Why books are cool again

2024 was a year of superlatives for the world of books - at least on Tiktok. Over 25 million books were sold on the platform under the hashtag BookTok in Germany last year. That's more than twice as many as in the previous year - and a record figure, as an analysis by Tiktok and the market research company Media Control shows.

"Suddenly it's cool to talk about books again"

"#BookTok has managed to completely change the image of reading - suddenly it's cool again to talk about books, show them and experience them together," says Felicia Hofmann, Marketing Manager at dtv Verlag, to dpa.

Literature on Tiktok is aimed at a young target group that traditional literary criticism probably didn't pick up in the past. "On #BookTok, the focus is on emotions," says Hofmann. Questions such as: "What did this story trigger in me?" or "What made me cry?"

These are the most successful books on Tiktok

The most successful books on Tiktok in 2024 included the fantasy novel "Fourth Wing - Flammengeküsst" by Rebecca Yarros and the romance novel "It Starts with Us" by Colleen Hoover, according to a spokeswoman.

In addition to the typical #BookTok genres such as young adult and romance, non-fiction books such as "The 1% Method" by James Clear or "Mama, please learn German" by Tahsim Durgun are also gaining in importance.

While the hype surrounding #BookTok is bringing in a large audience for authors such as Hoover (and in her case, for example, has also led to a movie adaptation), the German book market as a whole is reporting difficulties. Last year, the number of books sold in Germany fell by 1.7 percent.

Travel literature can also go viral

The book boom is primarily taking place in the digital world. But that's not all - the Leipzig Book Fair, for example, reported that ticket sales were limited for the first time due to high demand.

Media Control also sees an impact on sales figures. "Our data shows that books that go viral on Tiktok have a measurable impact on the book trade - this ranges from young adult and romance to non-fiction and travel literature," says Managing Director Ulrike Altig.