Reading communities have existed online for years, but TikTok has changed the way people discover and talk about books. Known as BookTok, the platform allows readers to share reviews, edits and recommendations while connecting with others who enjoy reading.
“It’s kind of similar to Bookstagram,” Rhyan Parker (10) said. “BookTok is this community of collaborators or influencers who like to talk about books. They review books, they sometimes do edits of the books and it’s just a community where people with the same interest just have fun and collaborate.”
For many readers, the biggest appeal of BookTok is the sense of community it creates. Instead of reading alone, users can share opinions, reactions and recommendations with others online.
“Most times I would see a book cover and think, ‘Oh this looks good,’ but I had no one to talk about it with,” Parker said. “That’s one thing I like about BookTok. It’s a great community to express your feelings and perspectives with books.”
However, not everyone views the platform positively. Some readers criticize BookTok for promoting certain genres, especially dark romance, while relying heavily on tropes rather than the content within individual stories.
“I’m really picky about what I read because I usually read comic books or anything action wise so romance books, romance in general is not my cup of tea and I realized that a lot of books recommended on Booktok are just romance so I was never really interested in it,” Orion Nguyen (11) said. “And the more I find out about the books, the more I realize it’s romanticized age gaps and other weird stuff.”
Nguyen believes the way books are promoted online can sometimes focus more on trends than storytelling. There is a lack of substance or character shared among these reviews.
“When I see promotions for books, they never tell about actual plot points,” Nguyen said. “It’s always enemies-to-lovers, princesses and knights, just tropes. There’s never an actual summary of what happens in the book.”
Despite these criticisms, many readers argue that romance and other genres popular on BookTok are often dismissed unfairly. Because these genres are largely written and consumed by women, some supporters say criticism can reflect broader attitudes about media aimed at female audiences.
“I feel like with Bookstagram and BookTok it’s kind of the platform and the algorithm,” Parker said. “With BookTok people can come in and research. On Instagram you mostly just see reels or edits, but there aren’t in-depth reviews or recommendations like you see on TikTok.”
Beyond debates about genre, BookTok has had a real impact on the publishing industry. Books that gain attention on the platform often see major increases in sales and visibility.
“Since there are so many people on TikTok, it’s more publicity,” Parker said. “When multiple people are talking about a book, it boosts the popularity and makes people want more of it, which can lead to screen adaptations like with Colleen Hoover’s book ‘It Ends with Us.’”
Even critics acknowledge that social media has changed how books become popular. While the influence can help new authors reach readers, it can also amplify trends that some readers disagree with. BookTok has become a powerful tool to elevate writers and spread awareness to more audiences. Popular books have struck gold with obtaining adaptations on the big screen. The authenticity of the original piece, translating to a movie adaptation can be questionable.
“I didn’t read [It Ends with Us],” Parker said. “ But my sister who read the book, she was like, ‘Oh no, he’s really, really abusive. But the movie kind of fluffed up a little bit.’ So, with on-screen adaptations, I don’t know if it’s just because the platform [is] trying to make it more PG or kid-friendly that they don’t basically go into the [darker] book topics, but it could also be time-wise, because most movies are an hour [or more], so maybe they can’t explore the book because of time-the restrictions. So most times I would recommend reading the book before watching it because you can always get these different perspectives.”
As BookTok continues to grow, it remains both a powerful promotional tool and a space for debate. Whether people see it as a supportive community or a trend-driven platform, it has reshaped how a new generation of readers discovers books.
“TikTok definitely helped boost the popularity of certain authors,” Nguyen said. “That’s both a pro and a con of social media, things get popular, but sometimes the wrong things get popular. New romance books water down characters and stories to dynamics and therefore strip them of their individuality as well.”