Íris Bicho is one of several influencers who share book-related content on TikTok. On her profile, which has more than 15,000 followers, she lets the public know about her latest reads. Íris Bicho told The Portugal News a little more about her passion.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the booktoker rediscovered her "passion for literature" and felt the need to share her readings and opinions about "what she was reading with someone." At the time, Íris Bicho already had some references to foreign influencers who shared content related to literature and that was when she came up with the idea of creating a profile where she could do the same.

The journey through the social network wasn't "linear or simple". In the first year, Íris Bicho describes that she noticed a slow growth, but that did not worry her. The influencer says that when she created her profile "TikTok was still very undervalued and publishers and authors themselves were not looking for literary content creators on TikTok to promote reading." That started to change by 2022, with greater growth by 2023, where "Booktok grew a lot and people started to want to know more about this phenomenon." With the growth of profiles dedicated to literary content, attention grew and, consequently, influencers were valued.


Influencing others

The content creator did not think she could influence anyone to read some of her favourite books, yet she receives messages every day from followers who ask for suggestions or claim to have read a book because of Íris Bicho's influence, sharing some feedback with her.

Although she did not initially think that her videos would influence anyone, Íris Bicho told The Portugal News that most of the books she reads "are undoubtedly recommendations from other influencers and literary platforms." The influencer says that she also receives a lot of suggestions from other influencers, followers, and even authors and publishers. Íris Bicho believes that this exchange of ideas "is one of the best parts of Booktok", as she gets to know books that might not be appealing if she only saw them in the bookshop.


Creating content

Creating content may seem like a task that requires a lot of imagination, but for Íris Bicho it turns out to be easy, not least because the influencer reads up to 20 books a month, as reading is her favourite hobby. The booktoker told The Portugal News that she prefers "reading to being on the mobile phone or watching a series”, using her spare time to read as much as possible.

The range of books available in bookshops has also increased, according to Íris Bicho, who has noticed that there are "more and more releases, especially for the Young Adult age group, compared to the beginning of 2021." The influencer also feels that the range of literary genres on offer has also increased, with more books available for all tastes. However, Íris Bicho told The Portugal News that some authors "are still taboo" and therefore won't have their works easily published in Portugal.


Not everything is perfect

Despite the growing supply of literary content in bookshops, namely due to the increase in books aimed at young adults, the quality of the Portuguese editions, sometimes, is far from perfect.

Íris Bicho told The Portugal News that it is possible to note "a lack of quality in the books, for example in terms of translation or proofreading." It is becoming quite common to find errors in books, which may be a consequence of the "growing demand for books."

Keeping up with the foreign market is also one of the reasons the booktoker finds to justify some flaws in the Portuguese editions of books. As more and more young people know English, they choose to buy the original version of a book because it will be available on the market sooner than the Portuguese version.


Get to know Íris' suggestions

Íris Bicho's profiles can be found on various social networks, such as TikTok at @irisbicho and her Instagram account, also dedicated to literature, at @didi.book_.

Author

Deeply in love with music and with a guilty pleasure in criminal cases, Bruno G. Santos decided to study Journalism and Communication, hoping to combine both passions into writing. The journalist is also a passionate traveller who likes to write about other cultures and discover the various hidden gems from Portugal and the world. Press card: 8463. 

Bruno G. Santos