Going Viral
The Internet Almost Killed Barnes & Noble, Then Saved It
BookTok readers are flocking to physical stores to snag a copy of the latest viral hit—and helping the once-struggling chain turn a corner.
Tyler Kramer is turning 38, but he’s bouncing around the store like a little kid. His wife has given him the ultimate birthday gift: three minutes to race around the aisles of Barnes & Noble, filling his basket. He grabs a mix of classics, including Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred, and more recent cult hits, such as Pierce Brown’s Dark Age and Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth. A video of the bookshop sweep, which has almost half a million views on TikTok, captures what Kramer calls his “best birthday ever.”
