Sobfests, pop songs: TikTok upends France’s lauded literary landscape

In her recent TikTok video, 19-year-old Victoire Ducluzeaud sobs in rapid-fire snapshots, as she recounts her recent reading experiences. In one clip, black mascara streaks down her cheeks as she waves a thick paperback in front of the camera, crying, “Why?!” In another, she can barely get the words out between tears, “How could he have done such a thing?”

The video sobfest has received nearly 75,000 views, and readers can’t get enough. In this particular clip, comments range from, “Give us your top five books that make you cry!” to “Now I feel less alone.”

Ms. Ducluzeaud’s videos, which she has posted multiple times per day since 2021, are part of the latest phenomenon to hit France’s publishing world: #BookTok.

What began in the United States has now crossed the ocean to change the way French literature – especially novels for young adults – is being consumed. In addition to crying, BookTokeurs post videos of themselves gleefully unboxing book purchases, offering three-minute literary critiques, and using voice-overs and the latest pop songs to narrate their thoughts on recent reads.

While some publishers here are skeptical of #BookTok’s value, those who get on board are seeing their sales rise exponentially. In France, where literary critique gets its own national radio program and publishing houses are staunchly traditional, the popular platform is slowly turning the country’s literary landscape on its head. And through their contagious passion, the mostly young, female #BookTok influencers are generating a newfound enthusiasm for reading.

“BookTokeurs are being taken seriously now,” says Camille Cardoso, a community manager for three French publishing houses’ social media accounts. “Publishers are starting to see that they have an impact, that their opinion counts. ... Their videos shatter the distance. ... We feel their emotions,” she says. “Most publishers who work with young adult literature now know that partnering with influencers is absolutely essential to sell books.” 

“A strong and fast evolution”

The #BookTok hashtag took off in the U.S. in 2020, with emotive videos created by a handful of young women, including Cait Jacobs of @caitsbooks and Ayman Chaudhary of @aymansbooks. In one clip, Ms. Chaudhary wails comically, holding her copy of Madeline Miller’s “The Song of Achilles,” before throwing it against the wall. The same novel was included in a list of “Books that will make you sob,” posted by Selene Velez on @moongirlreads_, and the viral videos caused a spike in the book’s sales nine years after it was first published. Since then, TikTok’s influence on publishing has exploded. Amazon has a TikTok Book Club, and Barnes & Noble stores across the U.S. dedicate a section to #BookTok recommendations.  

In France, it’s nearly impossible to calculate the number of new TikTok book lovers, with accounts popping up daily. But in September, 376,000 of the 13 billion TikTok videos associated with the #BookTok category worldwide came from French users. And those in the literary industry here are taking notice of the platform’s success.

“We are constantly trying to adapt and evolve with the trends,” says Agnès Fradet, a digital project manager for youth literature at the Editis publishing house. “TikTok has had such a strong and fast evolution. We see someone crying for a few seconds in a video and then a book sells 3 million copies. We’ve had to adapt.”

Editis, like most publishing houses for young adult literature, now has its own TikTok account alongside its Instagram and Facebook presence. The publisher regularly sends copies of books to influencers – either through unpaid or paid partnerships – to increase publicity and sales. Often, the decision of which books to translate into French is based on what does well on TikTok.

Publishers are only one part of the puzzle, however, and booksellers like the Presqu’île bookstore in Strasbourg now offers a #BookTok search function on its website. The annual Book Fair of Youth Literature in Montreuil has its own TikTok account.

Authors are using the platform as a place of exchange. Joël Dicker – winner of France’s Prix Goncourt in teen literature in 2012 – opened a TikTok account in October, telling users, “I really think we need to be on all channels that allow people to read and be read.”

Those efforts are slowly translating into sales. According to the Centre National du Livre (National Book Center), 18% of French people ages 7 to 25 choose books based on having heard about them on social media such as Instagram and TikTok.

French publisher Hachette Romans recently saw its first TikTok bestseller with its translated version of Tillie Cole’s “A Thousand Boy Kisses.” Even though it came out in 2016, the book sold 9,000 copies in the last six months after it was featured on social media.

Publishers credit these types of success stories not to Instagram – which functions based on photos and well-crafted stories – but to TikTok and its specific ability to break down barriers. 

“With Instagram, it’s very aesthetic and thought out, but TikTok is much more immediate,” says Ms. Fradet of Editis. “We see the person’s emotions right away; there’s no filter. It’s much more accessible than a classic literary critique one might read.”

Questioning BookTok’s impact

Still, some question the seriousness of the #BookTok phenomenon – whether it’s more about pumping up book sales or if it’s truly affecting how French people, particularly youths, read.

“I do wonder if BookTok is having the most impact on young people who already read regularly, or if it’s actually pushing those who don’t read at all to read more,” says Sylvie Vassallo, the director of the Youth Book Fair in Montreuil. “In the end, there’s nothing harmful about it. Anything that helps people read more is a positive thing.”

BookTok has also been criticized as promoting “lowbrow” literature, since more #BookTok influencers post about young adult fiction in the fantasy or romance genres than the classics, like Proust or Voltaire.

While many of the videos are less than 30 seconds long and focus on one aspect of a book – like how the user felt reading a racy scene, or what it’s like to spend the whole day immersed in a book – others are more serious critiques. And that has created questions about what literary criticism, a sacred beast in France, means today.

“[BookTok] isn’t literary critique. It’s about selling books,” says Arnaud Viviant, a literary critic for La Masque et la Plume, a national public radio program on France Inter that has existed since 1955. “Pretty soon, quality readers will be like whales: an endangered species. And we need good readers to have good writers.”

But that isn’t necessarily the opinion of those doing it. Pauline Locufier, who at 19 years old has 45,000 followers on her account @lectrice_a_plein_temps, has considered becoming a critic one day – even if she understands that her TikTok posts are more book summaries than true critiques.

“Some people tell me, ‘You should be reading the classics,’ but young adult fiction is what I prefer,” says Ms. Locufier. “I’m always reading literary reviews and observing critics. I want to learn the right vocabulary and have their presence. They are the reference in the industry.”

Ms. Ducluzeaud says she posts to TikTok for the pure love of books and sharing. She has always enjoyed reading, and posting to her 174,000-odd followers via her @nous_les_lecteurs account has allowed her to go even further. In 2021, she read 149 books and in 2022, she read 219.

Since she started posting about her reading adventures online, she has made friends with people across France and the world. 

“So many people have written me saying, ‘I had stopped reading but thanks to you, I started again,” says Ms. Ducluzeaud. “I just want to share my passion.”