Teacher uses TikTok to promote reading to a new generation
History buff amasses 5,000 followers as her book videos pull in younger audience
A YOUNG Irish teacher who describes herself as ‘not a big social media person’ is helping TikTok to spark a reading revolution.
It may not be immediately associated with enlightening pursuits, but TikTok videos about literature – or BookTok videos – have been watched more than 43 billion times since becoming popular during the pandemic.
Leona McKernan, a history teacher from Co. Tyrone, only began uploading content to TikTok in March 2020 and has since amassed over 5,000 followers.
She said users employ different methods to encourage people to read books they have enjoyed in short, edited videos.
Ms McKernan told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘Some people might make a video where they’re speaking as though they’re the main character. Other people might use funny sounds and say how it matches the personality of a character from a book.
‘Other people might be reading in really strange places, to see how people react. There’s also BookTok cos-playing where people dress up as characters. That’s a very niche end of it. Most of my content is bookish humour around a character or genre.’
Some accounts are followed by hundreds of thousands, and major publishers are already featuring BookTokkers (and Bookstagrammers) in their promo campaigns and send them books to promote.
Ms McKernan, 29, says she has been sent books by publishers a handful of times, but insists she’s only doing it for the enjoyment.
‘I’m not a big social media person that would go out looking for followers,’ she said. ‘I just post for the fun of it. I don’t mind making a laugh of myself to make a video.’
She praises the openness of the BookTok community and has ‘made some amazing friends that I talk to daily and would be lost without’.
She began uploading BookTok videos a few weeks into lockdown.
‘A video came up on A Court Of Thorns And Roses [by Sarah J. Maas]. I was after reading that and I thought I’d give it a go myself,’ she said. ‘Everybody was just so warm and welcoming. They hype you up and support you so it’s such a lovely feeling.
‘I didn’t realise how lonely my reading had become over the years. I would read a book and might really love it, but would have nobody to bounce off – whereas whenever you find a community like BookTok, you’re seeing people talking about the same books you loved and you’re engaging with it.’
Ms McKernan calls herself ‘a complete mood reader’ and her favourite genres are young adult fantasy and contemporary adult romance.
She added: ‘I’m an old romantic. I’m in love with the idea of love.’