BookTok

[Janne Halla]

In recent years, social media platforms have become influential spaces for sharing opinions, experiences, and recommendations across various domains, one of them being literature. One such platform that has gained significant traction among book lovers is BookTok, a corner of TikTok dedicated to discussing and promoting books.

BookTok serves as a virtual book club where users can create short-form videos to review, recommend, and discuss books. These videos range from book hauls, showing off their book collection and book reviews to creative book-related content, such as character aesthetics and reading challenges. What sets BookTok apart is its ability to capture the attention of a predominantly young audience.

Thanks to BookTok videos, several novels made it onto The New York Times Bestseller list. Some of the books that saw an increase in sales were almost ten years old, while other novels became well-known before they were published.

Are you familiar with or active on BookTok? Have you read any books based on the recommendations of the BookTok users? Do you think BookTok is a good way to find new books to read?

I found quite a few books due to BookTok that I'd never thought of reading or even know about. The Night and its Moon by Piper CJ, Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes, and Stone Maidens by Lloyd Devereux Richards to name a few.

[Florence Contelli]

Hi Janne and all!

Yes, I'm familiar with Booktok. I don't do videos for Booktok, but I have subscriptions on a couple Tiktok channels, which promote books. Sometimes I'm skeptical about it, because I read a book called "Trick Mirror" by Gia Tolentino and I personally didn't liked it, because I didn't knew the author very well and it was just about her life.
I think it is important to find a good Booktoker (someone who posted the videos about books) who can give you good advice what is to read next. In my case personally, I enjoyed "My year of Rest and Relaxation" by Ottessa Moshfegh.

[Hiya Debnath]

I am not really familiar with BookTok. But it sounds so interesting. I am straightaway going to check it out.