Although I may have made the word ‘booktokification’ up (and added it to the dictionary on my laptop), it represents a very real issue that I think is facing the writing, publishing, and reading community.
For those who don’t know, Booktok is a branch of TikTok dedicated to books. People create videos recommending, reviewing, and discussing books. The actual theory behind it is very nice, a community space for people with similar interests to discuss those interests and share their passions. However, in practice, there are some serious downsides of this. But what are the pros and what are the cons?
Disclaimer: before we get into it, I just want to make it clear that these are just my opinions, and I’m not trying to criticise anyone for what they do or don’t want to read. This is just something I’ve been thinking about lately and decided to write an article on for fun.
The Good
One thing that I cannot fault Booktok for at all is its promotion of reading. It has managed to repopularise it again, becoming a mainstream hobby to have, and by extension supporting bookselling and publishing industries. Publishing revenue has climbed steeply from 2014 – 2025, and although I cannot prove that this is at all linked to the popularisation of reading on social media, it seems unlikely to be entirely coincidence. Statistics also show a rise in book sales particularly in 2020 and 2021, just when TikTok really took off, specifically in the adult and YA categories, which are the most popular on the site. From this it’s pretty inferable that the rise in popularity of Booktok has had an actual impact on actual book sales. Of course, other factors are also at play, most notably lockdown, as people are bound to pick up hobbies whilst at home. I personally was getting though a massive amount of books as there was really nothing else to do except from my much more boring school work.
Following the increase in book sales, there has also been a rise in the number of independent bookshops around the UK. Booktok often acts as free marketing towards these bookshops which is great for promoting small businesses. (See my feature on independent bookshops if you want to read more about this!)
It has also created a great online community dedicated to reading who take the time to curate book selections for others. It’s given a platform for independent authors to promote their books, which aren’t backed with money from huge publishing houses, similarly to the way that independent music artists are able to go viral on the app. Books that might otherwise get lost on bookshop shelves are suddenly given a massive audience, helping to launch new authors careers.
The not so Good
The biggest issue on Booktok stems from the nature of TikTok itself, and its algorithm. The main way to go viral on the app is to partake in on of the many massive, yet fleeting, trends on the app. This is because the algorithm works by showing you content similar to that which you have already enjoyed, showing people what they want to see. It doesn’t aim to surprise or shock, not risking pushing anything that is likely to make you close the app.
This means that the content can get quite bland sometimes as everyone piles on the latest popular thing, and unfortunately this is true for books as well. Historically romantasy (a blend of fantasy and romance) has done incredibly well as a genre on Booktok, meaning that sometimes this seems to be all that is promoted. There are certain tropes that also seem to take off. Enemies to lovers is always a massive hit, as are ‘strong’ female characters (more on that in an article coming soon), and borderline toxic male love interests.
This is something that everyone on the app seems to have clocked, and it appears that books are now being written to appeal to these tropes. Similarly to the massive YA dystopia boom following the hunger games in the 2010s, but on a much larger scale. Often the marketing of these books doesn’t even seem to revolve around the actual plot, instead you’ll just get a list of tropes that are included, and a reassurance that if you liked a previous viral book, you’ll like this one. Writers promote specific moments from the book, generating hype around a specific scene or relationship and try to sell the whole thing based off of this. It’s gotten to the stage where I can mostly predict the plot of a book based of the first few chapters.
The formula is simple: 18 – 22 year old female princess/witch/assassin/peasant with a secret past meets older tall dark handsome prince/warrior/demon/faery who hates her for no apparent reason. (I’ll also point out that most of these men are completely interchangeable with each other). At some point in the book the girl will realise that she is special for a reason that will become vital to the plot later, forcing tall dark handsome man to train/mentor/rescue/protect her. Together they will unlock her powers and defeat the forces of evil, with a hefty subplot of falling in love along the way. Love triangle and quirky side characters also included. Bonus points is the other member of the love triangle is either the childhood best friend or later turns out to be evil. Sound familiar?
Its not to say that this is a bad plot however, I’ve read my fair share of books that fit the mould, and thoroughly enjoyed some of them, but it get so overly repetitive if that’s all you read. And it sometimes feel like this books are written trying to hit specific criteria on the trending list, rather than because it actually makes sense for the plot or characters. As a consequence, the books can often become quite repetitive and similar to each other.
There are also issues with the ways these books are promoted, in bookshops, child, teen, and adult fiction are all separate sections, so you can find something appropriate for your age group. This isn’t the case on Booktok. Adult books are marketed alongside teen fiction, often leading to confusion about what age group it is designed for. This leads to adults reading books aimed at a much younger audience, and teenagers reading things aimed at adults.
There is currently an ongoing debate about anti-intellectualism on Booktok following a viral video from creator Maddie Clark (@maddie_m_clark) criticising people for calling these repetitive fantasy books high class literature. The original video has sparked controversy on the app, with some calling her view elitist, and other praising her for the take. Maddie’s argument is that there is a lack of critical thinking skills from people on Booktok, leading to fairly average books being hailed as ‘literary masterpieces’ and books that use more complex writing devices and ambiguity ignored for being ‘too complicated’. She reassures that there’s nothing wrong with reading easier books, but states that people cannot be referring to them as if they are on par with classic literature. She compares it to fast fashion, with classic literature being well made expensive clothing, and ‘Booktok books’ being cheaper fast fashion garments. They’re designed for easy entertainment, but not something to actual last the test of time.
I completely agree with this view, it probably sums up my entire feelings towards Booktok. Although it’s brilliant that people are reading more, and the book industries are flourishing, it’s important to still distinguish between what is ‘good’ writing and what is written for easy mass consumption. There’s nothing wrong with reading what’s popular but also challenge yourself to read outside of this occasionally. Although I still love the occasional romantasy book, some of the best books I’ve read, and the ones that really stayed with me, are ones that I had to work a bit harder at understanding.