The once niche crowd on TikTok where people posted quotes and showcased lists of their favorite books, has now grown into a large online community where people watch, share and interact with accounts dedicated to books and reading.
The community calls itself “BookTok,” and if you’ve been in a bookstore in the last four years, you’ve probably seen tables labeled something like “BookTok Favorites”, where books from all genres are grouped together by what is currently trending in the social media sphere.
On TikTok, #BookTok currently links more than 30.1 million posts. And if you’ve received a recommendation recently from a friend, it’s most likely because it made its rounds in the BookTok community.
“I think it’s a great way to get fast feedback and raw reactions to books and literature in general, and also help promote authors that are really trying to start up their careers,” said student Ella Frey, who had first discovered the series, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” through BookTok. “Reading the ACOTAR series, literally changed my life, it’s a series that got me out of my slump that I had been on for a while and helped me delve into the world of fantasy in general.”
The community itself provides users with recommendations for books, reactions to scenes, context, aesthetics, fanart, opinions and author promotion. Books that have come out in the last couple years have been popular amongst users, and even resurgences of books that are much older have had time in the limelight.
BookTok has been an outlet in which fans can be introduced to reading, rediscover their love for it, or find books suited to their interests, and tropes they favor.
BookTok offers alternative ways to approach reading that isn’t only the summary on the back of a book cover. Its ability to cater to all audiences and their genre preferences allows for books to gain popularity and reach even outside of the TikTok sphere, recommendations passing from those on BookTok spill over to friends and family.
The community does have its fair share of cons, especially since it has grown to cater to so many people across the platform.
“I’m all for knowledge being able to be more accessible in the terms of being on social media, especially TikTok. But I am a bit wary of too much information, especially ‘ ‘wrong’ information or negative information being spread as well,” said student, Theo Chin.
BookTok has created such a large community that has made it so many people search for tropes in books instead of plots, or glorify authors whose books may perpetuate negative stereotypes.
“While BookTok has rekindled a love for reading amongst many people, it focuses too much on tropes and aesthetics rather than quality writing and powerful prose. BookTok perpetuates a culture where tropes and books rapidly gain popularity like microtrends, each month pushing out a new hyper popular trope,” said student, Sofiya Ollamova, president of the Book Club on campus.
BookTok’s has both its pros and cons that customarily come with such a large online community, but it’s universally agreed upon that since its birth mid pandemic, its created a space where many are able to enter the reading community and find a place for themselves.