Isabella Keats studied Journalism and English at Toronto Metropolitan University. With a love for reading and writing, words have always been her passion. Her current favourite books are The Priory of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, and Ever Summer After by Carley Fortune.

As Michelle Ransom walks into an Indigo bookstore, the atmosphere feels familiar. She knows this place well, from the faces of great Canadian authors on the wall to another customer playing classical music on the public piano.

On a table near the store entrance, Ransom recognizes every book on display. The Trending on #BookTok table is full of book covers ranging from lovely pinks and loopy writing to mysterious reds behind bold font text. Romance, fantasy and young adult books popularized on TikTok are familiar to Ransom because of her online presence on Bookstagram.

BookTok, Bookstagram and BookTube are book-focused communities on different social media platforms, including TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. BookTok rose to mainstream popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. With the entire world confined to their homes, many people turned to online communities where they could share their hobbies with others. On TikTok, people post extensive book reviews, hauls from bookstores or libraries, book-affiliated events and all things bookish.

Bookish, according to Merriam-Webster, is someone who is “fond of books and reading.” With #BookTok, #Bookstagram and #BookTube gaining over 170 million uses, these online book spaces have proven important to readers and authors.

Finding Community

Ransom, a Toronto-based Bookstagrammer with over 11,000 followers, is just one example of how Bookstagram has created a community she can turn to. “It’s been a really good time making friends all over the world,” says Ransom.

Ransom was always a reader. Growing up, her mother would often take her to the library to pick up a new book. Books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Magic Tree House series, We Were Liars and Anne of Green Gables are all books that Ransom loved reading. Most of her life, she just remembers reading.

In April 2020, after completing her bachelor’s degree during a global lockdown, Ransom needed something to do: “[I] really wanted to share my love of reading.” Turning to social media, she created her Bookstagram and began sharing photos with the world. With a love for reading coupled with a big book collection and an impressive collection of Anne of Green Gables books—56 copies to be exact—Ransom started making online friends.

In her personal life, Ransom doesn’t have many bookish friends. Through direct messaging and responding to comments on Instagram, Ransom slowly started making online friends who enjoy reading as much as she does. In 2022, when events started happening in person again, Ransom began going to publishing events and meeting up with friends she made online. She also got to meet her closest Bookstagram friend, with whom she has stayed in contact to this day.

From creating close bonds with fellow readers to receiving a free book from Simon & Schuster, Ransom wouldn’t trade any of it for anything: “It’s definitely been such a great improvement in my life, and it’s been such a life changer.”

Caitlin Parr, a Vancouver-based Bookstagrammer with over 7,000 followers, says she wouldn’t be reading as much if it wasn’t for her account.

Parr, like Ransom, is a lifelong reader. After falling back in love with reading in high school, she never put books down again. Parr created her Bookstagram account in 2022. She was inspired to create her account after watching creators on Booktube. Watching people talk about books and share their love of reading with others was something that called to her.

Being able to take photos, attend events and buy new books has become a creative outlet for Parr. “The frequency in which I read and how many books I’m reading definitely has increased,” says Parr. Running the account, Parr feels motivated to write reviews for the books she’s read to accompany the aesthetically pleasing photos she’s posting.

Like Ransom, Parr has also made bookish friends. Swapping numbers with them, meeting online friends in real life, “buddy reading” books and even receiving advanced reader copies of popular books are all parts of Parr’s exciting journey on Bookstagram. “Sharing my love for books and chatting in the comments with my friends and going crazy over books is honestly the best thing,” says Parr.

Launching Author Careers

Both Parr and Ransom have a specific favourite book in common, Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young. Out on a Limb is a romance book representing disabled joy and two first-time parents navigating pregnancy.

At 9 a.m., Bonam-Young sits at her desk to start her work day. On her desk are tools that help her write her next book: a timer, a notebook, pens and highlighters, and a photo from her wedding. The first thing she does when she opens her computer is comb through her email and respond to important messages from her editor. Once that is done, she begins writing.

Setting her timer, her fingers tap different letters on her lipstick-coloured keyboard. When the timer goes off she takes a short break, reaches for her phone and snaps a photo. Posting it to Instagram with the caption, “New Book Loading…” multiple fans took to the comments to show excitement about her newest book and compliment her setup. The post received over 500 likes.

Before Bonam-Young became an author she was an avid reader: “From the minute I could read independently, I was reading.” Unlike some people, she was a reader without social media. She knew fandoms existed for other types of media like movies and television shows, but she didn’t know they also existed for books. When researching self-publishing, every blog and every video pointed back to Instagram. After taking a few online courses with literary agents, Bonam-Young joined Bookstagram.

