Just finished with an exciting read and faced with the existential crisis of what to read next? Does your virtual or physical bookshelf look empty?
You’re in luck, dear bookworm, because today we are going to dive deep into one of the biggest social platforms for book lovers!
A magic world, where billions of fairies share their literary pixie dust with us, and books grow on the trees of an enchanted forest. This community is no secret, though. Using the hashtag #BookTok on TikTok, anyone can participate and enjoy themselves in an endless book-related talk.
In addition to creating a fun space for book readers to discuss their favorite reads, BookTok has also provided motivation for new readers to join the community, increasing book sales worldwide and proving that no matter who you are, reading can be just the hobby for you. Don’t believe us? Read our article on the Benefits of Reading Fiction.
BookTok—short for book and TikTok—is a subcommunity on the social platform that includes content related to books and literature in general. It literally is a hashtag, (#BookTok) that connects every reader, author, and content creator all over the globe. There, the readers can discuss their favorite stories, authors can promote themselves and get great feedback directly from their fans, and content creators can help promote a book till it gets in the famous list known as BookTok Made Me Read It, aka the bestseller list.
The idea of the BookTok community took form during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and BookTokers had an immediate impact on the world, recommending books, offering reviews, and joking around with their favorite character’s quirks and traits.
It seems that BookTokers have some literary genres they love talking about and since it’s a rather new phenomenon, the content is mainly produced and promoted by young people. Hence, the hot genres popping up under the BookTok hashtag are young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, and romance.
Now, as romance is a huge umbrella term, you can have a quick look at our complete list of romance subgenres and find which book will be your next read!
On BookTok, authors and readers enjoy the company of each other. The content the authors create is more personal, giving people an actual chance to get to know their favorite authors or meet new ones. The fact that BookTok has more than 29 billion views, enables any author to promote either their old or new books and have an immediate response from readers—positive or negative. The key point is the great exposure a book gets and the feedback the author receives from users.
Self-promoting authors have the opportunity to introduce their books to the public in a rather easy and affordable way. Creativity and imagination are the tools for a good promotion as the combination of sound and image in one short video catches the attention of the average user. That is why some authors seek collaboration with famous BookTokers in order to add a little bit of “spice” to the promotion of their books.
Another smart strategy that authors tend to follow on BookTok is to discuss an idea first-hand with the readers and get feedback. This way, authors have the opportunity to feel out their audience and get a first impression of their reaction to an idea. Practically they save time, effort, and money. Imagine spotting a new author talking about a book they want to write and the idea catches your eye. After some time, you see it on the shelf of your local bookshop and you quickly go check your saved videos on TikTok to see that you indeed have a good eye for exciting stories! Magical, right?
What a great time to be a reader, huh? Scrolling through a never-ending source of content focused on literature, discussing your favorite characters in the comments, joking around, crying out loud with fellow book lovers, and finding the perfect read to match your mood at the moment!
If you need a book recommendation ASAP, here is a list of fiction and non-fiction books.
It is very romantic to look for books in a bookshop or a library, but the chance to do just that from the comfort of your own home is undeniable. Also, as there is a great variety of books available, we can never know which one would be the right read for us. On BookTok, there are always people who have read the book we are looking for and there are videos of book reviews, short summaries, or just someone obsessing over the book—things we can relate to. Hauls are a TikTok trend and a rather popular BooktTok activity that even great houses in the publishing industry, such as Barnes and Noble, tend to include in their own BookTok videos. Additionally, each user’s interaction with BookTok content trains the app’s smart algorithm to only show them creators and suggestions that correspond to their own personal taste, so it serves as a smart librarian that knows just what you like! This variety of unique features is what makes BookTok a truly fascinating experience. It is like taking part in a virtual book club!
The authentic content—most times unsponsored—builds trust in the sub-community. Genuine recommendations and personal reviews shape the perfect guidelines for creating a personal book profile. BookTokers lead us through the different genres, aesthetics, and forms of academia (dark, light, etc.) so by the end of a video, we know which book feature appeals to us.
The fact that there is a real person talking to us without any actual profit is moving and engages us in a more intimate type of communication. We, readers, connect and exchange thoughts, creating a powerful community that influences the book industry every day. BookTok has given voice to every reader, and the focus of the book production process is—actually—on the reader.
There is no limit to what someone can create. Maybe no art is truly original, but there are certainly no bounds to creativity. Here are some examples of the kind of content that is trending on BookTok.
