Brookfield Place Aims to Be Your New Favorite Bookish Destination 

Ask any chronically online reader, what’s better than BookTok? The answer: BookTok in real life!

The TikTok community of dedicated and passionate readers who rave about their favorite reads, authors and genres has transcended the digital space via Brookfield’s Place new literary event series, “Beyond the Pages.”  The series is a combination of book club sessions, author events and book giveaways fit for every book nerd. 

Earlier this month, on May 6, Brookfield Place kicked things off with the “BookTok Panel Discussion: Ultimate Summer Reads.” The panel featured some of New York’s favorite BookTok creators, including Morgan Pager of @NYCBookGirl, Krystal Lang of @Krystallotuslang, Amanda Spivack of @Its.amandas.bookshelf and Sera Wright of @Serareadthat. Moderated by author and former editor-in-chief of Self magazine Rachel Wilkerson Miller, the lively discussion covered everything from reading trends (romantasy, anyone?) and challenges (25 books in 25 weeks — could you do it?), and of course, all things BookTok: what to read, who to follow and how to join the fun. For anyone experiencing a reading slump, the panelists offered up tons of recommendations, including their top summer beach reads, which included titles like “Anywhere You Go” by Bridget Morrissey, “Red String Theory” by Lauren Kung Jessen and “Real Americans” by Rachel Khong. 

If you missed out on this first event, there’s plenty more to come. In celebration of Pride, there will be two events in June. First, on June 3 at 10 a.m., head over to Portside for the biggest book giveaway of this series. You’ll get to choose between a free copy of “Make Me Famous, Salty,” “Meet Me at the Crossroads” and 50 additional titles that honor love and identity. Then, on June 17 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Portside, the inaugural Book Club will discuss “The Three Lives of Cate Kay” by Kate Fagan, a coming-of-age story that explores identity, friendship and love. Attendees will leave each event with a bookmark and special surprises from local restaurants and retailers.

“Beyond the Pages” programming is free and open to the public, but pre-registration online is encouraged. And if you’re feeling bookish between events, be sure to check out Lower Manhattan’s independent bookstores: McNally Jackson Seaport (4 Fulton St.) and the Mysterious Bookshop (58 Warren). Happy reading!

photos: courtesy Brookfield Place