Growing up in Thailand, Sam Soa was immersed in comic books that stimulated her imagination. She was captivated by one series in particular, which was about “a family hell-bent on saving money, doing whatever they could,” she told Mashable. “They rent a one-bedroom apartment, they all sleep in the same room so they only have to turn on one air conditioner, and they go around the shopping center and move all their carts back and pick up all the coins.”
Inspired by these stories, Soa has found unique ways to earn and save money, such as growing vegetables and selling them around town on her bicycle.
We chat over coffee on the second floor of London’s Waterstones Piccadilly. The city is in the middle of a heatwave, and the air-conditioned bookshop is bustling with activity across eight floors, six of which are dedicated to books. But it’s not Soa’s favorite. Waterstones may be a big-name retailer, but she’s drawn to the charm and community of its small stores, which is evident in her TikTok content showcasing local gems. Round Table Books.
But she entertained me with stories of a tourist who was just eager to see Europe’s largest bookstore. Surprisingly, her vibe was exactly what you’d expect: warm, playful, and thoughtful. As a micro-influencer with around 51,300 followers on TikTok, Soar has found what you might call a sweet spot in the world of influence: not enough money to quit her day job (and still be happy), but enough to foster a sense of community with her followers and fellow BookTok users. There’s pressure to post, but not enough to rob her of the joy. Plus, she enjoys one of the perks of her passion: free books from publishers to review on her page. A nice perk for someone who grew up reading comics about thrifting.
Free books were one of the main reasons why she started book blogging at just 11 years old. After moving to the UK at a young age, she launched her own blog, Sam Falling Books.
“Back when I was blogging, there was a really cute community surrounding it,” she says. “There were blog tours, bloggers were becoming friends.”
Back then, blogs had become a kind of refuge. Some bloggers became bigger than others, but the blogging community felt safer and more intimate than other social media spaces. So-ah didn’t want to show her face online because, as So-ah herself admits, she was “so scared and embarrassed.” Naturally for an 11-year-old, blogging offered the perfect solution: a static, personal space, free of algorithms and the pressures of today’s content-driven culture. It was just So-ah, like-minded people, and the books they loved.
So-ah was an avid reader and spent countless hours at the library borrowing books, but there was one drawback: waiting. She would end up on a waiting list, hoping the person ahead of her would return the book she wanted. Rather than wait, she took matters into her own hands and Send an email to the publisher Directly: “My name is Sam and I’m a British teenager who loves book blogging! Let me know if you have a review copy of (insert book name here) that I can review.”
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And it worked.
“I’m very proud of my blog,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve gotten a lot of free books.”
When she went to college, her book blog was neglected, but then she noticed the buzz around BookTok and decided to start blogging again.
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“I looked at everybody and thought, ‘Oh, they’re all contributors just like regular readers,'” she says. “They can put their faces on it or they can’t. They’re just recommending books. And I thought, ‘I have so many recommendations that I’d love to put on this list. I wish I’d started sooner.'”
Her ability to get the book she wanted raises another issue: the impact of overconsumption in the literary world. There is a growing tendency to want to be perceived as a reader, whether or not you actually are. Every celebrity has a book club, and the aesthetic of overstuffed shelves has attracted toxic online attention, reminiscent of popular interior styles such as “coastal grandma” and “Nancy Meyers core.” This isn’t to say you should read less or buy less books, but if a pile of unread books starts to pile up in a corner of your apartment, it might be time to reconsider how and why you got there. BookTok’s emphasis on new and special editions only amplifies this consumption.
“When I was younger, I couldn’t afford books,” Sohr said, “I borrowed from the library and begged publishers. When young people see people with huge displays of 20 or 30 books, they might think they have to have all those books to be a real reader. I’ve become increasingly wary of that.”
That’s not to say Soa isn’t immune to the temptations of book collecting: She admits she feels “a little embarrassed” when she sees shelves overflowing with books. For now, she’s focused on buying less and tackling the piles on her TBR shelf.
In addition to her thoughts on overconsumption, Soar also uses her platform to address important issues. Operation Olive BranchShe is also part of a group chat called “BookTok Union,” where about 60 creators come together to support each other, discuss upcoming events, and exchange ideas about how much to charge for sponsored posts.
For Soa, BookTok is mostly just for fun: She reads a lot of fantasy and romance books, shares reviews, posts videos of her emotional reactions to the books, and shares her favorite quotes with an audience of fellow bookworms. She started the page with the hopes of inspiring her to read more, and the account has made that happen.
Though she’s still learning how to balance collecting and consuming, she remains driven by the same passion that started it all: a pure love of storytelling.