Promo videos
BookTokers love to create fan-made trailers for their favorite book, giving the readers the chance to have a sneak peek of the story. They concentrate on basic information such as what the characters look like, the vibe or mood of the story, or its location. For example, for an epic fantasy book with lots of adventure and high stakes, the creator will choose a “moody” color palette with high exposure and sharpened shadows. For a Regency romance, the creator would go with the appropriate background music, maybe a montage of women dancing in a ball and a color palette of pastel pink or blue.
And this is just an idea of how someone could make a promo video. There are also videos that include some meaningful quotes from the book that will urge the audience to read it or a small preview of an impactful interaction between the characters. There is really no end to what a creator’s mind can come up with!
Reaction videos
There is nothing more precious than watching someone else have the same breakdown as you had while reading THAT amazing chapter in the book. The facial expressions, the screaming, crying, and even swearing at the characters, are all funny and relatable reactions that anyone can experience. When we watch someone else reacting like we did, though, the connection we feel with that stranger is priceless. This kind of video may trigger our curiosity the most because we all want a taste of their euphoria—okay, sometimes we may just want to prove that they are exaggerating! But anyway, the reaction video did its job successfully.
Review videos
It is the most helpful kind of content on BookTok as a good review is the first thing we look for before we proceed to read a book. Why on Booktok? Because it is short, funny, and authentic. Most readers do not need a highly paid reviewer to comment on the historical accuracy or the characters’ morality. We just need a feel-good read that matches our interests. This kind of recommendation comes from people who share this belief and share their opinions freely. It is easy to compare different reviews and make up our minds about a book as most videos are short and accompanied by a comment section where other readers can join the conversation.
Artistic videos
Of course, all kinds of videos on TikTok have an artistic touch to attract viewers. There are some that focus completely on presenting the aesthetic, the characters, some scenery that matches the descriptions in the book, or even the genre of music that could accompany our reading session. On the other hand, it is a trend to make a fan-cast list with real-life actors who resemble the characters in a story, or just have an AI narrating a page of a book. Musicians, painters, and other artists get inspired by BookTok and create, or even promote their art on BookTok.
BookTok has a huge number of active viewers, thirsty for new information. The immediate exposure a book gets when it is promoted through BookTok is the key to the whole process of publishing. Various studies have shown that a book that is discussed on BookTok increases its sales significantly. Old books have come under the spotlight of BookTok and have been re-published by their house due to the great demand they got from the public. For example, Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us was initially published back in 2016, selling about 21.000 copies in the first month. In 2021, though, the book’s sales increased to about 17.000 copies weekly! And that was just the start. BookTok was so hyped about this book that a movie was being produced based on it. Unfortunately, it got canceled just as they had started shooting. Why? Ask BookTok!
Other famous BookTok books that are currently trending on BookTok are Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses and Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles.
For some people, reading is a solitary adventure. Of course, we cannot always have someone narrate the story out loud—as romantic as this could be. On BookTok, reading became a collective activity, as the users trust and appreciate fellow members’ opinions on books while sharing their own thoughts on the story.
If for some reason you are not a fan of TikTok, then you can check out other social media platforms that can be useful to book lovers by clicking on our article Social Media For Book Lovers.
BookTok is a subcommunity that exists as a hashtag on the social platform of TikTok. If you want access to the community then it is helpful to have an active TikTok account and train your algorithm in order to bring the content of your interest to the For You page
You can have access to endless BookTok content simply by downloading the TikTok application on your preferred device and signing up. Just look for videos with the hashtag #BookTok.
BookTok functions in a similar way as TikTok; based on its users and views. All kinds of promotions and advertisements are part of the experience in BookTok. The influencers on BookTok are called BookTokers and they can make deals to promote a book on their platform. It is part of the so-called influencer marketing.
Nikki Sheryee insists that she’s “up to no good” whenever she’s in the company of books. Armed with a degree in English Language and Literature, she wields the power of words like a mischievous wizard. Her lifelong dream? To be the editor who sprinkles magic dust on manuscripts! To Nikki, a book is more alive than a caffeinated squirrel on roller skates. Readers nurture it, cuddle it, scold it, and occasionally challenge it to a duel! But in the end, a book does its own thing, pulling at our heartstrings and revealing our inner human-ness. Nikki’s favorite pastime? Well, it’s none other than the noble art of daydreaming! And she wears her daydreamer’s badge with pride, sharing this delightful delusion with the crème de la crème of her friends.
