Book Blogging vs. Booktoking Aka "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?"

If you're a regular on book twitter, you may have seen a bit of a fight between book bloggers and booktokers. Now for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the latter, booktok is a new branch of the popular video app Tik Tok. Users share short videos about anything book related. Since booktokers use the video format, there is often a great level of creativity that can be used, such as playing with different sounds and songs to put over the videos, different aesthetics, outfits, anything!

I've had to limit my use of Tik Tok lately because I was becoming a little too obsessed with it, but pretty much the only Tik Toks I watch are book-related ones. I mean, it makes sense, since reading is probably my biggest passion! So when I saw that book twitter and book bloggers were coming after booktokers, I was a little confused. After doing some digging and consulting a booktoker I know, I figured it was about time to discuss all the drama and see if we can find a happy medium.

The drama basically started with booktokers saying that book bloggers were old and that the medium of blogging is a dying art. Book bloggers retaliated by saying that booktokers do not work hard enough, and that their reading is unoriginal and not diverse. Now that last point, I have admittedly noticed on booktok. My cynical self really did look at someone recommending The Fault in Our Stars on booktok and I said: "what is this, 2012?" I do think that sometimes booktokers can be a bit behind on books that book bloggers have been talking about for years. But, if someone is enjoying a book for the very first time, no matter how old it is, is it really worth it to fault them for that?

I have personally been struggling to find some more diverse booktokers. A lot of white booktokers do recommend diverse books, but I do think there is a lack of POC on the site. Now this could be because booktok is still a very new and growing medium. They're not going to solve everything in a day. I can only hope that white booktokers create a greater platform for diversity.

In a way, I could get book bloggers' frustrations. Book bloggers work so hard to create attractive sites for people to follow. We work in a format that requires a lot of writing, and because we do not get that video aspect, we have to work twice as hard to make our work as visually appealing as possible. With all of these new social platforms that have been coming out such as bookstagram, booktube, and now booktok, book bloggers have been feeling a little underappreciated lately. It sucks that we don't get as much as the recognition as we used to. So, when a new platform such as book tok comes along, it makes sense that we would get a little territorial. It's almost like we want to say: "I've been in the book community for so long I deserve a senior's discount. Back of the line, sis!"

But, I wonder if there's any use in tearing a new platform down in order to make ourselves feel better. I feel like booktokers could learn a lot from us veterans, and similarly we could learn new innovative ways to grow our platform from them. Now the internet isn't perfect. With any online platform, there will be drama. But I don't think there's any point in automatically hating a new platform just because they're new. We could all learn something from each other. I hope we will.

And now to the interview portion of this post. My cousin Molly started book toking this year. I really wanted to get a booktoker's experience on the drama, and on the whole idea of booktok. So here are my questions, and her responses:

          1. What drew you to tik tok as opposed to another platform to talk about books? 

Honestly, I came across booktok by accident! I never had the intention to try and become a creator in the book community on any platform, tik tok was just something I was on for fun haha. One day I thought it might be fun to make a tik tok about my favourite books because I saw someone else do something similar. What attracted me to start filming tik toks in general and why I love book tik toks now is the format is so versatile and there is such a large community on the app, which is so fun. The visual aspect of having the book recommendations be in videos and posing yourself and the books in aesthetic little 30 second clips is also really new and different, and as an artsy person as well a great creative outlet! I also find booktoks more interesting for people to watch who maybe aren't as interested in reading, its a very accessible way to draw in new people.  

2. How would you describe the community on booktok? Speaking on behalf someone who is a part of the book blogging and book twitter community, things can sometimes get toxic. Do you see any of that kind of drama on booktok? 

To be completely transparent, not that I’ve seen! I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the demographic on tik tok is much younger than say twitter, and people really just want to have a good time. Booktok is also fairly new, as is the app, so that’s not to say the community is perfect and will never have problems grow in the future. But the overall atmosphere is very warm and inclusive. 

3. A lot of people argue that booktokers only read mainstream books and/or do not read diversely. Do you think this is a misconception? How do you challenge yourself to read diversely, and overall what are some of your favourite diverse books? 

