When I began this blog, my intention was to blog for a while
(3 months?) and see how I liked it. I
wasn’t going to tell anyone about the blog until I had some real content, until
I knew what I was doing and until I had posted words worth reading.
So I’ve been posting, in general on Fridays. But my enthusiasm for books wasn’t sated by
writing for an unseen audience. I wanted
more participation. I also wanted to set
up multiple pathways for an interested audience to find my blog.
I set up a Twitter account for the blog. Set up a Facebook page (both are available by
pressing the links to the right). And I
set up an Instagram account. I have all
of these accounts in my personal life, too, but I set up public accounts under
the name of Book Nerd Bubbles.
While Twitter and Facebook are sitting fairly idle, my
Instagram life has blown up. It turns
out that there’s a community of people like me, people who love reading books,
discussing books, and taking beautiful photographs of books. Bookstagram!
Or should I say #Bookstagram?
What is Bookstagram?
Although I don’t know how many people are involved in the
Bookstagram community, I can see that it is quite large. If you’re on Instagram, do a quick search for
the hashtag to see what I mean. For me, discovering Bookstagram made me feel like I’d found my people. I
jumped into this new world with joy.
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| My first post on my Bookstagram account. |
I started taking photographs of my books and posting them
with a hashtag or two (or twenty). What
I was reading (#currentlyreading), what I hoped to read (#TBR – to be read),
what my bookshelves look like (#shelfie).
I noticed that other bookstagrammers were participating in challenges
and quickly found a monthly challenge that looked like fun
(#SammyReadsJuly16). This challenge gave
me direction every day, which was fabulous for two reasons: I would have run out of ideas otherwise and I
wouldn’t have posted so frequently. It
also gave me a hashtag to use.
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| My first challenge. |
Oh, hashtags. How I
love and hate you. It has taken me a
while to discern how to use hashtags (and I continue to learn). I mean, using a hashtag is easy: just hit the # sign and then write some
words. But how many hashtags? Use popular ones that are often
searched? Or a more specific one? Include them in the caption or in a comment? Will I look desperate for views if I use lots
of hashtags? Or is that a good way to
achieve more views? As I say, I’m still
learning.
But there are hashtags and posts that I don’t want to
see. Bookstagram is full of #F4F (follow
for follow – if you follow me, I’ll follow you). Others use this to build their follower
base. I understand wanting more
followers (I want more, too) but I don’t believe these types of followers are
the ones that I really want. I would
rather have a smaller group of followers who are genuinely interested than a
larger group that doesn’t share my interests.
There are also lots of #Giveaway tags that promise an entry into a
raffle in exchange for a favor. That
favor can be as simple as tagging another Instagrammer or as involved as
reposting an image. I find these reposting
clutter up my feed and I’m not a fan. Of
course, I’m a hypocrite about this if the giveaway is enticing enough!
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| This was a fun tag challenge. #SpellYourNameWithBooks |
But finally, my biggest complaint is the uniformity of
Bookstagram. I didn’t notice this right
away. But many of the Bookstagrammers
are young (mostly white) women (mostly teens to early twenties) who like
romance and/or fantasy. There’s a
homogeny to their posts. The same genres,
heck, the same books. Similar props (a
popular one now is the funko – a plastic figure of characters – see here: http://funko.com/collections/harry-potter
for examples). While I love that this
group has found an outlet and a community, I wish others were in the community
as well. Maybe I just haven’t found them
yet. I have found Bookstagrammers from
around the world and that’s exciting and fun.
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| One of my attempts at using props. |
How has it impacted
me?
I am reading more than I was before I started the blog and
the related Bookstagram. Maybe not much
more, but more. But I am very excited
about books again. I’ve added a great
number to my TBR.
But there have been unexpected joys, too. I’ve met some wonderful people. It is a community and I’ve begun to identify
those with whom I share multiple interests.
I have been able to discuss books with them, compare editions, and laugh/swoon/cry
at our favorites again.
All of this has come at a financial cost! I’ve bought 20 books in the past 36
days. Only two (um, plus a boxed set of
six) were at full Amazon price, the rest were from thrift stores or Friends of
the Library sales.
I think the biggest and best impact, though, is that I’m
more connected with my books. In
composing a photo for my Bookstagram, I think about my books, their settings,
their themes, their characters. I wander
through different (and sometimes new to me) sections of the library to find related,
often non-fiction, books. How do I
capture the essence of a book in a photograph?
What can I say that is new or inspiring about this book? That’s my favorite part of Bookstagram –
connecting books to my environment.
Bringing books into my life in a deeper manner than before.
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| My most popular post...so far. I added a few props and some travel hashtags. |
If you're a Bookstagrammer, how did you get started? What's your favorite part of bookstagramming? And is there a part you don't like?
