Booktok Time: Characterization of New Videos for
Mobile Reading Promotion
La hora del Booktok:
caracterización de nuevos vídeos para la promoción lectora en el móvil
La hora del Booktok: caracterización de nuevos vídeos
para la promoción lectora en el móvil
Dr. José Rovira-Collado. Profesor Permanente
Laboral. Universidad de Alicante. España
Dr. Francisco Antonio Martínez-Carratalá. Profesor Asociado.
Universidad de Alicante. España
Dr. Sebastián Miras. Profesor Ayudante
Doctor. Universidad de Alicante. España
Received: 2024/06/12 Reviewed 2024/07/03 Accepted: :2024/12/17 Online First: 2024/12/20 Published: 2025/01/07
Cómo citar este artículo:
Rovira-Collado,
J., Martínez-Carratalá, F. A., & Miras, S. (2025). La hora del Booktok: caracterización de nuevos vídeos para la promoción
lectora en el móvil [Booktok Time: Characterization of New Videos for Mobile Reading Promotion]. Pixel-Bit. Revista De Medios Y Educación, 72, 180–197. https://doi.org/10.12795/pixelbit.107744
ABSTRACT
Booktoks are short videos about reading on TikTok, heirs to
literary blogs and booktubers. The vast majority are created and consumed on
mobile devices. This research conducts a qualitative analysis of content in
digital contexts regarding Spanish booktoks. Based on
a previous sample of 500 videos, selected through the platform's algorithm
suggestions, analysis is carried out on n=299 videos to identify their main
characteristics and differences with previous spaces. Extension, audience,
quantity of comments, tags used, and profile typology are analyzed.
Subsequently, various specific analyses are proposed, such as the most used
tags; the most followed profiles from our selection (n=30
)indicating their characteristics and interaction with other digital
platforms; and a detailed analysis of several videos to exemplify their
characteristics. Finally, n=10 specific booktoks are
selected to present the differences with previous models of reading promotion
on the Internet. New dynamics are identified, confirming that mobile devices
result in shorter videos about books, distancing us from literary reflection.
Los booktoks son vídeos breves
sobre lectura en TikTok, herederos de los blogs literarios y los booktubers. La
gran mayoría se crean con el móvil, que es también su espacio natural de
reproducción. Esta investigación realiza un análisis cualitativo del contenido
en contextos digitales sobre los booktoks en español. A partir de una muestra
previa de 500 vídeos, seleccionados a través de las sugerencias del algoritmo
de la plataforma, se realiza un análisis de n=299 vídeos para identificar sus
principales características y las diferencias con los anteriores espacios. Se
analiza la extensión, la audiencia, la cantidad de comentarios, las etiquetas
usadas y la tipología de los perfiles. Posteriormente, se proponen distintos
análisis concretos como las etiquetas más usadas; los perfiles más seguidos de
nuestra selección (n=30), señalando cuáles son sus características y su
interacción con otras plataformas digitales; y el análisis pormenorizado de
varios vídeos para ejemplificar las características. Por último, se seleccionan
n=10 booktoks concretos para presentar las diferencias con anteriores modelos
de promoción de la lectura en Internet. Se identifican nuevas dinámicas y se
confirma que el móvil supone una menor duración en los vídeos sobre libros que
nos aleja de la reflexión literaria.
