BookTok, the corner of TikTok with all things books and book reviews, is doing the absolute most right now. It all started when a TikToker decided to play a silly prank on her friend â and now it has blown up into an international inside joke.Â
On Dec. 6, TikTok user @oofieee posted a video asking people to help her prank her friend. âMy friend just started a book account called âthe Wirral Readerâ so Iâve blocked it,â her post read. (FYI for my non-English girlies, Wirral is a peninsula in North West England â the more you know!) âCan you all please flood her comments accusing her of not being able to read?â The creator also said she wanted her friend to be âso incredibly confusedâ about why people thought she couldnât read.
The video went absolutely viral, with 5.8 million views as of Dec. 9, and the people of TikTok absolutely showed up and showed out, flocking to @thewirralreaderâs page to accuser the creator of not being able to read â and it is absolutely hilarious.Â
Some of the best comments included, things like âAdults learning to read is so important. Destigmatize and enjoy the journey,â and âidk why everyones bothering to comment⌠how will she read them all?â Some big brands even got in on the action, with Google commenting, âwe have a voice search option for this very reason (đŁď¸đ)â and Wendys writing, âHave you tried board books? The pictures pop out itâs really fun (someone can read this to you).âÂ
The videos just kept getting more and more popular, and some pretty funny responses were made as a result. Even some authors got in on the fun, like Jodi Picoult, a well-known author of books like My Sisterâs Keeper and Small Great Things, who dedicated a Dec. 7 video to the Wirral Reader in which she recommends children’s books for beginner readers to read.
Finally, on Dec. 8, the moment BookTok had been waiting for finally arrived: the Wirral Reader posted a response video to the prank. Her name is Lesley Costello, and she said in her video, âThank you for following and commenting, and as you can see Iâm now unblocked [from @oofieeeâs account] so I am in on the joke.â She ended by cheekily encouraging videos to follow so that âYou can decide: Can I read, or is it all a part of a larger con?âÂ
The Wirral Reader now has 47,400 followers on TikTok, as of Dec. 9. Although her most recent video was the response to the prank, her account is filled with BookTok videos, and it seems likely that she will continue on her journey to grow her BookTok account going forward.