TikTok’s ‘Turn to Page 30 Challenge’ Explained: Why BookTok is Obsessed

The TikTok trend of the ‘turn to page 30 challenge’ has gained immense popularity. This is the reason why BookTok has become a major obsession.

TikTok trends are heavily influenced by the impulsive behavior of avid scrollers, and their success is determined by their ability to entertain. While some trends, such as the ongoing Dark Fantasy craze, have a lasting impact on the app, others quickly fade into oblivion, like the short-lived NPC livestreaming trend.

The current trend of the ‘turn to page 30 challenge’ on TikTok has yet to be determined as either the former or the latter, but it has gained widespread attention, especially on BookTok, which is finally receiving some recognition.

The ‘turn to page 30 challenge’ is TikTok’s latest trend. It is highly popular on BookTok, but what exactly does it involve and why is it so well-suited for this platform?

Introduction to BookTok

BookTok, as the name suggests, is a TikTok community dedicated to sharing and enjoying content centered around a passion for reading and book collecting. The BookTok hashtag has gained immense popularity, garnering hundreds of billions of views since its creation.

Certainly, among the diverse interests of TokTokers, BookTok can be categorized according to personal preferences. This includes fantasy BookTok, sci-fi BookTok, self-help BookTok, and what we refer to as fairy smut BookTok.

While not exclusively, fairies are a commonly depicted theme in memes and our feed is filled with them. The main idea, however, is that there is a large community of BookTokers and, as you may have guessed, a challenge called the ‘turn to page 30 challenge’ was destined to gain popularity in this online group.

What is the Turn to Page 30 Challenge?

The popular ‘turn to page 30’ challenge requires you to select the nearest book and open it to page 30, then share the first sentence. As the legend goes, or so the internet claims, this sentence is believed to reflect the current state of your romantic life.

Surprisingly, this phenomenon has been in existence for quite some time and did not initially start on TikTok. The first instance we could uncover was from a Reddit post in 2021, which asked users to turn to page 30 of their nearest book.

Despite this, BookTok has enthusiastically embraced the ‘turn to page 30 challenge’ and there are few individuals more suited to participate. With an abundance of books at their fingertips, their responses can range from romantic and moving to despairingly melancholic, or even nonsensical, as is often the case.

Regardless of the coherence of the words, there are still many opportunities for laughter. Below, you can find some examples of the ‘turn to page 30 challenge’.

@aprillenicole
Welp! 😅 #bookish #booktok #readersoftiktok #booktoktrend

♬ original sound – Cavern

@alltheradreads
lololol #singleaf #crookedkingdom #booktok

♬ original sound – WE KEELAND

@rupaulofficial
TREND: Turn to page 30 of the book you’re reading to find out the state of your love life. Let’s try it with this month’s RuPaul’s Book Club pick. @allstorabooks

♬ original sound – RuPaul

In summary, that is the essence of the ‘turn to page 30 challenge’. Having witnessed the TikTok trend in action, you now have the opportunity to attempt it yourself.