KEYWORDS · PALABRAS CLAVES
BookTok; TikTok; Reading Promotion; Social Media;
Mobile Devices; Digital Reading; Digital Competence; Content Creation
BookTok; TikTok; Promoción lectora; Redes sociales;
Dispositivos móviles; Lectura digital; Competencia digital; Creación de
contenido
1. Introduction
The concept of social reading in digital environments
(Cordón-García et al., 2013) encompasses all spaces dedicated to the promotion
or mediation of reading on the Internet, many of which are virtual reading epitexts (Lluch et al., 2015). These epitexts
are understood as digital documents and resources created by publishers,
educational institutions, or individuals “in order to sell books and promote
reading online, of various types, with communicative functions such as
commenting, disseminating, modifying, and expanding” (p.798) the information
about a literary text, given that they provide significant information about
reading, literature, and books in general (Hernández Heras et al., 2022). Since
2020, two spaces have gained the most attention among younger generations
(Sanz-Tejeda & Lluch, 2024): bookstagrammers
and booktoks. The former are native to Instagram,
where “a group of bibliophiles uses the platform to celebrate the book as an
aesthetic object, as a cult item in itself.” Thus, they “turn their Instagram
profiles into catalogues of artistic photographs featuring books that, in some
way, they idolise and recommend to other readers” (Quiles, 2020, p.16). The
second group, which is the central object of this research, consists of short
videos about reading and literature on TikTok, a video-based social
network designed to create, share and enjoy content primarily through mobile
devices. These new videos specifically designed to promote reading are an
evolution of previous text-based models such as literary blogs and forums,
(García & Rubio, 2013); video-based formats like booktubers, which
are their direct predecessors (Sorensen & Mara, 2014; Rovira-Collado, 2017;
Tomasena, 2019; Paladines & Margallo, 2020); or
hybrid spaces that combine photographs and videos (reels or stories)
that foster discussion about reading, such as the aforementioned bookstagrammers (Sánchez & Aparicio, 2020). The
latest social media usage reports (IAB, 2022) confirm that both platforms are
experiencing significant growth and projection. However, booktoks
have garnered the most attention and are increasingly engaging younger readers.
In 2020, the publishing house Penguin already recommended key booktoker profiles, and various reports and studies
(Nielsen, 2021; Talbot, 2023) highlight the growing use of these videos as
promotional tools within the publishing industry, to influence the next reading
choices of their viewers.
Booktubers, as a direct
predecessor of using videos to promote reading online, have been thoroughly
analysed in recent years (Vizcaíno-Verdú;
Contreras-Pulido & Guzmán-Franco, 2019; Tomasena,
2021). This community focuses on “recommending books and promoting reading by
tailoring their messages to the videoblog format.” They allow us to “delve into
new youth practices outside the classroom that relate to book promotion and
critical, informed expression about content, formats, genres, and authors” (Vizcaíno-Verdú; Contreras-Pulido & Guzmán-Franco, 2019,
p.1). For years now, young readers’ literary criticism on the Internet has
shifted from written reviews to video reviews (Paladines & Aliagas, 2023), with booktok
emerging as the space with the greatest potential.
One of the main differences between these videos and booktubers
lies in the mobile device as their natural medium, enabling massive audiences
and the emergence of new figures such as influencers—celebrities whose
status is built through their presence on social networks (Abidin, 2020).
Moreover, the ease of sharing and consuming this content on mobile devices has
given rise to a new concept: “content creators”, individuals who regularly
publish videos on these platforms, covering a wide range of topics in order to attract large audiences. The number of views and
visibility of these videos (Cordón-García & Gómez-Díaz, 2019) allows these
creators to earn financial compensation based on the number of reactions,
comments and views, with some of them even earning small fortunes.
Various studies have already focused on this new
phenomenon of literary mediation through the Internet, particularly in the
English-speaking world (Merga, 2021; Martens et al.,
2022), confirming that it is an area of interest for social reading and
literary communication online. A recent systematic review of both research
methods and its findings on reading in online environments, such as Instagram
and TikTok, highlights their differences and innovations in usage
(Sanz-Tejada & Lluch, 2024), as well as the shared elements with the
earlier dynamics mentioned above. However, there is still no detailed
description of its significance within the Spanish-speaking context.
Therefore, the primary objective of this research is
to propose a characterisation of Spanish-language booktoks.
Secondary objectives include describing specific uses of these videos and
identifying the main differences from previous models.
2. Methodology
This research offers a selection of Spanish-language booktoks and a detailed content analysis to identify
new uses and differences compared to other types of virtual reading epitexts. Kozinets’ (2021) netnographic models were applied to establish the selected
corpus. Initially, over 500 booktoks were
curated and grouped into a specific list (https://www.tiktok.com/@joseroviracollado/collection/Booktok-7193946691401796357) in order to
identify the most frequently used tags and the general characteristics of these
videos. This selection was based on recurrent navigation through a specific
profile and systematic searches to identify videos relevant to the research.
