Over the last decade, bookish social media communities on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have completely transformed the publishing industry. Influencers have eclipsed traditional print reviewers when it comes to boosting book sales, and self-publishing is becoming an increasingly viable avenue for authors with social media savvy. But how did we get here? In this trivia edition, we’ll retrace the origins and development of the literary social media community to learn how it evolved into the powerhouse it is today.
The Rise of BookTube
For the uninitiated, BookTube is a subcommunity on YouTube that revolves around all things bookish. It began to take root around 2010 and flourished over the next decade. BookTube content includes everything from book hauls, discussions, recommendations, and reviews (both glowing and scathing) to bookshelf tours, tags and challenges, read-alongs, subscription box unboxings, reading wrap-ups, and more.
Many deem Christine Riccio of @polandbananasBOOKS as the first-ever BookTuber. When she launched her channel in 2010, her earlier videos discussed popular young adult series like Twilight, The Hunger Games, Vampire Academy, and Hush, Hush. These videos formed the basis of one of her most enduring series, Booktalk with XTINEMAY, which continued for more than a decade and totaled over 180 episodes. Other pioneers of BookTube include Jesse George of @jessethereader, Marines Alvarez of @mynameismarines, Sasha Alsberg of @abookutopia, Ariel Bissett of @ArielBissett, Hannah Azerang of @AClockworkReader, and Kat O’Keefe of @Katytastic.
Although BookTube content spans the gamut of genres, fandoms, and niches, YA fantasy was particularly popular within the community during the early years. Some of the most talked about titles included Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, V. E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series, the Strange the Dreamer duology by Laini Taylor, the Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle series, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, and Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices series.
The Impact of BookTube
As this online community drew more viewers, the publishing industry quickly took notice of BookTube and its potential for marketing books. BookTubers received PR packages and advance reader copies (ARCs) from major publishing houses, interviewed prolific authors like Margaret Atwood and Stephenie Meyer, moderated panels at events like BookCon, and even participated in cover reveals for highly anticipated releases.
In addition to discussing and reviewing other authors’ books, several creators broke into the publishing world themselves. For instance, Christine Riccio’s debut novel Again, but Better was an instant New York Times bestseller, as was Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings’s Zenith. Hannah Azerang also released a reading journal with Penguin Random House in 2021, followed by a film and TV journal in 2023.
BookTube also helped to raise the prestige of YA fiction. While this category of literature doesn’t typically get much acknowledgment at book award ceremonies or coverage by traditional media, it completely dominated BookTube, exposing many viewers to the value of young adult books. Leena Normington, a social media producer at Penguin Random House, says of YA’s online popularity:
Young adult is so accessible. It’s a genre unto itself but it’s also a great way for people who don’t read to get into this world. The language is simple. There aren’t any [literary] in-jokes. And [young adult] novels can be a gateway to helping people, who maybe don’t read, find other books they like.
The Independent
Of all the impacts BookTube has had on the literary world, its most important contribution is arguably kick-starting the trend of bookish social media communities. Seemingly overnight, BookTube forged friendships between people from all across the globe; the crux of this powerful bond was but one commonality: a love of reading. As BookTuber Saajid of @booksaremysociallife says:
Reading is often viewed as a solitary activity, but BookTubing turns it into a community affair.
Book Riot
Adri of @perpetualpages agrees, saying:
BookTube, at its best, is an ongoing conversation between people who are passionate about stories, and there will always be something magical about making those connections and helping people find the stories that speak to them.
Book Riot
The BookTube community remains strong to this day, but YouTube is no longer the sole social media platform with a bookish niche. As BookTube’s prominence rose during the 2010s, another book-centric social media community emerged. Enter Bookstagram.
The Rise of Bookstagram
Bookstagram is an Instagram subcommunity that revolves around everything literary. Following the success of BookTube, Bookstagram took off during the mid-2010s alongside the growth of Instagram as a platform. Many early Bookstagrammers ran bookish blogs and used Instagram as a way to bring attention to their websites. However, as the Bookstagram community grew, it became the central hub for many users’ book-based content.
When scrolling through Bookstagram, you’ll often see reviews, recommendations, bookshelf shots (also known as #Shelfies), and endless photos of books. Each Bookstagrammer has their own unique aesthetic, as showcased in Bookstr’s Bookstagrammer of the Week series. From dark and moody to bright and cozy to outdoorsy and floral, there’s no end to the kind of feeds you’ll find on Bookstagram; there’s a place for every reader in the community. Some authors, especially those who self-publish their work, also take part in Bookstagram as a way to promote their books.
