There’s a certain nostalgia that comes with many of today’s social media trends. If I was able to tell 2010 me that I would be considered cool in the future for reading Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and other YA novels, I wouldn’t have believed myself. Given the amount of free time many young adults—and new adults—have acquired from our 2 ½ years of online learning/pandemic life, there was the ability to find joy in old habits, like pleasure reading.
My first introduction to BookTok and Bookstagram was towards the end of the pandemic and the community was already very much established and quite large. This community of readers has given young and new adults an outlet while they may be stuck inside, and where there is demand there needs to be supply. New YA/NA authors are popping up everywhere and old YA/NA authors are truly living their glory days.
These authors are now depending on the communities of online readers to help promote and give life to new novels or series. Virtual word of mouth has influenced the industry in ways that were unforeseen. To add to this, the social media world has a very fun way of romanticizing everything and reading was not safe from this phenomenon. People who were never interested in reading previously are now posting photos of the latest goodies they picked up on their last Barnes and Noble run, joining book clubs, and even setting out to maybe write their own novels.
While online romanticization of things might be considered something negative for some trends, for reading it is absolutely a good thing. Having a fanbase is what allows creators to create, and the readers that are contributing to BookTok and Bookstagram are extremely dedicated to their fandom(s).
“Tiktok really changed my career because I had two books come out this year [2021] that really took off on the app. The pandemic honestly gave me a lot of opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” said Ana Huang when I asked about her experiences with TikTok. With 30 billion—and counting—views, the BookTok hashtag is a driving force in the publishing industry. Barnes and Noble even has a BookTok section in many stores which proudly display the books that are currently popular on TikTok.
Reading, in general, is seen as a bit of a nerdy hobby but with the influence of social media, there is now a huge influx of YA/NA novels that are more mature than what was expected of the genre. Even authors are noticing the change. Huang, a NA romance author, said, “It feels like my FYP has been more mature recently. It used to be YA Fantasy and now it is more steamy romances”. It’s something to giggle at because the idea of a steamy romance brings up the topic of the infamous “50 Shades of Grey”, but these novels are a bit more "nuanced".
Allyson Dahlin, while new to the author world, has just released a novel titled ‘Cake Eater’ about ‘a futuristic cyberpunk historical French revolution with social media madness, neon lights, and a slow burn romance’ according to a post on her Instagram about the novel. While complicated, the novel brings in readers from so many niches, and BookTok and Bookstagram are eating it up. Pun intended.
Dahlin’s creation is one of many that are generating tons of posts and views and likes for book-related hashtags across many social media platforms. Dahlin states, “Booktok is so accessible because it is short-form content. It’s little snippets of content that give people the feel of a book before they read it, so more people get interested,” she goes on to say, “Reading is normally a very solitary hobby, and I feel that BookTok is making reading even more fun than it used to be because now people can easily find others to geek out about books with”.
Dani Lopez, a BookToker and Bookstagrammer, wholeheartedly agrees that social media has created a space for this community of readers where there really wasn’t space before. “When I got on TikTok and realized that there were people reading and posting about it, I was so shocked. I was like, ‘People read?! None of my friends do that!” she stated with a laugh.
The consistent theme of ‘exposure’ was brought up and Lopez stated, “There is nothing else like it out there. Even with Instagram, there is no way to get the same amount of exposure as with TikTok”. Lopez’s experiences with the BookTok community have been nothing but positive (save for a few haters), and she talked about how the community is welcoming and warm. “Some of my best friends are my online friends,” she stated.
There’s really something amazing in the way that reading has created online friendships, career opportunities, and time to dive into fictional worlds. “I hadn’t read for pleasure before the pandemic for about 4 or 5 years,” said Huang. What I learned from all three women was this: BookTok is an amazing tool for marketing, and while it may seem nerdy, reading is not a trend. BookTok is here to stay!
So, if you are a new reader, there is a huge community out there to welcome you with extremely open arms. There are plenty of ways to begin your book journey and before you know it, you might be going through a 300 page novel in only a few days. It’s truly the best addiction, take it from me.
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