The profile used was created in February 2020, a month
before the global lockdown caused by COVID-19, during which TikTok
experienced significant growth in both registered users and published videos.
The initial contact and first video suggestions were mediated by the platform’s
algorithm. It is worth noting that the TikTok algorithm is designed to
foster addiction, particularly among younger viewers (Wang & Guo, 2023).
Although the platform includes advertisements aimed at preventing prolonged
usage, the risks of "infinite scrolling" are considerable, especially
for young users who may spend hours watching short videos (Petrillo, 2021;
Natarajan, 2024). TikTok offers two main options for viewing content:
"Following," which displays content from followed profiles, and
"For You," which suggests new videos based on the algorithm’s
assessment of user preferences. These two access routes to new content have
also been adopted by platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and
the emerging Blue Sky, to organize users’ timelines into two streams:
one based on followed accounts and the other curated by the algorithm.
During the initial stages of using the tool, between
2020 and 2022, efforts were made to force the algorithm to predominantly
display content related to reading and books. Periodic searches were conducted
using terms such as "book," "booktok,"
"lectura" (reading), "libros" (books), and "literatura"
(literature). It is noteworthy that the platform does not always prioritise the
most-viewed videos, but also tends to promote trending
or recent content. Profiles producing such videos were followed from the initial
stages of the study, and these videos were marked with a "like" (a
red heart icon). Despite the continued appearance of unrelated content during
routine browsing, over 50% of the videos displayed were related to the research
topics. As of June 2024, the profile used follows more than 7,500 accounts, of
which over 6,000 are aligned with this research focus. During the data
collection process, TikTok introduced an additional feature alongside
the red heart: a "favourites" icon (a yellow tag), which functions
similarly to Instagram’s option for organising content into specific
collections.
Since navigation primarily occurs via mobile devices,
the results displayed depend on the algorithm assigned to each account.
Consequently, TikTok’s algorithm may alter the outcomes of any given
search (Siles et al., 2022). Unlike other platforms such as YouTube,
where searches for specific terms yield more consistent results, TikTok
may produce different outcomes across devices due to its integration with the
user’s mobile phone environment. The informational biases inherent to digital
platforms, stemming from their lack of neutrality, were considered in this
research (van Dijck, 2013; Hepp, 2020). Factors such as the browsing history of
the profile used, interconnection with other programs, cookies, and social
networks may influence the results presented (Fisher, 2022).
Once the initial corpus of 500 videos was compiled,
additional studies on TikTok were reviewed to compare different
procedures for classifying videos (Caldeiro-Pedreira
& Yot-Domínguez, 2023; Rovira-Collado & Ruiz-Bañuls, 2022). With this context in mind, the research team
implemented the process outlined in Figure 1 to complete the selection of booktoks.
Figure 1
Flowchart of Booktok
selection
Source: Own work
Following Kozinets’ netnographic approach, criteria for selection and analysis
were established (Turpo Gerbera, 2008). Additionally,
a thematic qualitative analysis was conducted (Aronson, 1994), and the research
question was formulated in alignment with the selected objectives. The initial
500 videos were individually analysed by members of the research team, followed
by a collective discussion of their general characteristics. This study took
place between November 2023 and March 2024. At this point in the research, the
team decided not to include an analysis of audience interactions and comments
(Roig-Vila, Romero-Guerra & Rovira-Collado, 2021), which may be addressed
in future publications. Furthermore, the categories that were established,
together with the results obtained, were compared against feedback from
platform users with an interest in the online promotion of reading. This
external team included three senior researchers and
three early-career researchers interested in various uses of Booktok.
Specific data were collected for each selected video
as well as for the profiles responsible for publishing them, including
Duration, Audio, number of Tags along with the names of all the tags, Audience
metrics, such as the number of followers and the number of users followed by
the profile; for the videos, the following data were also collected: number of
Views, Likes, Shares, and Comments. Moreover, a specific typology was
established to classify content into categories, such as: Print Book, Digital Book,
People: Female, People: Male, Spaces, Digital-Others, as detailed in the
figures and tables provided in the Zenodo Annex. As for the Audio category, it
is determined whether the recording is user-created or rather pre-recorded
music provided by the platform. For the Profiles, it is also determined whether
users provide information about accounts they may have on other platforms, such
as Instagram (IG), Wattpad (Wtt), Portal,
Goodreads (G), YouTube (YT), Twitter (Tw), and Facebook
(FB).
