Book reviews have morphed in form, from formal reviews in print newspapers to online editions to informal blogs by independent writers. Now, anyone and everyone can review books — so long as they can find an audience. While the publishing industry is experiencing a boom, Americans are reading less than ever before, according to a Gallup poll from 2022. But Stephanie, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mother based in Hawaii with her military husband, has accrued a base of more than 200,000 people who can’t get enough of her book reviews. Her secret to a good review? She doesn’t say a single word.
Stephanie, also known as @stephreadsalot on the social media platform TikTok, has amassed a substantial following due to her uber-popular “silent reviews.” These silent reviews are short videos that begin with Stephanie slamming a tall pile of books on a table on her back porch or on her bathroom sink, in small moments of time when she can sneak away from her five and six-year-old children. Stephanie then holds up each book individually and silently shares whether she liked or disliked the book, with a smile, a frown, a wince, a flirty sigh or sometimes even by tossing a book out of her front door.
“I’ve never been one to shy away from abusing my books,” says Stephanie with a laugh. “A lot of people feel very strongly about [a book, that] it’s sacred … and I’m like, I bought it. So I’m allowed to do whatever I want with it.”
In her most controversial video, Stephanie even ripped a copy of “The Silent Wife” by A. S. A. Harrison in half. While one user commented that their “whole body reacted” when Stephanie tore apart the book, another commented, “I’m a speech therapist and I am saving this
to teach my students about nonverbal communication!! Amazing!!!”
Stephanie stumbled across BookTok, a subset of the TikTok community consisting of users who post book content, in 2019.
“I remember talking to my husband about [posting my own TikTok content] before I did it. And I was like, you know, like I feel like this could be something that’s just for me,” says Stephanie. “You know, I’m a stay at home mom, and I am also a military spouse, so we live very far from everyone we know in real life … I was like … this could be, like, my social life.”
Stephanie took her TikTok account seriously in 2021, posting three videos per day for three months in an effort to gain a loyal following. Early videos show Stephanie crying while reading a book or shaking a book in frustration, short seconds-long clips that clearly convey her opinions on the books.
Fast forward to the end of September, when Stephanie made a video of herself reviewing some of her recent reads. Before she could even begin her review, she dropped a book, knocking it off the table and throwing her head back in jokey frustration. Stephanie says that one of her followers commented on the video requesting that Stephanie make an entire video of non-verbal book reviews, and thus, the silent reviews were born.
Since her first silent review in September, Stephanie says she gained around 80,000 followers in just five days, and two of her silent review videos have been viewed more than 2 million times each.
Now, silent reviews are taking over TikTok, from silent reviews of books to cosmetics to fragrances and more. “I saw one
the other day that was [a guy] silently reviewing [his] hockey equipment,” adds Stephanie. A quick search of “silent review” on TikTok reveals endless videos, many with millions of views.
While this may seem like just another superficial social media trend, these silent reviews are just another example of the powerful impact that social media has on real lives.
Stephanie says that the silent reviews help users from around the world to communicate with a universal language. “I get so many comments [now] from people outside of the U.S.,” says Stephanie. “I understand [these people] even though we don’t speak the same language, and I think that’s so beautiful.”
If the removal of language barriers by a simple social media trend isn’t enough to impress you, think about the concrete impact that this trend has had on just Stephanie’s life alone. Stephanie says she is now a part of the TikTok Creativity Program, which pays users for highly viewed, viral videos, and she has also filmed her first two sponsored posts this year, both for major publishing company Penguin Random House.
In the past, Stephanie says she relied heavily on the generosity of her friends and family to give her children Christmas presents because she and her husband have struggled financially. “TikTok funded my kids’ Christmas [this year],” says Stephanie. “I cried when I got to hit purchase on my kids’ Christmas [gifts]. My husband and I have never been well off. He’s in the military. We’ve scraped by … And so, this is the first time that I got to buy real gifts not from the dollar store for my kids.”
And all of this without saying a single word.
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