How Tumblr and Fandoms paved the way for BookTok

Last semester I began the journey of reviewing books from the infamous BookTok. By exploring different novels that became viral on TikTok, I have been able to analyze what stories are currently popular. I began reading these stories because I wanted to decide for myself if these books were novels that were high-quality literature or overhyped. Through my reviews, I’ve found the stories I’ve read so far provided an escape and were easy to read. It became obvious how these novels became so popular, even if they were not always the highest quality literature. 

When I first started my reviews I was operating under the assumption that BookTok was a new phenomenon that was reinventing the publishing industry. In some ways this assumption was correct. Like never before, people are sharing books and publishing companies are capitalizing on the trends. For instance, Barnes and Nobles features books based on if they are popular on “BookTok”. Authors like Colleen Hoover have earned massive popularity, selling millions of books because of going viral on TikTok. There are whole pages and profiles dedicated to book reviews and commentary on the latest literature and publishing companies are paying attention to what will trend on social media.

However, it was only this semester when I sat down to pick the next book I would read that I started to think about how our social media became BookTok-focused. For the first time, I looked at the bigger picture of how we got to the cultural impact that is BookTok. As someone who has l followed a wide variety of fandoms, it’s surprising that it took me this long to conceptualize and write about the influence that social media has  had on what people read and what gets published. 

The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Mortal Instrument are just a few examples of series that became widely popular during my middle school years. One of the ways these novels, and many others, gained popularity was the community that was fostered around reading these dystopian novels and series. I remember following Instagram accounts that shared funny photos, memes, and content surrounding these novels. 

The community aspect enriched the reading experience and made it that much more enjoyable. It also allowed me to connect with others that had shared interests. We could share opinions and our excitement about the books especially when sequels in a series were published or a movie adaptation was released. During this time there were frequent adaptations  based on YA novels that were going viral. This included The Hunger Games to The Fault in Our Stars, which was all anyone could talk about on  social media. This later proved to affect both the film and publishing industries as later adaptations such as Divergent, The Maze Runner and The 5th Wave were made and popularized. 

Are the modern-day TikToks really that different from the fanfiction teens and pre-teens were writing on Wattpad and Tumblr? Today’s BookTok videos are examples of the ways that today’s avid readers can engage with their favorite books. The rise of social media in the mid-2000s allowed readers to write and share fanfiction along with theories of the novels they read. Fanfiction became so popular that it entered the mainstream media with films such as After, based on Harry Styles fanfiction. In this way what started as a small community online gained so much notoriety that it was adapted and produced by Hollywood. Likewise, TikTok allows readers to share their theories and create engaging content that analyzes their favorite reads with a wider community. 

Whether on Instagram, Tumblr, or the now defunct Myspace, communities surrounding reading and “fangirling” have existed for decades now. The generations that grew up debating “Team Peeta vs. Team Gale” now have a new social media platform (that is even more addicting) to create new communities around new, more adult novels. While the impact of BookTok may feel newly introduced, one quickly realizes that we have been sharing books through social media platforms  for many years now.

February 2023