From the initial 500 videos, specific criteria were established
for the first selection: 1. Profiles had to be active; 2. Videos had to be
algorithmically recommended in the "For You" section; 3. The content
had to be taggable with #booktok; 4. Profiles needed a minimum level of
activity (at least 15 videos). Additionally, all videos had to be publicly
accessible without requiring a login to ensure the privacy of each account. Descriptive
variables (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and exclusion criteria were
also defined: the videos had to be in Spanish or created by Spanish-speaking profiles, and centred on reading-related content. With regard to the language used, some videos in English
were included to highlight emerging trends, which will be discussed later. Many
videos were excluded because they originated from the same profiles or featured
repetitive trends frequently appearing in timelines, resulting in a final
corpus of 299 videos (201 videos discarded). A subsequent individual selection
was made to identify the most significant videos (30) and profiles (30), focusing
on the following variables (DeSantis & Ugarriza,
2000; Hernández & Rovira-Collado, 2023): V1 Audience, Followers and Views;
V2 Use of Tags; V3 Video Characteristics; and V4 Classification of procedures
and dynamics. This process resulted in a final list of 10 videos.
Finally, distinct categories were defined for the
description of the videos, along with the main descriptive data for each video
and profile in order to refine the analysis, which
started in November 2023.
3. Analysis and
Results
3.1. Global descriptive
results for the 299 videos
Some of the descriptive results are included as an
external annex on Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/records/14507130). In Zenodo Table
I, among the total of 299 videos analysed, the average duration was observed to
be 39.59 seconds, with a range from a minimum of 4 seconds to an outlier
maximum of 553 seconds. Ten videos were identified as slideshow presentations,
likely originating from other platforms, while the remaining 289 were dynamic.
The percentage of videos shorter than 39 seconds constitutes 67.82% of the
total dynamic videos (299), which emphasises brevity as a defining feature of
the platform's content. Regarding audio content, 175 videos (58.53%) include
music, whereas in 124 videos (41.47%), it is the protagonist who directly
addresses the viewer using their own voice.
In total, the 299 videos achieved 53,027,954 views (M
= 177,351.02), 3,823,354 likes (M = 12,827.49), 130,484 shares (M = 439.34),
and 21,445 comments (M = 72.21).
Concerning Typology or central element, the most
frequently featured subject is the Book (166 videos; 55.52%), followed
by Girl/Book (61 videos; 20.40%) or Girl alone as the protagonist
(23 videos; 7.69%). In contrast, less common options include the use of Kindle
or other digital reading devices (3 videos; 1%). The print book stands out as
the central feature in 245 booktoks (81.94%)
across the different typologies. Out of the 299 videos, only 278 distinct
profiles are represented, as some profiles appear multiple times across
different videos. The gender of the protagonist is identified in 242 videos
(221 women and 21 men). Additionally, the dataset includes the identification
of 5 publishing houses, 5 institutions, 5 bookshops, 3 reading communities such
as “Qué leer,” and 4 categorised as “others.”
Participation on other platforms as part of a transmedia strategy was also
noted.
3.1.1 Most used tags
Table 1 shows the 25 most frequently used tags across
the 299 analysed videos. Tags work as a fundamental tool for locating these
videos, as they do in similar spaces like literary blogs (García & Rubio,
2013). A total of 1,137 tags were recorded, which were used 2,945 times overall
(this count was used to calculate Absolute Frequency). These 25 key terms
account for 40.81% of the total tags collected (while the remaining 1,112 tags
represent 59.19% of the total). The table includes a column showing the total
views associated with each tag according to the platform’s data as of 20
January 2024. The abbreviation B (Billions) is used to denote the vast audience
numbers, with some tags reaching billions of views. It is noteworthy that this
figure has likely increased over this brief period of time
due to the continuous traffic on the platform.
