Pro: Understanding the lure of BookTok

STORY MORGAN SUN

ILLUSTRATION ELLIE NAKAMURA

Among the multitudes of famed dancers and comedians, a corner of the TikTok community sits in its own bubble; one that sucks in all literary fanatics, called Booktok. Any avid reader or writer that scrolls through the algorithmic pages of social media has stumbled across this section of seemingly endless book recommendations from thousands of content creators.

The most predominant faction of Booktok, however, are dedicated fans to a select few young adult fantasy series and authors. But while the praise of the few popular books in this community may seem like an echochamber, the real treasure lies outside the bounds of its mainstream.

Despite its tendency towards mob behavior, Booktok succeeds in its most important goal: encouraging a greater audience to read. Through sharing and popularizing these recommendations, the community romanticizes reading and portrays the joy in reading for pleasure rather than for a dreaded school mandate.

This community of online readers is like a gift to those who often struggle to find others that get as excited over books as they do, and it is refreshing to know there are thousands of others out there with the same passion.

Seasoned readers can join in on the fun by recommending their own shelf of books, or find a new source of motivation in an unfortunate slump. People newly introduced to the world of literature can get a horde of book recommendations on their list in an instant.

Social media offers a free platform for small creators and small businesses — which applies to authors as well. Authors of any kind can market their book in the social media space, and even one viral video can rocket the book towards thousands of readers.

One well-rounded pitch can land a small author a publishing deal, marking the start of their own career. While social media is by no means the future of the publishing industry, it is still inspiring to witness people establishing their success with the algorithm and content creation.

The increasingly large community influences factors and life outside of fantasy novels, through women’s empowerment. The mainstream category of Booktok centers around romance and erotica, which seems to be inherently incompatible with female sexuality.

Traditional forms of sexual content feed into the narrative of the male lens, which thrives off the objectification of women as the objects of sexual gratification, and all emotion is stripped from the experience. Often, they feature violent men abusing women, giving the impression that a woman’s only sexual goal is to be submissive to a man’s desires.

Female erotica subverts that gaze and include storylines that are just as vital as the sexual content, driving the desire and intrigue.

They create spaces where women can write, produce, and star in sexual material that puts their desires front and center. It should be encouraged to take over the mainstream representation and show people that sexuality can be healthy, fun, and equitable.

The few bad apples of Booktok’s content creators drown out the healthy and diverse tree that is growing within the media. Just like taking any advice from strangers on the internet should be taken with a grain of salt, the same must be said for Booktok.

Reading is subjective, so it is no wonder that going into a specific subsection of social media would lead to differing opinions. But there are different sections of Booktok that just are not as mainstream as the romance genre — non-fiction, historical, and mythological.

No matter which avenue one chooses to take in the maze of Booktok, the reading community has been irrevocably transformed into a grander, more accessible place for all to see.