BookTok

1. The community of book- and reading-oriented accounts on TikTok.

   BookTok seems to be a gateway to a reading hobby for many users.

   2022 February 1, Lara Mellett, “Inside the World of BookTok”, in Trinity News, Trinity College Dublin, page 13

   4 more examples

   The biggest difference between the other communities and BookTok is the length of the videos.

   2021 February 23, Carly Pearce, “BookTok? A Gen-Z guide to literature”, in Epigram, Bristol University, page 20

   Frazier agreed, saying BookTok has the power to determine what novels are popular […]

   2021 September 9, Maddy Franklin, “The rise of BookTok”, in The Red & Black, University of Georgia, page A7

   BookTok is not dominated by the usual power players in the book world such as authors and publishers but by regular readers, many of them young, who share recommendations and videos of themselves talking about the books they love, sometimes weeping or screaming or tossing a copy across the room.

   2022 July 1, Elizabeth A. Harris, “How TikTok Became a Best-Seller Machine”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 15 Jul 2022

   Then there’s the fact that platforms like TikTok tend to silo users based on interests. Niche communities (insert hobby here plus Tok) are thriving, and so a person who may be famous on FarmTok or BookTok may have trouble breaking out of the mold.

   2024 June 26, Stephanie McNeal, “Influencers Aren’t Getting Famous Like They Used To”, in Glamour

plural BookToks

1. A book- or reading-oriented video on TikTok.

   In my case, the BookToks I see thanks to the algorithm are related to my genres of preference such as historic fiction, young adult, sci-fi, and books popular in my age group.

   2021 November 3, Scharina Bencosme, “The Enchanting World of BookTok”, in The Outlook, volume 94, number 7, Monmouth University, page 8

   2 more examples

   As you consider the ways you might include BookToks in your classroom, we ask that you are mindful of these critical components that make BookTok so unique and relevant to its users[…]

   2021 October 8, Sarah Jerasa, Trevor Boffone, “BookTok 101: TikTok, Digital Literacies, and Out-of-School Reading Practices”, in Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy

   Blogging, YouTubing, vlogging, instagramming, microblogging and podcasting—or, more specifically, book blogging (Driscoll, 2019; Steiner, 2010), booktubing, (Tomasena, 2019; Vizcaíno-Verdú et al., 2019; de Leusse, 2017; de Lourdes López López, 2017; Sorensen & Mara, 2014), bookstagramming (Jaakkola, 2019), sharing BookToks (Merga, 2021) or booktwittering—are distinct practices of using social media, and reviewing—or, for example, reviewing books—embedded in these forms of communication.

   2022, Maarit Jaakkola, Reviewing Culture Online: Post-Institutional Cultural Critique across Platforms, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 110