Table 1
25 Most frequently used tags across the 299 analysed
videos
|
Tag (#) |
AF |
AF (%) |
Total views of the Tag on TikTok |
|
booktok |
227 |
7.71 |
144.40B
(Billions) |
|
libros |
108 |
3.67 |
12.70B |
|
books |
98 |
3.33 |
37.20B |
|
booktokespañol |
80 |
2.72 |
3.50B |
|
fyp |
65 |
2.21 |
42,639.60B |
|
booktoker |
64 |
2.17 |
12.80B |
|
libroslibroslibros |
50 |
1.70 |
4.00B |
|
bookworm |
47 |
1.60 |
18.00B |
|
librosrecomendados |
41 |
1.39 |
2.90B |
|
book |
40 |
1.36 |
18.90B |
|
librostiktok |
40 |
1.36 |
3.30B |
|
bookish |
35 |
1.19 |
18.80B |
|
bookstagram |
34 |
1.15 |
1.50B |
|
parati |
32 |
1.09 |
6,513.90B |
|
booktokespaña |
30 |
1.02 |
0.56B |
|
lectura |
30 |
1.02 |
2.80B |
|
leer |
25 |
0.85 |
2.20B |
|
booklover |
22 |
0.75 |
3.40B |
|
libro |
22 |
0.75 |
2.80B |
|
bookrecommendations |
21 |
0.71 |
10.40B |
|
reading |
21 |
0.71 |
13.60B |
|
bookclub |
19 |
0.65 |
14.10B |
|
literatura |
18 |
0.61 |
1.50B |
|
foryou |
17 |
0.58 |
25,011.20B |
|
lectores |
14 |
0.50 |
2.10B |
Source: Own work
The tags are organised by their frequency of appearance
in the 299 videos, with “booktok” being the most
common, as it defines the category. This tag appears 277 times (92.64% of the
total) and has an Absolute Frequency of 7.71 out of the 2,945 tags. Other
frequently appearing tags in this selection of 299 Spanish-language videos
include “Libros,” “booktokenespañol,” “LibrosLibrosLibros,” “librosrecomendados,”
“booktokespaña,” and “librosTikTok.”
Tags such as “fyp,” referring to “for you page,” “página para ti,” or “para ti,” also appear
with billions of views, serving as strategies to enhance the virality of the
videos. Subsequently, a WordArt visualisation was created based on the 200 most
viewed tags out of the 1,137 used, in order to
highlight the most significant ones.
Figure 2
200 most frequently used tags in the analysed videos
Source: Own work
3.2. Analysis of 30 Reader
Profiles on TikTok
In this second selection, a description is provided for
the 30 most-followed profiles from the list of 299 videos. Global metrics are
analysed, such as the total number of videos published, followers, and views,
along with specific characteristics of each profile or their interaction with
other social media platforms, as shown in Table 2. A detailed description of
the profiles and their names can be found in Table II of the Zenodo Annex.
Table 2
Descriptive characteristics of the 30 most-followed
profiles
|
Descriptors |
Users |
|
AF |
AF (%) |
|
Gender |
Female |
Individual |
23 |
76.67 |
|
|
|
Sisters |
1 |
3.33 |
|
|
Mixed |
Female and Male |
1 |
3.33 |
|
|
|
Various |
1 |
3.33 |
|
|
Male |
Individual |
4 |
13.34 |
|
Social Media |
Only TikTok |
|
8 |
26.67 |
|
|
Instagram |
|
16 |
53.33 |
|
|
Wattpad |
|
1 |
0.33 |
|
|
Web/Portal |
|
11 |
36.67 |
|
|
Goodreads |
|
6 |
20.00 |
|
|
YouTube |
|
4 |
13.33 |
|
|
X (Twitter) |
|
5 |
16.67 |
|
|
Facebook |
|
2 |
0.67 |
|
Videos |
|
|
9,800 |
326.67 |
|
Following |
|
|
6,860 |
228.67 |
|
Followers |
|
|
2,739,571 |
91,319.03 |
|
|
Over 1 million |
|
1 |
3.33 |
|
|
Between 999,999 and 100,000 |
|
5 |
16.67 |
|
|
Between 99,999 and 30,000 |
|
9 |
30.00 |
|
|
Between 29,999 and 10,000 |
|
12 |
40.00 |
|
|
Between 9,999 and 8,900 |
|
3 |
10.00 |
|
Likes |
|
|
45,182,340 |
1,506,078 |
The selection of the most prominent profiles was based
on the thirty users—excluding portals, publishers, or libraries, for
instance—with the highest number of followers. In this regard, as shown in
Table II of the Annex, one user stands out (@fantasyliterature) with the
highest number of followers (1,187,392). The sample is evenly divided, with 50%
of profiles having more than 30,000 followers and the remainder ranging between
29,999 and 8,900 (with the interval between 29,999 and 10,000 being the most
representative). There is also a notable predominance of women over men, with
female representation accounting for nearly 90%. Among the fifteen profiles
with more than 30,000 followers, only two are male: @sans.reyes
(129,076 followers) and @javierruescas (87,328 followers). Collectively, this
group of content creators on TikTok has produced a total of 9,800
videos, with the most active profiles being @sans.reyes
(975 videos) and @roibooks (969 videos). Ten of these analysed profiles have
uploaded more than 400 videos to their channels. Similarly, it is evident that
these users have built a large community of followers who prefer engagement
through the “Like” option, with the most prominent user in this regard being
@patriciafedz, who has accumulated over 7 million positive interactions on her
content, establishing herself as a true “literature influencer”.
