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What is BookTok?

"BookTok" is a term that refers to a literary community and trend on TikTok, a popular social media platform known for short-form videos. BookTok is a subculture within TikTok where users, often referred to as "BookTokers," create videos discussing and recommending books. These videos can range from book reviews, book hauls (showcasing recently acquired books), reading recommendations, bookshelf tours, and more.

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The BookTok trend gained momentum as users started to create engaging and visually appealing content around books. BookTokers often share their thoughts on books they've read, provide summaries, share their favorite quotes, and give overall book recommendations. Some videos might focus on specific genres, series, or authors, while others discuss broader reading-related topics like tips for finding the best books or setting reading goals.

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BookTok has been credited with popularizing certain books, especially young adult and contemporary fiction titles, and has led to a surge in interest and sales for those books. The visual and creative nature of TikTok allows users to convey their passion for reading in innovative ways, making BookTok a vibrant and diverse community for book lovers to connect, share, and discover new reads.

Piles of Books

What is The BookTok Collective?

The BookTok Collective is an interactive digital collection that functions to highlight BookTok content creators and their invaluable contribution to inspiring a new generation of readers and writers worldwide. The BookTok Collective aims to inspire educators, researchers, and community literacy organizations to recognize the potential for digital communities such as BookTok as effective tools for promoting literacy and cultivating new ways of thinking about literacy sponsorship, oppressive algorithms, the ongoing debate of literacy vs. orality, etc. With the short-lived nature of social media platforms, this interactive collection further becomes a space of preservation for the thriving community of BookTok.  

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