Spotlight On: BookTok

What is #BookTok?

If you don’t know… get to know. TikTok’s #BookTok is home to our favourite reads - from viral page-turners and trending titles to popular authors and books that are REALLY worth the hype. It’s the online book club that gives you a reason to stop the scroll and get reading with ease. The platform allows for a community of avid readers to share insights into their favourite novels and creates a destination to help you discover your next read. Inspiring a new generation, BookTok’s recommendations and reviews navigate which riveting fiction or fascinating non-fiction will give you the tech-free down time you need. Ready to get involved? Here’s your sign to escape the doomscroll with 6 books everyone should read…

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a #BookTok OG. The dark comedy set in early noughties New York City follows an unnamed protagonist attempting to avoid everyday-life through a drug-induced stupor, moving slowly between the local Bodega and her flat with prescription sedatives knocking her out for days at a time. Approaching topics of grief, mental health and privilege, the Booker Prize nominated, New York Times bestseller is soon to be adapted to film, reportedly with direction by Yorgos Lanthimos.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

Next on the #BookTok roster, Coco Mellors’ Cleopatra and Frankenstein also sees fictious characters traverse love and life with New York City as a backdrop. This engrossing novel follows young Cleo and 20-year-older Frank navigate an instant and intense romantic relationship, floating between NYC parties and art shows whilst weathering the storm of family and friendship dynamics around them. Touching on mental health, addiction and love, this debut is captivating must-read.

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

Diving into fictional surrealism, Nightbitch explores a world in which a middle-class mother in a run-of-the-mill American town slowly turns into a feral dog. Juggling the responsibilities as a mother of a young child with an absent co-parent, Nightbitch’s central character offers a humorous (and oftentimes strange) commentary on the expectations women face when shifting into life as a parent. Teeming with unbridle rage and lively imagery, this #BookTok addition has been described as a ‘wild ride’, allowing the reader to interpret the narrative in a literal sense or as a more metaphorical story.

Poor Things by Alasdair Gray

Having mopped up at the Oscars, Alasdair Gray’s Poor Things has been transported out of #BookTok and onto the big screen. The 2024 film release saw Hollywood actors Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe tell the story under the artistic direction of Yorgos Lanthimos, but the story originated as a novel published in 1992. Just like the movie, the novel is brisk, funny and dirty, set in the Victorian era with a backdrop of gothic surrealism. The story follows Bella Baxter, a character with ambiguous origins, on a journey of self-discovery around Europe, Northern Africa, and Central Asia.

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Every page of Dolly Alderton’s 2019 debut is packed full of life lessons, wit and insights that #BookTok users have labelled ‘5-star’ and ‘impactful’. Everything I Know About Love is a memoir by journalist and columnist Dolly Alderton, recounting her experiences as a 20-something girl experiencing life, love, partying, dating and friendship through uni days and beyond. Described as one TikToker as ‘advice from an older sister’, it’s one to return to whilst navigating the ebbs and flows of your everyday.

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee

Part memoir, part self-help book, Baek Sehee’s debut book fast became a cult favourite following its 2018 release. I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki largely consists of transcripts between Sehee and her therapist in an era of low-mood, anxiety and self-doubt. Playing out over a 12-week period, the Korean book is an eye-opening and candid display of modern-day mental health that one TikToker described as feeling like a ‘warm hug and a reminder that everything is going to be ok’.

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