Another aspect considered in the analysis was whether TikTok
served as the primary platform for interaction, or if users relied on other
social media to complement their digital identity. In this case, among the most
prominent profiles, eight users link to another platform in their biography,
with Instagram being the most common (53.33% of cases). When comparing
profiles across both platforms, it is notable that the majority (13 users) have
more followers on TikTok than on Instagram. Nevertheless, it was
noted that most individuals from one platform disseminate their content across
others, tailoring it to the specific nature of each platform; for instance,
other portals related to literary promotion such as Goodreads can also
be found.
3.3. Analysis of 30 standout
videos
Although the platform generates prominent profiles
with thousands of followers—the so-called 'influencers'—our analysis focuses
more on the typology of videos they produce and the innovations they introduce.
For this reason, a further selection of 30 videos was made, with the main data
presented in the following Table 3.
Table 3
General characteristics of the thirty selected videos
|
|
Maximum |
Minimum |
Average |
Total |
|
Duration (in seconds) |
135 |
5 |
39.40 |
1,182 |
|
Views |
2,700,000 |
598 |
534,069.10 |
16,022,073 |
|
Likes |
373,600 |
49 |
72,575.40 |
2,177,262 |
|
Number of comments |
1,843 |
1 |
389,333 |
11,680 |
As in the previous case, Table III in the Zenodo Annex
includes detailed data on the 30 videos, including the full URL for accessing
them, the tags used, the number of views, likes, duration, and comments for
each video
The longest booktok
exceeds two minutes, while the shortest (Video #34) lasts only five seconds.
This short video follows the “What are you reading?” trend, which will be
discussed later. The selection includes videos with low numbers of views (598),
likes (49), and comments (1), which were nevertheless included in order to identify new trends. However, considering the
totals, it is worth noting that these 30 videos collectively have over sixteen
million views, two million likes, and more than eleven thousand comments,
demonstrating their significant audience, with figures surpassing those of
earlier booktubers. The brevity of these videos and their accessibility
through mobile devices are key reasons for their wide reach.
The distribution of the 30 booktoks
by main focus or protagonist is as follows: 13 feature
a Book; 8 Girl/Book; 5 Girl; 2 Boy/Book; 2 Boy;
and 1 Girl/Author. The terms “girl” and “boy” have been used to reflect
the youthful and informal nature of the videos. It is noteworthy that the book
is the central focus in 25 videos, often accompanied by men or women. There are
more videos featuring women as protagonists (14) compared to men (4). However,
this is an unusual finding, as men typically account for less than 10% of these
videos. This is likely due to the inclusion of a few male protagonists with
substantial audiences.
Finally, a final selection was made, based on both the
novelty of the trends and the multimodal elements each video offers, as
analysed in another study (Rovira-Collado, Martínez-Carratalá,
& Miras, 2024). Ten distinct trends were identified in these 10 videos.
Preceding classifications (Tomasena, 2021) were not
adopted in this analysis, allowing for the development of a novel multimodal
classification.
