This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MSU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
BookTok is a category on TikTok that shares book reviews and recommendations for specific genres, tropes, or niche communities for readers, and as someone who spends a lot of time on social media and reading books, I have fallen victim to BookTok.
Now, I have found some of my favorite books from creators who have posted about the book on their social media. For example, Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli is one of my favorite books that I found on TikTok, but that doesn’t mean all books that I have found have been good. Also, BookTok has led me to an unhealthy habit: buying books. Now, do I love a new book every now and then, yes I do, but it has gotten to the point where I have more books that I haven’t read than books that I have read. This is harmful to my bank account, but also, I am running out of places to store books. I forget that I buy books, and then, when I am cleaning my room a few months later, I get surprised when I see that book because I have gotten so many other books that I have completely forgotten about the books that I bought a while ago. It is just this never ending cycle of buying new books and forgetting about them many months later.
I am not complaining that BookTok has added some more books into my library, and it has made me more excited to read books. It has helped me find people that read the same books that I do, which has helped me build a community somewhat. Being able to follow someone that likes the same books as me makes me feel like I have a community that I can talk to about books. Commenting book recommendations and having people respond to my comment telling me that they love the same book that I do makes me feel like there is a community of people that I can go to. I never thought that I would find a community of people online that likes the same stuff as me.
I think in the future I need to not always follow TikTok recommendations and instead keep a list of books that I want to buy in the future or ask my family for. That way I am still reading books that I currently own so I can make room for new books. I also will try to give books that I have already read to friends or family instead of keeping them sitting on my shelf.