Social Reading Cultures on Booktube, Bookstagram, and Booktok

This book examines the reading cultures developed by communities of readers and book lovers on BookTube, Bookstagram, and BookTok as an increasingly important influence on contemporary book and literary culture. It explores how the affordances of social media platforms invite readers to participate in social reading communities and engage in creative and curatorial practices that express their identity as readers and book lovers.

The interdisciplinary team of authors argue that by creating new opportunities for readers to engage in social reading practices, bookish social media has elevated the agency and visibility of readers and book consumers within literary culture. It has also reshaped the cultural and economic dynamics of book recommendations by creating a space in which different actors are able to form an identity as mediators of reading culture.

Concise and accessible, this introduction to an increasingly central set of literary practices is essential reading for students and scholars of literature, sociology, media and cultural studies as well as teachers and professionals in the book and library industries.

Bronwyn Reddan is a Research Fellow in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University, Australia.

Leonie Rutherford is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University, Australia.

Amy Schooens is a PhD candidate at the Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

Michael Dezuanni is a Professor in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice, School of Communication, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.