Part 1 - Option 2 - Question 2 · Inglés PAU Cantabria Ordinaria 2026

BookTok

1 BookTok is a TikTok subcommunity where people make content about the literature they love. Videos range from book reviews and reading recommendations to “book hauls” and bookshelf setups. What started as a small community of avid readers has now become one of the most popular corners of the social media platform, with #BookTok gaining 92.7 billion views and some posts up to 100,000 likes.

2 Publishing industry insiders say that BookTok has led to an unprecedented boost in book sales. Kristen McLean is the executive director of NPD Bookscan, an industry data provider that tracks book sales. She says that, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, BookTok has definitely been a factor in the recent boom in sales. McLean first noticed the platform’s influence in 2020, when it appeared to drive up sales in the young adult fiction genre before expanding into adult fiction and non-fiction.

3 One example of the “BookTok effect” is the massive success of author Colleen Hoover. Before BookTok became popular in 2020, Hoover had sold only 200,000 copies of her books. In August 2022, she sold 2.3 million copies, six of which entered the New York Times ’ fiction bestseller list. Another example is the number of older books becoming popular years after their initial release. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles went viral years after their publication, and both landed on bestseller lists many years later.

4 Many publishers and book retailers are keen to cash in on the BookTok trend. Some publishers hire younger employees who are familiar with the platform and can help create marketing campaigns that resonate with the BookTok community. Other publishers work directly with influencers, sending them book copies prior to release and paying them to promote the new titles. However, these strategies do not always work, as BookTok influencer Kendra Keeter explains: “A lot of sponsored content doesn’t do well because it just isn’t authentic. How can you trust someone’s book recommendation if you know they were paid to post?” BookTok is also influencing how retailers do business, with many dedicating spaces to “BookTok favourites” in online and physical shops. “BookTok has had an immense impact on sales,” says James Daunt from Barnes & Noble Books, “It’s bringing energy into our shops, with people of all ages coming together around a shared love for reading.”

Adapted from Yahoo! News, December 2025

Question 2 [2 points]

Choose and answer only TWO of the following questions in your own words according to the text.

A.

How has BookTok impacted author Colleen Hoover's career? Give at least two reasons.

B.

How have publishers responded to BookTok? Give at least two examples.

C.

Why does Kendra Keeter think sponsored content on BookTok is problematic?