Milwaukee City Wire

BookTok, a niche within the social media platform TikTok, is being leveraged by the younger generation as a way to discuss books users have read and also hear others discuss the ones they have, prompting another person to "turn the pages."

The number of book sales has increased, confirmed by Milwaukee book store owners, according to TMJ4. Some think it's because of the pandemic, others think it may be the digital world behind it.

"I suppose if you couldn't go to your music concerts, or some of the other things you normally did, buying books is another thing you can do," Co-Owner of Voyageur Book Shop Blaine Wesselowski said, according to TMJ4.

A younger crowd in the book stores is obvious and the one thing they have in common is how active they are on social media, according to TMJ4.

"We're definitely seeing the effects of social media, especially TikTok and BookTok," Boswell Book Shop Proprietor Daniel Goldin said, per TMJ4.

There are currently 29.1 billion views for videos on BookTok, according to Distractify.com.

"We've seen big box retailers jump at the chance to engage with the #booktok community, like Barnes and Noble creating a dedicated 'TikTok BookTok Reads' section both online and in-store from creator recommendations," a TikTok representative said, according to Distractify.com.

Social media can be fierce for a brand, and BookTok proves another avenue where reading-lovers can join forces with their counterparts and find the next novel to get lost in.