Book-What Now?

The insane impact of book communities on social media today. 

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While walking into my local Barnes & Noble, I was greeted by the “themed” tables with popular books and what is trendy in the story.  There was one table that was labeled “BookTok” filled with very trendy books. This table was filled with lots of genres such as romance, fantasy, thrillers, historical fiction, and young adult.  During my time at Barnes & Noble, I noticed that this “BookTok” table was always getting visits by customers more than the other tables.

I had already been on TikTok for a while, so I guessed it had something to do with the app. Once I learned that “BookTok” was a community of book nerds and literature lovers on the app, I spent way too much time checking it out. Soon enough, I was hooked.

I was also intrigued by the actual creators on the app.  

 Besides all the book reviews and Book of the Month sponsorships, I found that the people posting these videos on this platform have grown a following and that they are the ones keeping this community going. This new way of sharing reading recommendations, how to make reading more engaging, and how to annotate just keeps taking over and keeps growing every day.   This is not just shown on social media but also in bookstores.  Now the amount of people reading is going up and it is all mostly due to the fact that the “book trend” is taking over. In 2021, NPD BookScan, a global market company that has tracked book sales across the country, found that 826 million book copies were sold. 2021’s results showed that this was the highest number that the platform has seen since it began in 2004. This sales increase shows how book sales have only continued to rise ever since the BookTok arrived.  

Wanting a creator’s perspective, I reached out to Alexis Castelli. Although she is not on TikTok, she manages her popular profile on Instagram (@booksandlexi). It turns out that the “book trend” has spilled into other social media platforms.  

Alexis has been posting on Instagram since 2020 but just recently restarted her page in June 2022.  Ever since, she has gained over 3,000 followers. I asked Alexis about her experience being a part of “Bookstagram.”  “Bookstagram has been an amazing community to be a part of. Reviewing books, participating in challenges, and discovering new books is what this community consists of.”

She also shared with me about how she has gained her following by trying to create a bright and colorful page. The way she has found more engagement besides reading genres and popular book reviews is by posting aesthetically pleasing photos.  She has explained how focusing on her feed has drawn lots of more people in.  “Setting up books to take pretty photos and adding a detailed review influences others to read the book, and I’ve had people read books after seeing my posts.” The interactions that Alexis receives due to her new feed has helped her with gaining followers. 

The way that the book community has grown over the past two years since BookTok was created shows that there is more to selling books than writing well. Social media platforms help by creating buzz, giving community a place to gather, and most importantly, by making books feel and look attractive.

If anything, it seems that BookTok creators capitalized on the fact that people really do judge a book by its cover.