Table 4
Selection of 10
videos and description of their different dynamics/trends
Own work
It is worth mentioning that many of these videos have
a significant audience, with thousands of “likes”. The first example, What
are you reading?,
has far fewer likes but was included because it was one of the first to be
added to the list and most clearly demonstrates a new trend. Along with 2. Fiesta
de seguidores-lectores (Reader Follow Party),
these categories represent two of the most innovative trends compared to
earlier models. Both booktoks are very short
and illustrate the rise of hyper-brief dynamics and, in both cases, the main focus is on books or bookshelves, with very short
recordings accompanied by a specific audio piece in English that gives a title
to these trends. In the first example, only the reverse side of the book spine
is shown at first, revealing just the edges of the pages and making it
impossible to identify the book, only to reveal the cover and title the end of
the clip. The video lasts only five seconds, synced with the audio file
available on the platform: https://www.tiktok.com/music/Whats-this-person-reading-right-now-6904077601871170309. A review of this
audio piece shows that it has been used in over 100,000 similar booktoks, making it a notable new trend
The second example, Fiesta de seguidores-lectores (Reader Follow Party), also relies on a
specific audio recording. In this case, it is a Spanish translation of Reader
Follow Party (https://www.tiktok.com/tag/readerfollowparty), which has been
used over 10,000 times, albeit mostly in English.
The third
video, Libraries, demonstrates professional mediation, where the manager
of a public library (@bibliotecaugena) shares videos about her daily work.
These are also very short; for instance, one video is only 13 seconds long and
introduces several books.
The fourth example, Types of Booktoker,
features a young protagonist discussing books and showcasing different types of
new readers associated with these trends. While not all protagonists are
teenagers, these videos show a generational shift from earlier models.
The fifth
example, Fostering Reading, features Iria and Selene, famous booktubers
and authors of young adult literature, experimenting with new trends on TikTok.
Here, they present their latest book with a popular background song, Naughty
(Alisha Weir & The Cast of Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical). As in other
cases, the use of specific sounds helps create trends. This song from the
musical Matilda is commonly used to depict pranks or mischievous acts,
with humour being a key aspect of many such videos.
The sixth type,
Editors, is labelled as such because the protagonist self-identifies as
an editor, although the video is more of a humorous take on an ever-growing
wish list of books she has. Interestingly, the video does not prominently
feature books but highlights a passion for reading instead. Once again, the
video’s effect relies on a specific audio clip, “Ding dong”,
where after a dull thud resembling a knock on a door, a female voice mimics the
sound of a bell, marking the protagonist's sudden appearance
Some of the selected dynamics have stronger
connections to YouTube and earlier models. The importance of “content
creation” and the emergence of new “influencers” has already been discussed.
The seventh example, Bookinfluencer, features
Patricia Fernández, who has amassed a significant following by talking about
books. Her videos, like many others, also highlight the importance of the image
she portrays—young, attractive, and relatable—consistent with trends across
other social networks (Calvo-González; San Fabián, 2019; Dezuanni
et al., 2022). This booktok has already
garnered over 200,000 views, 20,000 likes, and numerous comments. @patriciafedz
has a steady production of videos and hundreds of thousands of followers,
thereby firmly establishing herself in this category.
Javier Ruescas is another influencer
who encourages reading and, in addition to being a young adult author, was also
active in former blogs and booktuber communities. On World Book Day,
he usually shares a video about the origins of this event, showcasing his
adaptability to the new medium and engaging a large audience.
The category of Videopoems
is not particularly novel, and it typically involves the previously recorded
voice of a poet, or features someone reciting their verses. In this case,
@marinalcuadrado offers a recording focused on herself, with over 150,000
views. This type of videopoem is more personal,
making poetry more accessible compared to traditional videopoems
on YouTube, which often rely on photomontages.
The final example, So Said...,
represents an intermediate dynamic or trend which focuses on famous quotes,
typically accompanied by static photomontages, remaining very brief. The
selected example highlights the words of the Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti,
demonstrating how this format can bring literary voices into contemporary
digital spaces.