From figuring out which hashtags to use to which photo should represent her in her profile photo, Bonam-Young was building from the ground up. When she began her account, it felt like she was shouting into the void. She wanted to follow popular authors she admired, but it felt strange to her. Compared to authors she looked up to, Bonam-Young’s account was small. She assumed people would see her as just some girl from Southern Ontario.

“My best friend sent me a screenshot of a conversation she and I had when I first made my Instagram, and it was like ‘Is it stupid if I follow Abby Jimenez on this account.’ And she said, ‘Why would that be stupid?’ I said, ‘Well, because I’m such a fan.’ And she said, ‘Hannah, this is your author account.’”

Posting photos of books she was reading and her bookish space around her, slowly helped her build her audience. In a room with a blue couch and children’s toys in a basket, there’s a forest green accent wall. Lined with wooden shelves spanning the entire length of the wall, ceramic busts, plants and photographs are sprinkled between books. From multiple fantasy series to rainbow-sorted novels and children’s books on the lowest shelf, people could see what she was reading. “I noticed the picture of my bookshelf, I got an uptick of likes and followers. I was like, okay, maybe we kind of go with that for a little bit,” says Bonam-Young.

Rising to online popularity because of Out on a Limb was scary for Bonam-Young. In her book, the main character Winnifred “Win” McNulty has a smaller, less developed right hand. This hand is similar to Bonam-Young’s hand in real life. She wanted to write part of her life into her book and showcase that people with disabilities are deserving of a love story. However, sometimes it felt daunting and Bonam-Young questioned if she was leaving too much of herself on the page.

“The only way I can describe it is if your therapist recorded your sessions and put it on YouTube,” says Bonam-Young. Writing something from personal experience and publishing it through a character for people to read can feel terrifying. To find comfort, Bonam-Young would convince herself that no one would read Out on a Limb, that only people who needed it would find it. She knew the attention from social media was important for her book. Authors want people to read their work and having a following on social media helps. When the book blew up online, it was still nerve-wracking. “I don’t ever want to sound like I’m not grateful, because I am so grateful,” says Bonam-Young. “But it’s terrifying to be perceived on a larger scale.”

Currently, Hannah Bonam-Young has over 51,000 Instagram followers and does events with fellow authors including Becka Mack and Abby Jimenez. Even after years of being on social media, it still feels new. Blowing up on Instagram was both “terrifying and great” but in the end, is something Bonam-Young will always be grateful for: “It changed the lives of me and my husband and my kids.” Since signing with Dell Publishing, Bonam-Young is in a deal to write three more books.

Bringing Books Back to the Real World

Online bookish communities can do something big in-person bookstores can’t do: cater to a specific audience.

Nestled in Stackt Market between cafes and clothing boutiques is Hopeless Romantic Bookshop, a bookstore that caters to romance readers. The sweet scent of roses, pink decor and soft pop music build a warm and welcoming atmosphere to welcome any romance reader. A wide range of romances, including romantasy, LGBTQ+, cowboy romance, young-adult romance and more, are available. On a shelf in the middle of the store, all of Bonam-Young’s books can be found standing side by side, ready to be bought and read.

Serena Goodchild is the co-founder of Hopeless Romantic Bookshop alongside her sister Kearston. Both joked with each other about opening a store. In September 2024, their joke became a concrete reality. “It was nice to do something that I enjoyed with people that I love,” says Serena Goodchild.

TikTok was a platform that Goodchild was interested in using for their business. Besides getting a feel for what her next read should be, she also uses the platform to know what books are popular and what they should stock up on. One thing that happened that they couldn’t have expected was seeing people create TikToks about their business: “People come into the store saying, ‘We heard about the store on TikTok.’”

Even with running a page dedicated to their business, people will see videos local creators made and will go visit Hopeless Romantic Bookshop because of it. “[That’s] the nice thing about social media and BookTok in particular,” says Goodchild, “A lot of people post it on their own social media as well. It reaches more than just your audience.”

Hopeless Romantic Bookshop has since become a popular bookstore for many readers. With this large following, Hopeless Romantic Bookshop has been able to offer subscription boxes, run a book club both in-person and virtually, host bookish events and have authors sign books at the store.

Ransom, Parr, Bonam-Young and Goodchild are all readers. Each person on bookish social media has books they enjoy and are able to share that enjoyment with fellow book lovers. From romantasy books to the classics, they have their niche and have found a place to share it. “[People on] BookTok and Bookstagram, really are there for a passion. They’re consuming what they love,” says Ransom. “And I love that.”