BookTok: A Complex Community

A #BookTok Display at Target.

To the average onlooker, BookTok is a wild west of romance, smut, fast fashion publishing, and questionable love interests.

From conglomerate Barnes and Noble to local bookstores, entire sections are dedicated to “BookTok books”, typically adult and YA romances. The BookTok community has been responsible for millions of dollars in sales since its formation in 2020. One viral feature alone shoots both new and old authors to stardom. 

The 42.9 million posts range from trending audios, fan casting of favorite characters, and opinion questions for the viewer—obvious baits for more engagement towards the path to virality.

The stereotypical BookTok books include contemporary and dark romances, along with the popular hybrid genre, “romantasy”, which combines fantasy and romance. Popular books in this category include the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Both novels follow a young girl and her older male love interest while they work to save the world.

Combined, they have sold over 15 million copies.  

“I would never buy something on BookTok,” says my 16-year-old brother, Ben LaGatta, his face twisted in disgust. “All of them [are] harmful.” 

He’s not alone in his disdain. As the community has grown, so has the backlash. There seems to be a constant stream of drama and criticism calling out the glorification of unhealthy relationships, torrents of underage fans, and blatant sexual assault being treated as romantic. 

The main criticism against the community lies in the narrative that BookTok hinges entirely on the reading and recommending of smut. 

“Does anybody on this godforsaken app read a single book that isn’t just straight up porn?” says influencer, Gabe Escobar in a video on the platform with 11.5 million views and 1.9 million likes. The 43.2K comments are mixed, although mostly in agreement with Escobar. 

“We need to stop BookTok,” says user @hightierman in another video criticizing the community. 

Despite this overt dislike, BookTok’s exponential growth is a testament to the community’s importance in the publishing industry. The span from a hashtag to a boom in sales is direct proof. 

“I do think there are a lot of good things on there,” says Orli Azoulay, a reader who frequently uses social media to find book recommendations. 

She mentions reading the critically acclaimed novel Circe by Madeline Miller, a feminist Greek myth retelling foregoing any romance, after seeing it on BookTok. In addition to its popularity on social media, the novel has been praised by traditional critics and even taught at the high school level.

Contrary to the romance-focused stereotype, many genres of literature are shown on BookTok.

Some creators dedicate their BookTok platforms to horror and thriller novels, like Brandon Baker (@baker.reads) with 372K followers. Others have dedicated themselves to classics and literary fiction like user @read.byemma who has a video showcasing “dystopian fiction everyone should read.” 

“The community is based in creativity, and has proven through my own experience that the quirkier and more passionate you are about something, the more your experience will offer you in return,” says Milana Waller, a BookTok creator with over 120K followers. 

The 20-year-old posts regularly, curating recommendations ranging from engaging books for reviving reading slumps to “6-star” reads. Like most BookTokers, she mixes reading content with other lifestyle videos, like outfit inspiration. 

“Before BookTok, I felt rather alone in my interest and passion for reading,” says Walker. “[It] gave me a community to discuss bookish thoughts and ideas.” 

To BookTok’s viewers and creators, Walker’s stance is not revolutionary. Many on the platform attribute their revived connection to reading to their involvement in the community. 

“I think it should be beautiful and not shamed,” says Azoulay. After coming back into reading through social media, she’s developed a primarily positive outlook on BookTok. “Smut is not my personal cup of tea,” she admits. “But there’s nothing necessarily wrong with it in general.”

Although the ban on downloading the app is in place, BookTok will continue to exist in various forms across multiple platforms. If TikTok ever becomes unusable, readers will likely migrate to already existing spaces like Instagram and YouTube.

But for now, many readers will continue to engage in the BookTok community, their discussions ranging from hockey romances to Dostoevsky.