When the pandemic took over in 2020, many of us (including myself) turned to escapism to pass the time. The majority of us had no source of entertainment in our own life as all doors were shut and we were isolated from our friends. Life turned into watching the minute hand on the clock pass and wondering one universal question: How long would it take to return to our normal lives? However, amid these boring and grueling days, BookTok was created. BookTok came about on the app TikTok and completely changed the reader’s community. The hashtag alone has reached over 290 million views since it was created! BookTok led to people picking up old habits as they joined the group and began reading again.
Personally, BookTok introduced me to reading well over 25 books since I came across it. Most recently, a video of a girl who recorded her reaction to the end of a book came across my page. This book was How Does It Feel? by Jeneane O’Riley. The girl was freaking out and demanded the viewers to buy the book, claiming she had not just finished the book, the book finished her. I hadn’t even read the blurb of it before going onto Amazon and pressing the quickest shipping option. (Spoiler alert, I finished the 400 page in three days and loved it). The creator’s reaction alone made me crave the excitement she just showed and I realized in that moment just how influential BookTok became. The unification of readers on BookTok completely altered the reading community. Multiple authors constantly give credit to BookTok because it spreads their work to people worldwide. Some books became so sought-after that they even became film adapted. For example, Daisy Jones & The Six by Jenkins Reif was one of the first books to blow up on TikTok. Now, this book is on the big screen and is an ongoing television show. The most shocking example is Lightlark by Alex Aster. Aster made content about her book before it was released and teased what it was about, her first video on it got 2.8 million views. As a direct result of the popularity of BookTok, the book got picked up to become a movie before it even hit the shelves! Without a doubt, this book and its excellence were only revealed by the ongoing anticipation and excitement on BookTok.
It’s convenient for us readers because when we finish a book we can go and join the thousands of people who are writing their own opinions and theories. Additionally, if you’re looking for a specific trope of a book, one quick search gives you an infinite list of books that relate to it. Along with so many others, I love taking recommendations and before I go into Barnes and Noble to get my next book, I know where to look for inspiration.
