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About a year ago, I posted something on TikTok for the first time.
Photo: Getty Images
(TBR stands for to be read.)
Then I hit post and expected…nothing.
At first, it felt strange to speak into the camera.
But with each video, it got easier.
Eventually, I just started talking as if I were sending a voice message to a friend.
I already read three to five books a month, so I had plenty of material to share regularly.
What is BookTok, exactly?
The part of TikTok dedicated to literature is known as BookTok.
Tens of millions of booksare sold each year due to mentions on BookTok.
One impressive example of the platforms power is the antiquarian bookstore Willbrand in Cologne, Germany.
Whos on BookTokand what are they reading?
The target audience of BookTok seems to be predominantly young and female.
A full 93% of my followers are women.
And thisauthenticity, unfilterednessis exactly what drew me to the app from the start.
Isnt that also what literature is also about?
Not just consuming but diving in, getting outraged, grieving, swooning.
For one thing, the same works are pushed over and over again.
)and to spend quite a lot of money.
(BookTok is all about buying new, but dont forget your local libraries and secondhand book shops!)
And then theres the lack of diversity.
Well, that and transforming a deeply solitary hobby into something much more communal.
