I have often wondered whether he is reading in public for pleasure or performing the act of reading. What exactly made a book a “BookTok book”? BookTok has transformed reading into a visible identity and as a former book reviewer who collaborated with different publishers, I remember constantly being approached by self-published authors to review their books. I’ve joined reading and political groups that speak to me without wanting a performance or an “I am a reader” aesthetic. Reading there is not about proving that you’ve finished a book or displaying it for an audience.