Victoria Mileson
You’ve heard of bookstagram, possibly. Well, now it’s time for BookTok. Book bloggers are taking social media platform, TikTok, by storm and regularly recommending their favourite reads. Victoria Mileson delves deeper into the trend.
Some accounts focus on more niche recommendations but there are some clear blogger favourites across the board. The young adult genre seems to be host to many classic picks from the BookTok community, bringing an air of nostalgia to the growing social media platform.
I am yet to meet anyone who has not fallen in love with this book and its characters
The BookTok hashtag has 24.2 billion views, and many bookshops now have a BookTok section. BookTok is bringing back the books that used to be popular or that didn’t get the recognition they deserved at the time. So, which are the most recommended titles on #BookTok?
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I am yet to meet anyone who has not fallen in love with this book and its characters. Heart-breaking as it may be, its fictional and unbelievably, not based on a real person. That’s how good Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing is!
Finally ready to tell her life story, Hollywood star, Evelyn Hugo chooses unknown journalist Monique Grant to write the exclusive story and won’t speak to any other press. It’s all part of her mystery and intrigue, I promise it makes sense in the end. Through the novel, Evelyn divulges her seven husbands from her wild romantic past and reveals a side to herself that her audience did not anticipate.
- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Greek mythological retellings have been making a comeback recently and this one is topping all the charts, especially with its recent 10th anniversary edition release.
This one is an adaptation of Homer’s Iliad but told from the perspective of Patroclus, but no knowledge of Greek mythology is required to understand it. The novel follows Patroclus’ relationship with Achilles, over the Trojan War, with a focus on their romantic relationship.
Madeline Miller is also bestselling author of Circe, another BookTok favourite.
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Not for the faint hearted, A Little Life is a definite tear-jerker. 94% of Storygraph readers have rated it as “sad”, possibly the biggest understatement of the year.
This hefty 720-page novel follows four classmates who move to New York in search of fame and fortune. The four young men struggle to keep each other afloat through financial instability, addiction, disability, and childhood trauma.
Before reading A Little Life, check the trigger warnings.
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
Her books do tend to be the marmite of novels
Sally Rooney is a general favourite on BookTok. However, be warned that some people say all her books are different renditions of Irish teenagers who can’t express their emotions. Her books do tend to be the marmite of novels – you either love them or hate them really, and there are no speech marks either.
That being said, the 2018 book gets a lot of positive attention too and earned itself a BBC adaptation last year. It follows the complicated relationship of Marianne and Connell in their final year of secondary school through to university.
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Shadow and Bone trilogy rose to BookTok fame around the time of the Netflix adaptation.
Belonging to the fantasy genre, which is big on BookTok, Shadow and Bone is about Alina Starkov, a soldier in the kingdom of Ravka who discovers she possesses magical abilities. She falls under the spell of the kingdom’s leader, the Darkling, and she is forged a leader when forced to step up to the plate and protect Ravka.
Other fantasy reads popular on BookTok include the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas and Six of Crows, also by Leigh Bardugo.
- They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
They Both Die at the End is an easy read but also not one to be underestimated. Although the title is a complete spoiler, it still manages to be absolutely heart-wrenching.
This futuristic LGBTQ+ novel is set in a world where death is forecasted in advance. It tells the story of two strangers, Mateo and Rufus, who meet up for one single day right before they’re about to die, to have the adventure of a lifetime.
Although released four years ago, the novel made a comeback through BookTok and has generated a very large fanbase as a result.
Victoria Mileson
Featured image courtesy of Kimberly Farmer via Unsplash Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 1 courtesy of @carols.book.club via @instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 2 courtesy of @phyrnesgarters via @instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 3 courtesy of @mitra.bookish.girl via @instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
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