How To Keep A Strong Online Reading Community If A TikTok Ban Eliminates BookTok

Though #BookTok has been on the receiving end of many critiques, the platform's impact on literacy and books is undeniable. It's served as a major hub for long-time and emerging readers since 2020, with users sharing recommendations, discussing their favorite genres and tropes, and debating the correct way to use a bookmark. We've also seen the real-life effect of BookTok, with publishers switching up their marketing and bookstores curating TikTok-specific book tables. Many BookTok favorite novels have gone on to land their own movie adaptations.

In this way, the U.S. government's potential ban on TikTok, a law that is set to take effect by January 19th, 2025 has the capacity to upend a massive community of readers. While the Supreme Court may overturn the ruling or push back the start date after hearing the company's case on January 10th, the future of TikTok is currently uncertain. Still, book lovers should know that the internet offers many avenues of community outside of the platform.

Popular sites like YouTube and Instagram house book communities that often overlap with TikTok, making them a great alternative for BookTok enthusiasts. BookTube has only grown bigger and more diverse since its inception in 2010, being home to reading vlogs, challenges, and tags alongside book hauls and recommendation lists. Since the platform has introduced features like live streaming and channel memberships, readers now interact with content creators in more ways than ever, with book clubs being especially popular. To tune into the community, search terms like "booktube," "reading vlog," or your genre of choice alongside "books."

Instagram is also a viable alternative to BookTok, with the Bookstagram community first gaining momentum in the mid-2010s. Fans of TikTok aesthetics will appreciate the app's curated book stacks and shelves, but there are plenty of caption reviews and listicle-style graphics, too. To check out reading-related posts, search "bookstagram," "book lovers," or "books" on the app. Since Instagram and YouTube have integrated short-form video features, both websites also host the vertical-style videos that TikTok popularized. In fact, it's likely that your favorite content creators already have established presences on these BookTok alternatives, so be sure to follow them before the expected ban takes place.

For more text-based alternatives, check out Reddit's well-established reading community, r/Books. You can also check out their guide to related subreddits for more niche communities. BlueSky, the emerging alternative to X, also hosts readers through hashtags and user-managed feeds, so check out #BookSky to get started there.

Beyond the book-centered subgenres of social media platforms, book-tracking apps offer lots of opportunity for community. Goodreads, which is owned by Amazon, is one of the largest reader-centered websites, having been around since 2007. Along with tracking your reading habits and writing book reviews, you can follow others users, interact with public reviews, and join reading groups. The forum-style groups range from genre-based to writer-centered, while the site also hosts many book clubs.

The Storygraph is an indie book-tracking website that has quickly grown in popularity since its launch in 2019. Boasted as an alternative to Goodreads, this platform emphasizes data-driven reading tracking, providing users with graphs and charts breaking down read books by things like genre, format, and mood, and its self-hosted AI-driven recommendations. The platform also has a community tab, where you can see what your friends are reading, check out user updates across the app, and host or join book clubs.

Fable is another reading app that has a distinct focus on social interactions, while also offering readers the ability to track their TV watching habits along with their reading. The platform, which recently came under fire for its use of AI, emphasizes book club reading and discussion while also allowing users to post to a general, text-based feed. Easily create a free account to get started on any of these websites and don't forget to look up your favorite BookTok creators afterward, as it's likely they've already been tracking their reading on at least one of these apps.