Choosing what to read is one of life's most beautiful decisions, but now Diet Coke wants to help you decide where to read it.
The drinks brand has teamed up with author Elizabeth Day and BookTok creator Jack Edwards to launch BookMarks, an interactive map built around the idea that the right surroundings can completely change the experience of getting lost in a book.
BookMarks pairs different genres and moods with locations across the UK and Ireland. More than 100 readers have already contributed recommendations, creating a growing directory that stretches from city parks and quiet gardens to beaches, marshlands and countryside escapes.
For example, Elizabeth Day has chosen London's Vauxhall Park as her spot for settling into a classic, while Jack Edwards recommends pairing historical literary fiction with the surroundings of Palace Green in Durham.
Elsewhere, the map sends thriller readers towards the windswept landscape of Tollesbury in Essex or the Somerset village of Freshford. Those looking for something a little more romantic can head to Cornwall's Porthcothan Bay or disappear into the greenery of Richmond Park with their latest love story.
It's no secret that reading has undergone something of a cultural makeover in recent years, with books being moved beyond the bedside table and into a part of a much wider lifestyle, particularly online, where #BookTok has helped turn recommendations, reading lists and even bookshelves into social currency. And according to figures included in Diet Coke's announcement, more than 50 million books recommended through #BookTok were sold across Europe in 2025.
Diet Coke's own research suggests that behaviour is translating into the real world, too. In a survey of over 2,000 people in Britain conducted in September, 40% said they had read something recommended by an online reading community during the previous year. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, that figure climbed to 73%.
And apparently we're increasingly matching the location to the literature. More than a quarter of respondents said they had deliberately travelled somewhere to read because the setting fitted the genre or aesthetic of their book, while another 41% said it was something they'd like to try.
Finding that perfect backdrop isn't always straightforward, though. Nearly six in ten respondents said they struggled to find somewhere that properly matched the atmosphere of whatever they were reading.
For Day, the relationship between a story and its surroundings is something she already incorporates into the way she reads. Her choice of Vauxhall Park offers an escape without requiring her to actually leave London, combining greenery and relative calm with the convenience of being in the middle of the city.
Edwards sees the project as part of a broader shift in how younger audiences engage with books. Reading might still involve sitting alone with a few hundred pages, but everything surrounding that experience, from recommendations and reviews to the places people choose to read, has become increasingly communal.
BookMarks taps directly into that culture, as readers can explore other people's recommendations before adding their own locations to the map, with access available by scanning QR codes found on Diet Coke cans.
Essentially, it's BookTok's obsession with romanticising reading taken into the physical world. Pick your book, find somewhere that matches its energy, grab a Diet Coke and disappear for a few chapters.
Be sure to head to the official BookMarks website to find your perfect spot to read.
