BookTok – Making reading trendy

'BookTok', is a hashtag on TikTok, that connects avid readers across the world who interact with each other, discover new books and share their own ideas on what they read. Following the Bookstagram wagon, thousands of young readers are now posting about their favourite books on the video sharing app. Altogether, the videos under this hashtag have obtained a little more than 105 billion views. Creators from this community are called BookTokers, and they range from readers and authors to publishers, and literary agents. While their content varies, it is mostly made up of book recommendations and reviews. Users also post their book hauls, share challenges, host giveaways, and participate in advertisements.

The hashtag first appeared on the platform in late 2020. Instead of plain reviews of books, users began shooting creative short videos, mostly shorter than 60 seconds. In them, they present what they have recently read, play out novel plots or take part in fun challenges — like reading a book in one day, or matching their outfits with a popular character. Just like any other pandemic hobby, the numbers began growing exponentially and over time it became a sub community within the billions of users on the platform. Presently, a lot of people browse through the platform simply for going through bookish posts, and sharing their own thoughts on them.

Unlike other social media platforms, Tiktok's algorithm is designed to reach more than just a user's current follower base, connecting people with a large scope of creators and users that are interested in similar content. In fact, book bloggers find it easier to navigate and connect on this platform, given the simplicity of the type of content one posts here.

"Unlike Instagram, we do not have to spend hours coming up with the perfect flatlay, editing a hundred pictures, and thinking of an appropriate caption. BookTok has made book blogging more comfortable, and I like the literary space it has to offer," shared Farhana (@farhana.reads). She recalls how BookTok helped her become a regular reader as she now tries to do the same for her followers. "Creating a video is totally in my comfort zone, as I can just pick up my phone and talk about a book I really like. It can, however, take some time to post playlists and edited videos," she added.

BookTok is being credited for creating the next wave of reader-author relationships. Bypassing conventional communication channels, these groups communicate and interact with one another directly through the app, exchanging information, suggestions, and book reviews. This community has also been successful in creating new readers, as people get excited about the kind of books they find on this platform. Whether it's introducing older titles to new readers, helping authors find their target audience, or moderating the book debates, BookTok is all set to continue serving its vast audience of booklovers.

Photos: Maisha Syeda

While there are many popular genres on BookTok, you would find more videos about young-adult titles, including lots of fantasy and romance recommendations. Since there are so many videos on novels that can make you cry and tug at your heartstrings, books that generate strong emotions are also very popular on TikTok.  In fact, part of the group experience is tied to the fact that books with a strong emotional hook are often the ones that go viral. Once people begin reacting to a book, they look for other people to share the emotion. Finally, it has also led to the emergence of micro genres like dark academia and tropes like enemies to lovers. The algorithm's capacity to identify particular preferences can be shown in its ability to reduce a book to just these particular themes or structures.

Diverse voices are also trending on BookTok, which helps new audiences discover incredible books by a diverse group of authors. What readers love the most about this platform is the fact that they could carve their own niche, and be very specific about the kind of content they are browsing. Whether it is books related to Taylor Swift's latest release or quotes from Colleen Hoover's books, you can find it all. Book bloggers meticulously describe and categorise the books they talk about using familiar tropes, which helps their audience make informed choices. Tropes tend to be plot or character categories that are popular among a certain genre of books and can become synonymous with the genre itself. BookTok allows creators to make entire videos addressing one comment in ways that are harder to do with other social media, attributing to the characteristic specificity.

"I do not think there is one particular format for BookTok. I usually post mini book summaries and share my book hauls. While I see a lot of people interacting with my content, I cannot assure how many of them actually read the books I post about," said Sadman Sadik (@sadmansadik). Talking about the impact on BookTok on changing reading habits, he emphasised on content creators' potential to promote better books and increase sales for those books. "Most of the people have no idea which book to start with. We can definitely help in that aspect, creating a long lasting impact in the same way."  

BookTok is for anyone who loves books but most of the most popular content creators are young adults, often between the ages of 15-30. "TikTok in general is a social app more popular among the young demographic. It comes as no surprise that most of us (creators) also fall under this range. However, we do try to diversify our recommendations so we have something for everyone who scrolls through this hashtag," Tabassum Zaman Irin explained (@whatirinreads). Irin mostly posts trope-specific recommendation lists, annotations and book hauls. "One thing that worries me about BookTok is the absence of proper trigger warnings, given that these videos are mostly viewed by young readers. I love how the reading community is expanding due to BookTok but at the same time I am also really worried," she concluded.

Web Illustration: Maisha Syeda

Along with providing readers with tried-and-true book recommendations, BookTok is a safe community space on social media. It is a community where book lovers can come together to talk about and share their thoughts on their favourite books—and find new favourites, too. It acts like an unfiltered version of blogging, where it takes minimalist efforts to share something.

"I could instantly share a video talking about a book I just finished reading, or shoot several videos with the same attire. For book recommendations, I just need to shoot short clips while keeping the transitions in mind," shared Ramisa Chowdhury (@sentrancedbookworm). She emphasised on the fact that how BookTok content is not necessarily about what the audience prefers but what the user likes. "It is easy to get caught up with reach, likes, and comments but one must remember to continue posting for themselves, sharing things that they love. It takes some time but these micro influencers have a more loyal and authentic fanbase than mega influencers with millions of followers," she explained.

BookTok is not only a positive social media community, it also helps resurface older books, and highlight hidden gems. The titles trending on BookTok are not limited to just new releases—in fact, many of the book recommendations are from years ago, like  "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini (2008), "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak (2007), and Madeline Miller's "The Song of Achilles" (2011). Many BookTokers have also organised their bookshelves by colour, and therefore, pretty covers is becoming a purchase criterion for these bloggers. While this may sound superficial, hypes created through TikTok are having a real impact on the publishing industry and bestseller lists. This includes authors paying more attention to cover details, and bookstores creating separate corners for what's trending on BookTok. These traits are yet to arrive in the Bangladeshi scene but content creators are confident that it is not too far away.