' 'Beach Read,' 'Twisted Love' and 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.' The winner, by several thousand votes, was 'The Song of Achilles,' by Madeline Miller.
The novel, which is more of an epic tragedy than a romance, has already attracted a wide audience, selling more than 4 million copies since its release in 2012. Set during the Trojan War, it imagines a doomed love affair between the warrior Achilles and his devoted companion Patroclus.
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