4. Discussion and
Conclusions
Based on the research question and primary objective,
it is concluded that the various analyses presented enable a detailed
characterisation of Spanish-language booktoks
as new virtual epitexts for promoting reading. From
the global analysis of 299 examples to the specific selections, the study
demonstrates a broad progression that delineates the evolution from earlier
spaces. The first key finding concerns the two primary categories of booktoks. They represent two of the most innovative
#Booktok trends, with books serving as the central focus of both
practices. Although the selected examples are from Spanish-speaking users, the
original tags and audio they use are actually in
English, reflecting their much wider reach and highlighting clear trends within
TikTok.
A brief trajectory can be proposed, starting from
literary forums as the first digital epitexts in 2003
(Lluch & Acosta, 2012), to literary blogs from 2006, which exhibited a wide
variety (García Rodríguez & Rubio González, 2013). This was followed by booktubers,
who experienced their peak between approximately 2011 and 2018 (Tomasena, 2021). Subsequently, from 2014 to 2020, social
reading platforms such as Goodreads replaced former spaces (García-Roca,
2020). By 2016, Bookstagram began to emerge
(Quiles Cabrera, 2020), and since 2020, the rise of Booktoks
has been evident (Guiñez-Cabrera &
Mansilla-Obando, 2022.
The creation of videos and
the analysis of other productions can support the development of digital skills
(Allué & Cassany, 2023)
and previous videos already demonstrated their educational value (Paladines
& Aliagas, 2021). Specific proposals for
integrating TikTok dynamics into classrooms already exist (Blanco Martínez & González
Sanmamed, 2021).
It must be acknowledged that this is a different
category compared to previous models. Some characteristics inferred from the
description provided are:
-These videos are generally much shorter than earlier
ones, enabling quicker consumption but often limiting in-depth literary
analysis. However, their brevity also results in a larger audience, surpassing
figures achieved by previous modalities.
-The primary space for creating and disseminating
these videos is the mobile phone. While some videos can be recorded and edited
using other resources, as was common with booktubers, the vast majority
are created on mobile devices. Numerous editing applications for different
mobile operating systems have emerged, which facilitate the production of these
videos.
-Fully enjoying these videos requires an active
profile that can receive suggestions from the platform’s algorithm. Unlike booktubers,
whose videos could be browsed without logging into a Google profile, exploring
a range of booktoks needs an active profile on
the platform. This also allows users to create groups, follow tags, and engage
in comments more directly.
- Although there are also bookinfluencers,
in many cases the book itself is the primary focus of the video, which can be
used in various educational contexts (Rovira-Collado & Ruiz-Bañuls, 2022).
The limitations of this research are acknowledged,
with a specific corpus of videos with characteristics that were primarily
dictated by the platform’s algorithm. Additionally, the inherent bias of the
research team, which sought to identify differences from earlier epitexts, is also acknowledged. More comprehensive
analyses, such as those conducted with booktubers (Tomasena,
2022), could leverage specific APIs to gather macrodata
from these interactions
As a future outlook,
identifying the literary trends promoted by booktoks
is proposed, although it is anticipated that these will largely consist of
current bestsellers in young adult literature. Further research is needed to
confirm the extent to which these videos influence sales across genres (Merga, 2021; Martens et al., 2022). Additionally, specific
analyses of interactions between content creators and their audiences could be
explored (Roig-Vila, Romero-Guerra, & Rovira-Collado, 2021). Comments, live
broadcasts, replies (responses to other videos), duets (videos created by two
people from separate devices), stitches (video overlays), and other forms of
interaction represent areas yet to be examined. Among virtual epitexts, it is the hour of #Booktok.
Authors’
Contributions
Conceptualisation: J.R.-C.,S.M.;
Methodology: J.R.-C., F.A.M.-C.,S.M.; Data curation: F.A.M.-C.,S.M.;
Validation: J.R.-C., F.A.M.-C.,S.M.; Initial draft writing: S.M.; Review and
editing: J.R.-C.,F.A.M.-C.
Funding
This research is part of the Red de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria Narrativas Visuales y Formación
Literaria en Educación Infantil (6216) (University Teaching Research Network:
Visual Narratives and Literary Training in Early Childhood Education) at the
University of Alicante.
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