“Because people are dancing in the bookstores?”: Social media in disbelief as Barnes & Noble adds 60 new stores thanks to TikTok

In a surprising turn of events, Barnes & Noble is putting on a bookshop comeback that could rival any superhero film. It seems as though they are starting a completely new chapter with the opening of 57 new shops in 2024 and 60 more planned for 2025.

The actual plot twist, though? The key to this literary renaissance is TikTok - yes, BookTok. Barnes & Noble is prepared to take over prestigious retail spaces one best-seller at a time, as it turns out that viral book recommendations are the newest must-have accessory.

How does it fall from viral dance to viral novel? The unexpected hero of the minute, BookTok, enters the picture. Everybody is rushing to Barnes and Noble to grab the latest "must-read" - which commonly requires a caboodle of sobs and dramatic story twists - as if the TikTok book community suddenly became the hip spot in town.

The literary community represents a fresh bookstore boom, so forget about influencers advertising lip gloss. Who would remember that TikTok is the one to recreate our interest in paperbacks? Somehow, Barnes & Noble may be the most likable to TikTok!

As soon as the news broke out someone (@PromptlyAI_YT) took to his X (formerly Twitter) account and hilariously commented:

"Because people are dancing in the bookstores?"

Who knows? Perhaps the next big trend is 'BookTok and Book-dance,' where you pick up your latest read and bust out a few moves between the aisles. Imagine a flash mob in the fiction section, followed by a dramatic reading of the latest best-seller. If that’s what it takes to revive brick-and-mortar bookstores, sign us up! After all, nothing sounds 'literary culture' quite like a good cha-cha in the mystery aisle.

BookTok has truly worked its magic, turning the statement "I'm not a reader" into "Oh wait, I'm reading five books at once now!" Thanks to the power of viral book recommendations, everyone - from teens to adults - rediscovering the joys of reading; evidently, it only took a few passionate TikTok videos to reignite our love of paper.

We should give BookTok kudos for turning us into a nation of bookworms while demonstrating that the true narrative surprise is how many pages we've read so far and how many TikTok dances we can simultaneously master.

As BookTok maintains its dominance in the book industry, the internet naturally has to join in on the fun. From declaring their newfound love of reading to making jokes about how many books they've purchased since a TikTok influencer sobbed while discussing them, fans poured their opinions into the comment sections.

Let me walk you through how the masses have reacted!

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Netizens have reacted as Barnes & Noble adds 60 new stores and thanks to TikTok

Someone (@KYALM1GHTY) commented:

"Thanks to booktok I been buying up all the good manga"

Another one (@RPOIII) commented:

"Its almost like TikTok and other social apps arent good marketing tools for businesses via trends. Go figure..."

A netizen (@FatherPhi) expressed:

"Books cure TikTok brain rot"

A folk (@EmilioSzal76702) commented:

"Tiktok is barely a dancing app nowadays tbh, people use it for tons more stuff, like talking about books"

Someone (@Mary_Beth_Ellis) wrote:

"Shocked to see bookstores OPENING"

A user (@JeetJunction) commented:

"so bookstores are back because of TikTok? great. just what we need—more overpriced books and influencers pretending to read. maybe try a library for once? but hey, keep scrolling for your next 'hot take' while the real world burns."

Another netizen (@OldeManGrim) hilariously commented:

"Wait till the TikTok folks discover a little book called “1984”…."

Another user (@HackDotSlash) commented:

"One good thing Tiktok has done."

Someone (@GeminiJack11) wrote:

"Wow so there's actually been good in the world because of tiktok? I'm genuinely surprised. It's not just dumb dances and misinformation"

In between TikTok dances, of course, we're all reading more than ever before, and BookTok is helping bookshops thrive. It seems like the only thing that can surpass a great book is a book recommendation that goes viral!

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