Is “Booktok” and “Booktube” ruining reading?

What is “Booktok”? 

According to journalist Hannah Macready, "Booktok" is, "a community of users on TikTok who are passionate about books and literature. By making entertaining videos centered around the books they read, they have created an inventive way of discussing, reviewing, and recommending books that have revolutionized the literary and publishing communities.”

“Booktok” isn’t just online anymore. With the increased demand for books, big bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Books A Million cannot simply ignore “Booktok”. 

“BookTok has over 29.1 billion views, and many big box retailers like Barnes & Noble have dedicated sections to the BookTok community.” according to Macready. 

Not only does “Booktok” help the supply for books go up, but it helps authors get recognized! With more people posting book recommendations, and those recommendations reaching millions of users, you can see what that can do to an author’s career. 

What is “Booktube”? 

Journalist Danika Ellis states, “BookTube is the bookish community on YouTube, made of up a wide range of different channels making regular book reviews, hauls, tags, discussion videos, reading vlogs, and more.”

“Booktube” is quite similar to that of “Booktok”. Both platforms highlight reading and put a new twist on the hobby. They both are the main platforms on the internet for book recommendations and aesthetic book videos. 

So, what’s the problem? 

Journalist Natàlia Vila speaks on the positive and negative aspects of these platforms. She writes, 

“On the one hand, it is argued how BookTube and its variants have influenced and motivated many young people to read, creating a common unprecedented identity and sense of belonging. On the other hand, it is also discussed that the diversity of topics, books, and genres, and the commercialisation of many booktubers to publishing houses demonstrate the limitations of the book community online.”

There is still a huge disconnect from the creator and the consumer. In the age of the influencer, it is hard to detect who is genuine and who isn’t on the internet. Unfortunately, many “Booktok” and “Booktube” creators are recommending books they are getting paid to recommend. This creates limitations to the diversity of books being recommended. 

Solution? 

If you are weary about the reliability of these creators, I encourage you to go to your local bookstore or library and find books that interest you without the influence of “Booktok” and “Booktube”.