TBR stands for To Be Read and refers to the list of books a reader plans to read in the future. A TBR can include physical books, ebooks, audiobooks, or upcoming releases, and it often grows as readers discover new recommendations. On BookTok, TBRs are famously long due to viral book trends, trope based recommendations, and frequent reading challenges. Many readers organize their TBR by mood, genre, or priority, while others simply embrace the chaos.
On BookTok, TBR is used constantly to describe the ever growing list of books influenced by TikTok recommendations. Readers often share their physical TBR stacks, digital Kindle TBRs, or screenshots of their StoryGraph and Goodreads lists. Because BookTok trends move fast, many readers joke about their TBR getting out of control after watching just a few recommendation videos. The term is also used in reading challenges, monthly wrap ups, and mood reading discussions, making it one of the most common pieces of BookTok vocabulary.
“BookTok just added five new books to my TBR.”
“My physical TBR is judging me from the shelf.”
“I’m ignoring my TBR to start a new romantasy series.”
“This book has been on my TBR for way too long.”