After WhatsApp, TikTok is one of the social networks that has grown the most in recent years, according to the 'Social Media Study 2022' by IAB Spain. This platform allows us, with a simple swipe of the finger, to find thousands of videos about challenges, dances, humor, or anecdotes. However, it has also become a refuge for readers. This is how the hashtag #BookTok, with which users of the social network tag their videos reviewing and recommending books or trailers, and giving advice or using humor to talk about personal quirks.
The phenomenon was born in the United States and went viral with one of the Lee sisters' videos. @alifeofliterature that made E. Lockhart's novel a best-seller again. Other well-known accounts that talk about classic fantasy-themed books or comics are those of @proyectopatronus, @esperanzalruz, either @pacohdez77. Nowadays, this trend adds more than 71 billion views and has managed to create an entire community. In its Spanish version, it has also already surpassed the 178 million views. And it's not just the youngest who share this hashtag, #BookTok. According to the study The Power of TikTok, prepared by the consulting firm Kantar, 67% of users are over 25 years old.
On this network, videos travel without geographical barriers and are discovered, shared, and reach high audience figures. This is how the bookinfluencers that become “viral” like @andreorowling, which accumulates more than 52,000 followers and more than 600,000 likes' on this social network. Andrea Izquierdo, her real name, is a 27-year-old writer from Zaragoza who began his career in YouTube eight years ago, always under the theme of literature. “At home I always saw that they read a lot, they took me to bookstores, it was a hobby more. I didn't have that many friends who read, in the end You feel a little lonely when you're the only one reading and you don't have anyone to share it with." It was then that she began to make her recommendations, and today she has managed to turn it into a job, both in publishing and as a writer.
Regarding the community that has been created, Izquierdo thinks that it is “wonderful” and that encourages reading. “The feeling of belonging to a group makes us feel good and also encourages you to continue reading, because I used to read a lot but Since I immersed myself in this world I read much more“, the writer emphasizes.
Another example is Alba @abeebooks, a 23-year-old from Zaragoza who has been passionate about literature since she was a child and recently called herself a "booktoker." "For me, it's always been fun. I didn't understand why others suffered so much while reading that they saw it as a punishment. In high school, I did terribly in every subject, but when I had to read a book and do a project or exam, it was my moment to shine," she says. She even recalls that she reached a point where she would read in secret during class.
Currently he does not manage to monetize his account, but he says that he uploads videos out of passion and to be able to express himself: “It contributes to me on a personal level because I like to express myself and also see that others feel identified, that I'm not the only one." In one of her most viral videos, which has accumulated more than 33,000 views, she shares her own characteristics as a reader.
For her, this hashtag It's also useful for people who don't like to read and who can "take a look" without feeling pressured and do so voluntarily. He mentions that, unlike other groups, the #BookTok community is “quite healthy” and there is no haters"They're people who enjoy what they're seeing, and it helps to get readers out of the tea parties," Alba explains. She says she often ask questions, tell him your opinion or ask him to upload more videos"It's like watching the trailer for a movie you're planning on seeing," Alba explains. Andrea, for her part, says she talks about contemporary or romantic young adult novels, or topics related to writing, working in publishing or starting a business in this sector.
It has also boosted sales of certain books that were not among the reviewers' favorites. In addition, publishers such as Penguin Random House and Planetadelibros, and bookstores such as La Casa del Libro, have joined the social network with their own influencers to share and review their books. In today's era, the vast majority of their campaigns marketing are directed at social networks"That's why many of us make a living from this, from this publicity, and authors increase their sales," Izquierdo explains. He also explains that in many bookstores in the United States and the United Kingdom, and in a few in Spain, books are beginning to appear. 'Seen on BookTok' or 'Seen on TikTok' signs, according to Andrea "because many people have seen it on their mobile and when they go to the bookstore wants to pick up the book that has gone viral; and the booksellers want you to go and buy it.”
We've summarized some of the most recommended and talked-about books on #BookTok in the following list. These are young adult novels that can be found in English or Spanish, or in their original versions. e-book.
'In the end, they both die' by Adam Silvera.
'A perfect story' by Elisabet Benavent.
‘The song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.
'Breaking the circle' by Colleen Hoover.
'The Spanish Love Deception' by Elena de Armas.
'The hating game' by Sally Thorne.
‘We were liars' by E. Lockhart.
‘The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by VE Schwab.
'The Love Hypothesis' by Ali Hazelwood.
‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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