I think that this again can be traced back to the age disparity between the demographic of tik tok and twitter, because to be fair yes, you do see a lot of the same recommendations pop up again and again on tik tok. But you have to start somewhere you know? I don’t think you can fault young readers for starting off with what is presented to them by the mainstream. Millennials got to have Harry Potter, give Gen Z their moment with Cassandra Clare haha! These people haven’t had the time to grow and branch out of their comfort zone yet. But I do also think booktok could do better in terms of diversity, I see mainly white authors presented in reviews and recs, and that is a fault of the community that needs to be changed, and that comes with growth and maturity from the community learning and being educated by others as well. We welcome constructive criticism, and need it to learn! Personally, to try and read more diversely I watch creators who are POC themselves or have wider, more diverse recs, I also just ask my followers for their favourites! That’s where I get most of my new reads from. I love love love Six of Crows personally because I see myself represented in Inej, I also loved The Hate U Give, and cause I love classics, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, all recommendations from my followers :)

4. What improvements would you like to see on booktok in terms of the general community or in terms of gaining a following? 

I’m not able to accurately pinpoint all the faults in the community as I am still fairly new to it, so my experiences are fairly fresh. From what I have seen, while sometimes naive and young, the community is very accepting and encourages help from whoever is willing to give advice on how to be better in terms of recommendations, inclusivity and videos. I think that as a community that no doubts has its faults, for example, not offering diverse selections, I have seen active attempts from the people I follow to rectify that and learn from their actions, so I am very hopeful that the community continues to accept and learn this way. In terms of breaking in and gaining a following, I will say that I would like to see booktok grow in terms of numbers because as it is fairly small in my opinion there are a few giant booktok accounts and everyone else kind of just struggles to get followers. Which is no fault to the big accounts, but it is my hope that as more people join, they will branch out and there will be room for smaller creators to join. As I think that’s also where progress and growth come from, by expanding your population.

 

5. How do you think bookworms of different platforms can move forward to work in harmony together instead of against each other? 

I think it’s most important for us to realize that books are such an amazing gift and as the art of reading and literature is being lost in the age of technology, we need to stick together as opposed to ganging up on each other. I think by recognizing no matter how we express our love through books, whether that be twitter, a blog or tik tok, we all have the same goal: to find a community where we can enjoy talking about and learning about books, have good discussion, and find broader horizons. 

6. What have you overall gained from being a part of the booktok community? 

Alot! I’ve been exposed to so many new reads that have really expanded my personal library, and my ‘to be read’ pile has never been bigger. I really think that having a community to discuss different books and issues with has helped me become a more critical reader, in terms of not just taking a book at face value. How inclusive is the book, is there good representation, or is this a book that has a good message? Not to say that we should rip apart every book we read, but being more aware of how marginalized POC authors and LGBTQ+ authors are in the literary community, as well as the importance of readers (young readers especially) to see themselves represented is something that I have been more exposed to and informs my choices when I’m buying and recommending books now.

7. What directions do you see booktok going from here? Do you think it has the potential to become one of the leading platforms to talk about books?

I am very optimistic about the future of booktok! I think that while it’s small now, the creators are consistent about trying to grow their community and are here to stick around, I know I am haha. The creativity and plethora of things you can do with the video format and the fact that tik tok is one of the biggest apps of this generation and is really shaping gen z, I think that booktok has really nowhere to go but up from here. I am very excited to see what the future of booktok is and what it will look like in the years from now!

Thank you very much to Molly for answering my questions. For any of you guys that use tik tok, Molly has a great account that incorporates both booktok and her love of Criminal Minds. You can follow her: here

My Thoughts on the Interview: 

I could really understand Molly's point of view here. I'm actually technically a member of Gen Z, and I have seen how tik tok has inspired my generation to be more creative with their passions. Yes Gen Z can sometimes be immature, but we are also the generation that can help to reverse the mistakes of the people who came before us. We have seen a lot in our short lives, so any platform that we can use to spread some positivity and be ourselves, I can appreciate. 

What's Next? 

So, where do we go from here? I think that as book bloggers we need to accept that booktok is not going anywhere. This can be a tough pill to swallow, but I think the best we can do is encourage the new generation of book community members to be their authentic selves, and to try to forge as peaceful of a community as possible. Unfortunately, book bloggers are still under appreciated. So it is important for us bloggers to support each other, highlight new bloggers, and to never give up on our platform. We are, in a lot of ways, the original members of the book community. It is important for us to never forget our worth, and to not compare ourselves to others. So I say, if you are a booktweeter, bookstagrammer, booktuber, booktoker, or book blogger, you are valid. 

How do you feel about booktok? How can the book community work together to champion diversity and mutuality? Let's talk! 

Emily @ Paperback Princess