Some of the most-followed creators on Bookstagram include Thais Lopes of @tata.lifepages, Kayla of @booksandlala (also @BooksandLala on BookTube), Elizabeth Sagan of @elizabeth_sagan, James Trevino of @james_trevino, Orlando Villa of @booksonthedesk, Haya of @hayaisreading, Tilly of @tillylovesbooks, and Abby of @crimebythebook.
Within the Bookstagram community, there are many subcommunities based on preferred genres and aesthetics, with romance, fantasy, thriller, and literary fiction being some of the most popular. Within these categories, some of the most buzzed-about titles include Yellowface and Babel by R. F. Kuang, Sue Lynn Tan’s Celestial Kingdom duology, Starling House by Alix. E. Harrow, Beach Read by Emily Henry, Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
The Impact of Bookstagram
In an age when the reach of traditional media is on the decline, Bookstagram has helped usher in a new era of book promotion:
So many outlets that once covered books and helped them find audiences have either shrunk or disappeared, all while the number of books being published every week (every day if you factor in self-published titles) has exploded. I think Bookstagrammers have really helped to fill that void, especially for certain genres such as literary fiction, women’s fiction, young adult, and new adult.
Andrea Dunlop, social media consultant and author of Losing the Light, Forbes
When searching for book recommendations, many readers now turn to social media rather than review columns in newspapers or magazines. Unlike traditional reviewers, Bookstagrammers aren’t faceless. Their personalities and tastes are immediately evident with one glance at their feed, which makes them easier to connect with and trust for quality recommendations:
When I’m thinking about reading a book, I’m more likely to trust a Bookstagrammer than a journalist who has written one traditional review in a newspaper. The [reviewer] hasn’t got a back catalog of posts I can scroll through to see if they like the same books I do. There’s more context when it’s a person on Instagram.
Leena Normington, The Independent
This preference for influencer opinions over traditional media reviews puts power in the hands of Bookstagrammers to shape what people read, and publishers have certainly taken note of that. Like BookTubers, many Bookstagrammers receive free ARCs in exchange for reviews, either through influencer partnership programs or by requesting individual titles via sites like NetGalley and Edelweiss. Additionally, some Bookstagrammers are affiliated with sites like Bookshop.org, meaning they earn a commission every time their followers make a purchase through their affiliate links. Other creators host author interviews or readings through Instagram Live, demonstrating the crucial role they play in book marketing.
One of the critical aspects of Bookstagram’s influence is the exposure it provides, as explained by author Brenda Janowitz:
According to the marketing Rule of 7, a consumer needs to be touched seven times before they commit to buying a product. Bookstagrammers give that to authors, showcasing their work multiple times. When readers see the same books pop up in their feed over and over again, it makes it appear like the book is in high demand, and that this book is something that everyone’s talking about. And everyone wants to be reading the book that everyone’s talking about.
Forbes
The effect Bookstagram has had — and continues to have — on the publishing world is undeniable, but in terms of popularity, the Bookstagram community has had its ups and downs. Though it initially gained attention around 2014 to 2015, Bookstagram had a resurgence in 2020 when book-related content on Instagram increased by 31 percent, likely due (at least in part) to quarantine boredom from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic was drawing a lot of people to another bookish social media community: BookTok.
The Rise of BookTok
BookTok is a TikTok niche that centers around everything bookish. It’s currently one of the largest subcommunities on the platform, with #BookTok receiving approximately 200 billion views as of November 2023. The BookTok community took shape around 2020 and grew exponentially as the pandemic forced the world into lockdown. Many kinds of BookTok content overlap with that of BookTube and Bookstagram, such as reviews, hauls, and recommendations, but the short-form nature of TikTok videos also makes it ideal for bookish memes and trends. Additionally, authors in the BookTok community will often post snippets of their writing and elaborate book trailers to get readers hyped about their upcoming works.
