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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Sarah Shaffi

Reader, I followed them: TikTok expands its content to tap into the BookTok phenomenon

A #BookTok table at a Barnes & Noble shop in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A #BookTok table at a Barnes & Noble shop in Scottsdale, Arizona. Photograph: Tali Arbel/AP

Social media app TikTok is making increased efforts to tap into the power of its books content, with new retailer partnerships, live events and clubs.

“BookTok”, as users have dubbed TikTok content about books, consists of everything from videos of creators’ to-read piles to livestreamed crying at emotional novels. BookTok can be credited with a number of hits, sometimes reigniting interest in older titles such as the 2016 novel It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (dubbed “CoHo” by TikTokers) which was launched back into bestseller charts after BookToker Aliisha Keens posted about it in March. Other books that have proved popular include Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and Beach Read by Emily Henry.

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