Rebecca Yarros, Colleen Hoover and Andrea Longarela These are some of the writers who are now making a splash among young people. However Federico Garcia LorcaMiguel de Cervantes and Gabriel García Márquez they may also be “mainstream” for them. TikTok now rules Generation Z, and the latest trends on the social network have decided that literature is in fashion and the love of books is back. Teens read not just teen novels (sometimes more than adults). The publication date and subject are not important. If a book manages to go viral on the popular social network, it will quickly become a ‘bestseller’.
According to the latest Reading Habits Barometer, the group that reads the most is young people aged 14-24. 74.2% of readers. This trend has increased in recent years thanks to the power of social networks. TikTok in particular (which has a huge young audience) has created its own community of literature lovers where users share their experiences, opinions and preferences about books. hashtag #BookTok there is already too much 217 billion views And #BookTokSpanishIntroducing Spanish culture through literature, five billion.
This phenomenon even has its own ‘influencers’.bookmakersPeople commenting on the latest novels they’ve read, making recommendations, and reflecting on the characters and plots of their favorite books. “Prescription becomes a shared emotion rather than an investigation“, explains Grupo Planeta’s Editorial Department. Publishers, bookstores and authors have reinvented themselves by increasing sales and reactivating some books. Some bookstores even have their own sections of recommended books on the #BookTok network and profiles on social media.
digital reading club
#BookTok was born naturally and “The world’s largest digital reading club“, according to this Luisa Ramos, social network communications officer. “This phenomenon has become a catalyst that promotes literature and encourages millions of people to read; it also “a global scenario of local culture”, says Ramos. This is why a revolution in the publishing industry, helping writers launch their careers and connect with readers.
“We find the #BookTok phenomenon fascinating,” he admits. Rosa SamperMontena, literary director of Random Cómics, Molino & PenguinKids Penguin Random Housegiven “Reading requires space and time of peace and depth, but TikTok as a social network is the exact opposite.“. The editor also thinks that young people are using TikTok as a showcase for new products in a bookstore.
“Reading has lost its ‘geek’ connotation among young people“, comments author and ‘bookseller’ Raquel Brune. ‘This allows more people to feel like reading can be for them too, and it breaks down barriers,’ adds author of ‘Dark is the Night.’ Brune believes the publishing industry has biases and that books are categorized by genre. “These classifications can limit the audience they target. It turns out that a book like ‘The Song of Elijah’ has emerged, which describes the relationship between two characters in the ‘Iliad’. ‘Achilles’, a title written by an ancient Greek scholar, finds its place among young people, not among other scholars,’ he gives as an example . “Young people enjoy good literature too!“He claims to be the creator.
youth literature
Young people’s interest in literature developed along with what was written and published. “Right now, The literary world has a wide variety of suggestions for young people who have never had anything like this before.” says the writer and ‘tiktoker’ Tamara Molina. Novels don’t always have to be dense, designed, or reserved for academics, they also have fun, entertaining, addictive stories with similar language that they can identify with.
“Youth literature and fandom have always been underestimated“, says editor Samper, but the reality is that many of these books now outsell other famous authors. This is the current situation: ‘bloody wings‘, regarding Rebecca Yarros. Fnac assures that sales of this book are currently not far off from those of Sonsoles Ónega’s book ‘The Maid’s Daughters’, which won the 2023 Planeta Prize. A few years ago, the chain unveiled a section of best-selling books. We see the success of the youngest in youth literature.
Be part of a community
Within the scope of this trend, FOMO (‘fear of missing out’). “This phenomenon is defined by the fear of being left out of a conversation or social event. After all, If everyone around you is reviewing a book, you like being able to join in the conversation and express your own opinion.“, To explain Cristina Jiménez‘product manager’ for Juvenile, Crossover and Comics at Penguin Random House.
The revolution came from the covid epidemic. Many young people have rediscovered reading or discovered a new hobby. It was right around that time that TikTok started to grow and become big. But they continue to face major challenges from the publishing industry: huge amount of audiovisual entertainment This still exists today,” says Jiménez. “Fortunately, young people continue to find a space for their moment read“approves.
Meryem AssakatThe ‘Bookseller’ and Catalan bookseller assures that as a result of this phenomenon, young people have started going to the bookstore where he works to ask about some books they have seen on TikTok. This is also confirmed by Fnac, which assures that more and more young people are left to buy the latest literary novelties. They flock to the day when the book they have been waiting for for a long time will be released. They wait in line for hours for book signings.
Reactivation of the classics
“TikTok is a very powerful marketing tool. The platform has the ability to announce new games as well as give new life to great classics,” says TikTok’s head of Communications. Books such as ‘Very Few Lives’ and ‘The Goldfinch’, which were published years ago, entered the sales lists again. “I realized Lorca was ‘mainstream’“says cultural disseminator Patricia Fernández on social networks. “Always reading about the classics is not attractive, There is no vision that reaches the public“he argues.
This also happens with novels published long ago. “How can a book that came out years ago not sell at the time and is successful now?” asks Maryam Assakat. The bookseller explains: When Colleen Hoover published it in Spain, “it went so unnoticed that the publisher who owned the rights stopped publishing it because it wasn’t selling.” People started talking about ‘Breaking the environment’ and it was a ‘boom’. “It’s not that these books were bad back then, but now there’s a more open tool for sharing reviews,” he notes.
It used to be much more difficult for a book to get this far so quickly and easily. “NowJust one video away from the novels becoming a viral book“, says Tamara Molina. “The transmission speed in social networks gives the following impression: There are books practically born in them, But this is the channel where young people share what they read and phenomenon depending on the intensity of ‘contagion’ and the book is a bestseller,” explain the Editorial Department of Grupo Planeta. However, Assakat warns: books are “becoming more and more expensive” and there are young people who “cannot afford to spend 25 euros”.
Young people are reading. They do this after going to bookstores as a community, as a meeting moment for themselves, and after purchasing the books on paper. Despite living in a digital environment, physical books are also the preferred option of new generations. “We miss the past and it seems magical to me“says Fernández, who thinks that a paper book is a journey in itself: “Pick it up, open it, touch it, smell it and be aware of how much you’ve read.“They bring so much life to bookstores,” Assakat celebrates. Today, Generation Z could choose thousands of ways to read. But they preferred the most traditional and beautiful.