What Is Booktok?  It’s Time to Start Your Own Book Club!

As far as online addictions go, Booktok is a good one to have. What is Booktok, you may ask? It is a specific sector of the internet for readers and book lovers. People who are fans of literary work gather together and share knowledge, theories, and critiques. 

They talk about their favorite books, characters, and tropes. The “Tok” portion of the word refers to TikTok, which is, in a sense, an abbreviation for “BookTok.” Fans of books have communities on that platform, and naturally, those fans may also have platforms on Instagram. 

Members of this community create video content surrounding their favorite books. It’s also not unusual to find pages for quotes from these books. These pages gain a lot of popularity from fans sharing on their Instagram Stories.

You might be missing out on a potential online community. This article will tell you everything you need to know about this sector of the Internet. Your next Instagram page could be for the love of books!

3 Aesthetic Reading Photo Ideas for Your Instagram Page

The book you read may not have pictures, but your Instagram feed needs to. Yes, you want to put a full book review in the caption of the photo. But you still need a photo for your overall Instagram feed. This may not be what you want to focus your energy on. 

Well, leave the thinking to us. We have three ideas for aesthetic reading photos that you will love.

1. The Over-Highlighted Book

It could be the Bible or an exciting romance novel. You might be the kind of reader who makes notes. You personalize a book whenever you get it. So, whoever borrows it will have an idea of your innermost thoughts. You can take a photo of this for Instagram. Show off the different colors that you use to make different notes. 

Maybe you have some tabs at the side, too. Consider using a cute filter over them. That could be enough for a photo. It lets people know that you really dug into the text. They’ll know that your Instagram caption is worth a read.

2. Your Bookcase 

Your friends call you a hoarder, but the reality is that you are a collector. You like to touch your books physically, and you keep them in the bookcase. Consider using a photo of the spines of your books. It could be aesthetically appealing if they are all in the same color family. Of course, this is not a necessity.

You don’t need to have a formidable bookcase for this photo. You could just stack several books on top of each other and take a picture of the spines.

3. The Coffee Shot

Do you like to read with your morning coffee in one hand? Well, you already have an idea for your reading aesthetic. It could be an iced coffee or piping hot espresso. Set it beside your book of the day. Take an aerial shot. You may even have your laptop in the periphery. There, you have your aesthetic reading shot for Instagram.

Creators Support Booktok Books by Doing Challenges

Previously, TikTok introduced a TikTok challenge between August 1 to 31. They encouraged readers to create content surrounding their love of books. Of course, they had to use the #BookTok for recognition. It was a great way to give more visibility to some Booktok books.

TikTok even gave some ideas for these videos. Here are some sub-challenges that creators could contribute to:

• The favorite books of the bunch. If you could read a book for the first time all over again, which one would it be? This challenge lets you list three. 
• Tag your favorite creator. This is when you give props to the creator who put you on to all of these great books. They may not be an author themself, but they impacted you with their recommendations.
• Underrated books. These are books that didn’t get the fame or acclaim that they deserved. Creators could highlight all the good parts of the book and sell it to a potentially new audience.
• Promote small businesses. Is there a brick-and-mortar bookshop in your area? It’s amazing that they still exist in a digital world. Use your platform to bring attention to their small business. This is great for the creators who still love the smell of a book. They would appreciate the recommendation if they were ever in town.
• Reading tips. Maybe you are prone to papercuts. Perhaps you can’t find the last page you were reading. Maybe you don’t know how to keep your books in pristine condition. It would be helpful to get some tips from other readers. 
• You could even extend this challenge to share tips that you learned from books. We don’t want to discourage people from reading, but we can’t hold onto the knowledge that we gained.

Why People Love Booktok Recommendations So Much

On the surface, this niche area of TikTok may sound kind of boring. If you are not a big reader, it may seem that way. But you can’t deny the benefits that this community has on society. We will tell you why Booktok’s recommendations are such a good thing.

It Inspires a Love of Books

Our phones have become somewhat of an extra appendage. We reach for them first thing in the morning. We fall asleep next to them at night. There are so many apps that make finding out information so easy. Our attention spans are so short, and we expect to get answers immediately.

Books are here to stop the rapid rotting of our brains. They give us the mental exercise we need to maintain healthy conversations. They keep your vocabulary thriving and expand your perspective of the world. Encouraging us to leave our phones and have good reading habits should always be a good thing.

It Gives Authors Exposure

TikTok is great for giving a platform to the underdog. That could be the quirky creator in the side of the country no one has heard of. It could also be the author who is struggling to make book sales. It just takes one viral video for the world to know that the author exists. 

TikTok is a good social media platform to promote someone like that. A good recommendation from a creator people trust could change someone’s life. This is remarkable in an age where people prefer video content to text. This Instagram or TikTok sector may keep reading alive for a little longer.

Spicy Booktok Is Great for Those With a Guilty Pleasure

You may have a book club in your local community. But do you want your neighbor or classmate to know the kinds of books you like to read? What if you have a taste for art that is a little bit more explicit? It may be a guilty pleasure of yours. This is where spicy BookTok comes in handy. 

You can use this community to give all your book recommendations that you’re too shy to give in real life. Let’s be real. If they thought Fifty Shades of Grey was too much, they can’t handle your book hauls.

Booktok Fantasy Books Are Great for Your Overactive Imagination

There are Game of Thrones fans, and then there are the fans who read the book. It’s people like you who know that they are not equal. Do you need a safe space to complain about how the TV adaptation was lackluster? Booktok Fantasy Books could be a great place for you.

Of course, there is a much wider community than just lovers of this series of books. If you see enough book reviews from content creators, you’ll find something great.

When it comes to this genre, it’s easy to drown in a sea of books. Writers spend time creating entire universes for their characters. As you can imagine, there are endless content creators who discuss them on the platform.

Get the Followers That Don’t Ask, “What Is Booktok?”

Maybe you didn’t even know this was an option for content creation. That’s a great part of the Internet. All interests can have a platform. Do you think that this is your niche? Regardless, you’re going to need some help growing it on Instagram. Fortunately, we know how to get you the following you need. 

At Plixi, we have an in-house platform for Instagram influencers. They get amazing support from our AI targeting algorithm. We think that it will do wonders for your Instagram page as well. You just need to trust us with your brand. 

We don’t aim just to get a bunch of followers to your page. We will get the people who specifically like the content you create. 

Maybe you don’t want those asking, “What is BookTok?” Well, we will get the ones who want to see what you put on the platform, whatever it is. 

Are you ready to start growing your Instagram platform? Sign up with Plixi today.