It was a cold day in December when I scrolled upon my first ‘Booktok’ video. I was in my second quarantine of the year, having contracted COVID twice, and my days seemed to melt into one another. By the third day of quarantine, I was already tired of watching TV and scrolling on Tik Tok. I felt like there was nothing else to do- until I started reading.
The first book recommended to me by Tik Tok was It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. Thankfully, my sister was in the middle of reading it and told me I could borrow it while I was locked away in my room. I started reading it around 4 pm, and I finished it by 1 am. I couldn’t put it down—literally. The reliability I felt to Lily Bloom was unmatched by any film character in my recent memory. It was at that moment I realized my love of reading had never died; I just hadn’t made time for it.
After It Ends With Us, I read 3 other books in the next week. After that, every time a ‘Booktok’ video came up on my For You page, I would add it to a running list in my notes app of title I needed to read. The beautiful thing about TikTok is that the more I interacted with ‘Booktok’ videos, the more videos I was shown. That list of titles quickly surpassed 20 or so after a few days. Currently, that list has doubled, and I am working my way through the books. I have literally loved every recommendation so far!
I now turn to a good book instead of Netflix in my free time. Don’t get me wrong- binging New Girl or SVU is always a good idea- but I realized that reading brings me a sense of tranquility that shows and movies don’t quite do. Reading, unlike watching TV, doesn’t overstimulate me. I’m fully able to immerse myself in whatever world I am reading about, and that allows me to feel all the emotions of those characters without any barriers.
For me, reading allows me to connect with characters better and recognize my own emotions more clearly. I love that I can get through a good book in a day without feeling like I wasted my time on a frivolous movie (although, we all need those days too!) So, next time you’re wondering what to do when you’re bored, I recommend picking up a good book. Here are some of my recent favorites to get you started:
- It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- Have You Seen Me? By Kate White
- It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
What are your favorite booktok reads? Have you read any listed above?