@books.with.lee I know im late, but these were not suppose to be the only books I read in January… 🤦🏾♀️😅 Books mentioned: The Fury by Alex Michaelides The Woman in me by Britney spears Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli #readingwrapup #januaryreads #bookish #bookclub #blackbooktoker ♬ original sound – Lee | Booktok
Some of the largest TikTok creators include Cait Jacobs of @caitsbooks, Kendra of @kendra.reads, Abby of @abbysbooks, Kevin T. Norman of @kevintnorman, Lauryn of @lauryns_library, Amy Jordan Jennings of @amyjordanj, Sydney of @sydneyyybooks, Lee of @books.with.lee, Benny of @booktokbenny, and Taylor Rosen of @tayrosen.
While myriad niches exist within the BookTok community, romance reigns supreme overall. BookTok has massively boosted the popularity of several romance subgenres, including Romantasy, hockey romance, dark romance, and more. Some of the most beloved BookTok titles include The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, Rebecca Yarros’s The Empyrean series, Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series, It Ends With Us and Verity by Colleen Hoover, Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, the Twisted series by Ana Huang, the Powerless trilogy by Lauren Roberts, and They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.
The Impact of BookTok
TikTok’s impact on the publishing industry cannot be understated. It’s made countless books bestsellers and bolstered the careers of traditionally and independently published authors alike. If a book blows up on BookTok, the resulting hype is sure to entice readers, which may be why you see a “Trending on BookTok” table every time you walk into a bookstore. According to BookToker Kimmy Nwokorie of @kimmybookss:
Those [TikTok] tables sell really, really well. I’ve talked to some of the people who, like, work there…[and they] say those books sell like a hundred times more than they ever would, like, just back there. So, I think that TikTok is helpful in the sense of getting those authors out there.
The Red Line Project
In 2022, the first book from self-published author Adam Beswick’s Levanthria series, A Forest of Vanity and Valour, went viral on BookTok, leading it to become the number one folklore bestseller on Amazon for that year. Beswick (@a.p_beswick_author on TikTok) shares how BookTok changed his life and allowed him to pursue his passion for writing:
TikTok is what kickstarted everything for me. It allowed me to get those foundations to start building my reader base and start not being afraid of putting my books out there.
BBC
@anna_hendersonn not even being dramatic #booktok #bookrec #thesongofachilles #madelinemiller #sadbooks ♬ Originalton – Maddie✰
But it’s not just indie authors who have been affected by BookTok. Some of the most talked-about books on TikTok (namely The Song of Achilles, It Ends With Us, and They Both Die at the End) were released close to a decade ago, but thanks to BookTok’s virality power, they entered or reentered the New York Times bestsellers list several years after their publication. Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles, remarks on how her novel going viral gave her peace of mind and financial security when she began struggling with long Covid in 2020. Although Miller isn’t on TikTok herself, the outpouring of love and support her books have received from the BookTok community has allowed her to maintain her livelihood:
It really has changed my life. It has given me the time to write, to continue to be a writer.
The New York Times
If those quotes weren’t enough to illustrate the power of BookTok, consider this statistic: In 2021 alone, BookTok helped sell approximately 20 million books, which accounts for more than 2.4 percent of the total number of books sold that year and nearly half of all book purchases from social media. These numbers speak to BookTok’s profound impact on the publishing ecosystem, highlighting a shift from traditional media to social media more than ten years in the making.
The Current State of Bookish Social Media Communities
Although the heyday of BookTube may be over, creators like Jack Edwards of @jack_edwards, Cindy Pham of @withcindy, Leonie Christel of @TheBookLeo, Rachel of @ReadswithRachel, and Cari of @caricanread continue to amass significant views on their videos. Likewise, Bookstagram interactions may pale in comparison to that of BookTok, but the community is still alive and well with no sign of going away anytime soon. Furthermore, while BookTok sales may have dropped since 2022, the site remains one of the most powerful marketing tools available to publishers and indie authors.
Regardless of how influential these social media communities are in pushing book sales, they seem to be here to stay. The content creators responsible for popularizing each of these literary niches didn’t start posting about books because they thought it would make them rich or famous; they did it because they had an uncontainable passion for books and wanted to share their excitement with others. At the core of these communities is a deep-seated love for literature and the way it brings people together. As long as that remains true, BookTube, Bookstagram, and BookTok will continue to thrive and bring joy to book lovers around the world.
Follow Bookstr on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to join the literary community!
For more fun bookish trivia, check out this article on The History and Evolution of Slam Poetry!
Browse the books mentioned above and more on the Trivia bookshelf on our Bookshop page!
