What is BookTok?
During the Quarantine, where millions were stuck at home with nothing to do, an internet subcommunity erupted. It was dedicated to sharing different kinds of literature, book reviews, and recommendations widely known as BookTok. It was a major force that is responsible for bringing millions of teens and young adults together through their love and critique of books.
The rise of BookTok
In the U.S, roughly 60% of users have started to read books or have read a BookTok recommended book. For a platform of almost 150 million U.S users this means around 90 million users have been introduced and interested in reading through this platform.
BookTok’s influence:
For generation Z, reading is not a popular form of entertainment, especially when compared to other media types. The majority of teenagers and young adults find iPhones, TVs, and laptops to be more exciting than books could ever be. BookTok has changed that narrative. BookTok is a community driven to create content focused on whatever genre the user may be interested in.
The most popular genres would be Romance and Fantasy, but there are millions shared across the community showcasing all kinds of books. BookTok opened hundreds of doors for new readers to find the perfect read specifically for them.
BookTok’s influence is so great that it has made immense changes to the reading community. Before 2020, the largest bookselling store Barnes and Noble was failing with over 400 stores closing down. People were not reading as much as before. Local and smaller bookstores took hits as well, needing to close down due to no customers.
Everything Changed when BookTok came to the internet.
In 2025 Barnes and Noble had opened hundreds of stores bustling with readers. The majority of these readers came in with BookTok recommendations in mind.
The Pros and Cons
Thousands of authors and bookstores have been supported and can continue working and making their art because of BookTok’s influence.It is powerful and continues to expand as millions of people are learning to love reading. Not just any people of course, but younger generations that will benefit from reading instead of staring at an iPhone.
Although BookTok is definitely a great community and has done incredible things for many reading communities. There are issues that come from such a powerful platform.
For example it has driven a large desire for overconsumption, large volumes of books and series that are considered aesthetic and popular on BookTok.
It is unnecessary to constantly buy new books when there are perfectly good libraries or second-hand stores available. However, the fascination for new or limited edition books has increased through Booktok and led to decline in the second-hand book market.
Additionally BookTok mainly focuses on specific “tropes” and prioritizes superficial plots and storylines. This is an issue because it takes away from the uniqueness of books and all writers should have their own distinctive writing style.
Recently, because of BookTok, there has been a trend of books with little to no depth and quality. BookTok has influenced a “lazy”writing style that authors have been using as of late to cater to what BookTok readers may want. It pushes out quick, superficial reads and enforces the previous issue of over-consuming and constantly buying new books.
BookTok may have its Pros and Cons, but in the end it is a great community that if used correctly, can continue to do amazing things for the world of literature.
