The books on your favorite creators’ TBR shelf

So many books, not enough time. Most avid readers share this sentiment. With so much to choose from, it can be hard to determine what to read next.

Like Alaina Leung, a creator on TikTok and Instagram, said: “As with every bookworm, I suffer from having a never-ending list of books that I want to read.”

To help narrow your TBR list, I spoke to a dozen BookTok creators about the books they’re most looking forward to reading in 2024. Some of these titles are new releases — The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black was named more than once, as were multiple Elena Ferrante books — while others are decades, even centuries, old. A TBR shelf is a sacred space, but it’s also one we should play with, a kind of ongoing curation of our future selves.

“If you ask me tomorrow, my answer might change,” Haley Graham, otherwise known as @whatshalesreading on TikTok, said. “I’m a huge mood-reader, and I can never stick to a planned TBR… I’m drawn to character-driven stories, stories that are a little weird, [and] stories that are poetic or have dimensional characters.”

It’s easy to understand why TBR shelves are so varied. Creator Marisa Brand said she “honestly couldn’t tell you why I added [some of the TBR books] to my list… At some point, something piqued my interest about them — [it] could have been a BookTok review, a friend recommendation, or something I liked the sound of at a bookstore.”

Some of the books on your favorite creators’ TBRs are part of a series, meaning the upcoming books feel like automatic additions to their shelves. For instance, Kendra Keeter-Gray likes having a series on her TBR because “it’s nice knowing that I have [a finite] amount of books left in the universe to keep me entertained all year long.”

Then there are hybrid genres like romantasy, a genre of fiction combining romance and fantasy that often includes strong female characters and sex scenes with men with wings. I have not read a single romantasy book that wasn’t recommended to me by TikTok. I feel pretty confident about my taste and knowledge with regards to literary fiction, poetry, and other genres, but if I want a fun romantasy read, I turn to TikTok or Instagram book creators. 

Same with Sky Robinson, a creator who said she finds “almost all” of her TBR recommendations on the app. Maya Topiwala, another creator, said, “BookTok is an exciting and fun way to learn about new releases and re-popularize books that came out in years past.” Creator Georgia Wilder also gets many of her recommendations from friends and mutuals on BookTok but likes to “branch out and find books I haven’t heard of at bookstores and online on book subscription businesses’ websites.”

Among the TBR recommendations from creators listed below, most but not all were initially discovered on social media. Creator Cait Jacobs finds new books by looking through publishers’ updates, following authors on social media, and, of course, BookTok. 

“I found BookTok is a great way to find authors and books I otherwise might never have discovered, as well as make me reconsider picking books I might have dismissed too quickly,” Jacobs said. “It also helps me keep up with what’s happening with series and authors I’ve loved for years.”

Their creator status also gives them early access to information and ARCs, or advanced reader copies. Like Dakota Bossard, a creator on TikTok and Instagram said, “As a BookTok creator I [learn] about upcoming releases directly from the authors and publishers I’ve connected with over the past two years. 

“My platform has made it easy to stay on the pulse of what’s coming out and now I’m reading more new releases than ever before,” Bossard added. “It’s almost overwhelming, last year I received over 100 galleys, but as an avid reader it’s such a privilege.”

So what books are on your favorite BookTok creators’ TBRs? Some of the books on this list are new releases in 2024, some are classics, and some are just books that are getting a bit dusty on the shelf. You’ll see some repeats on this list, like The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo and The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black, which means both will surely take off online.

It’s hard to know what will become TikTok famous. But from romance and fantasy to literary fiction and classics, here are the books some of our favorite BookTok influencers will be reading this year:

Marisa Brand, @marisa_elle on TikTok and @marisaelle on Storygraph

Katherine Brink, @katiesbookobsession on TikTok

Dakota Bossard, @dakotabossard on TikTok and Instagram

Haley Graham, @whatshalesreading on TikTok and Instagram

Cait Jacobs, @caitsbooks on Instagram and TikTok 

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Credit: Daughter of the Moon Goddess (Celestial Kingdom Duology #1) by Sue Lynn Tan

Kendra Keeter-Gray, @kendra.reads on TikTok and @kendra.readz on Instagram

Meara McNitt, @mearaisreading on TikTok

Moly Milosovic, @molysbookclub on TikTok and Instagram

Maya Topiwala, @maya.reads on TikTok and @mnmbooks on Instagram

Georgia Wilder, @georgialovestoread on TikTok, @georgiakwilder on Instagram, and Georgia Wilder on Goodreads

All quotes in the descriptions of these books should be attributed to GoodReads unless otherwise noted.