It’s a happy place. I don’t know why—baked in with the algorithm, took off during a pandemic, a zoomer thing, because they have been copycatting some early adopter—booktok is happy. It’s about being excited, and discovering, and sharing, and funny jokes and upbeat music. It’s a little serotonin lift every time I go there.

It’s pedagogical. There is a whole genre of “everyone else is talking about the same 5 books here on tiktok but here are 5 other ones you should read and why.” I love how this helps these hobbyist readers deepen their understanding and keep learning.

This is why I love booktok: 1.) It’s about reading as a hobby. The vibe (sorry not sorry) for many of the ones I’ve been watching is wowowow reading is so cool! I’ve gotten really into it and I want to share it with you! What is more pure than an amateur love? What is better than listening to a friend with a newly found hobby? It is not about... See more