Reading for fun is now all the rage. Going to any bookstore or even website for books, many readers come across a “BookTok” section. BookTok has now even made an impact in your brick and mortar stores, but how big of an impact does it really have?
What is BookTok?
BookTok generally refers to the niche of readers on social media. This was originally pinned to the Book side of TikTok, however this can be referring to the book community on social media as a whole. BookTok is a group in which people read and recommend books; this branches off into different niches of BookTok as well. Authors have gotten spotlights on them for going viral on BookTok. But the main thing to consider is that there are many sides to BookTok, some of the many branches being romance, fantasy, and realistic fiction. BookTok had a big growth during the pandemic, when those who needed a hobby or something to do found themselves reading at home, giving recommendations through social media.
But BookTok doesn’t just have to refer to those who read and recommend books, it can also apply to the many public libraries with social media accounts, as they create online content related to the books they have currently.
Inspiring people to read and forming a sense of community
BookTok in many cases inspires people to read and discover a love of reading again. Many have discovered new resources on BookTok or are utilizing old resources. An example of this would be the many libraries who have accounts on Instagram for readers. Some libraries, such as the Seattle Public Library or Milwaukee public Library, who have followers from readers who aren’t even in the area are inspiring readers to go use public libraries. Social media helps broaden the reach of these libraries and inspires those readers to even just go to libraries and pick up a book. Another example would be the use of Libby, which is now very popular on BookTok. An app in which you can borrow books from your library digitally, it makes it easier for those on the go to access. This app is heavily used on BookTok along with other digital reading resources such as Kindles and Goodreads, which are resources that have been used on BookTok. As a prolific consumer of BookTok, many see these resources and are motivated to use them.
Helping Readers to find the right book and Writers the right audience
Readers on BookTok are met with an overwhelming amount of options, and in these options, many find the perfect book for them. Need a science fiction/ dystopian novel? What about a really good classic? BookTok has got you covered. Many times on a video, readers are given a snippet of the book or character from the book, and if they are interested, they can look up the actual plot for more. This can give emerging authors a chance to shine, giving them marketing and driving profits for their writing.
An author who can be attributed with this BookTok success can be Madeline Miller, the author of “The Song of Achilles.” The book went viral on BookTok garnering millions of readers. I
n a New York Times article titled “How TikTok Became a Best-Seller Machine” by Elizabeth A. Harris, she discusses how Tiktok can be attributed to helping Miller.
“Since February 2020 she has been struggling with long Covid and was concerned about her ability to work, [Miller] said. Having “Song of Achilles” catch fire on TikTok allowed her to take care of herself and her family, and to keep working on her next novel.”
It allowed Miller to find the right audience, helping her to connect with those readers and provide for her family.
Readers are suddenly presented with so many options of books to choose from, many having diverse representations that they usually wouldn’t have heard from.
The importance of diverse representation is critical to literature.
“It’s so important to have representation in books,” said suphomore Ajiahna Ganney. “Many times, books are written to represent the world, and it’s important to shine a light on all stories.”
BookTok helps readers find their niche and their representation, furthering the positive impact the small community has on some reader’s lives.
Putting quantity and viral factor over quality: A recent problem with BookTok
While the community does have its upsides, we have to acknowledge the potential negative impacts BookTok has as well.
As a reader myself, I find myself sometimes looking to BookTok for recommendations, with skepticism of course. While there are great books on BookTok, everyone has their own opinions and tastes which can sometimes fall flat for me. However, this isn’t what bothers me, what bothers me is the very rushed books that are made specifically for BookTok.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are many good recommendations and books that reside on BookTok, but there are just as many formulaic books with very questionable characters and plotlines.
There is a very large BookTok community, and some authors try to cater to this. There’s nothing wrong with catering to your audiences, but many authors create very rushed and formulaic plots that often fall flat for me. The characters are very two dimensional, and the plot is very similar to others that I’ve read with no real differing factor.
BookTok is a very demanding audience and authors feel pressured to put out books to appease, which can often yield rushed books and the community’s want for quantity of quality.
BookTok, while a great community, also has downsides of its own. The need for quantity of quality is permeated into the books we read, and BookTok isn’t stopping. While we all love a good book binge, we all should sit back and be very mindful of our consumption of formulaic novels. BookTok is a commanding audience, like I’ve said before, and being mindful of our consumption may just steer BookTok out of the quantity of quality situation. Sit back, enjoy a good book, and who knows, maybe you’ll end up recommending it to our little community on BookTok.
