As the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown began, so did a collective search for new hobbies. Personally, I rediscovered my love of reading. As I began regularly picking up novels in my spare time, I stumbled upon “Bookstagram,” the bookish corner of Instagram. It further reignited the desire to read that I had missed for years. Now, I almost never interact with Bookstagram, as it was starting to kill the reading habits that it initially fostered. Bookstagram is an entity that both saved and destroyed my love of reading.
Many “Bookstagrammers” use Goodreads — an online book tracker where readers can set a yearly reading challenge for themselves and view the reading progress of friends. I initially thought of reading challenges as a harmless, fun way to push myself to read more, but I ended up defining my worth as a reader by how many books I read in comparison to others. My reading experience became more about the number of books I read rather than about the actual enjoyment and benefit gained from reading. Reading challenges did incentivize reading and provide me with a sense of accomplishment, but the downsides outweighed the benefits.
Another aspect of Bookstagrammers is their supposed addiction to buying books. Many Bookstagrammers post their book hauls, showing the stack of novels they will add to their endless to-be-read pile. Often, Bookstagrammers have to self-impose a “book buying ban” to deal with their purchasing impulses. The addiction is normal on Bookstagram, and it made me feel pressure to regularly visit my local Barnes & Noble and leave the store with at least a few novels. More often than not, those books would end up gathering dust on my shelf.
Most Bookstagrammers request and review Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs), or unreleased copies of books that readers receive in exchange for an honest review. This created a sense of exclusivity in the Bookstagram community that compelled me to read as many ARCs as possible. This obsession with ARCs pushed me to request any books I was interested in, resulting in a stack of novels piling up that I never read. The compulsion to engage with Goodreads and ARCs actually limited my reading, as I was unable to discover old stories amidst the crushing demand to read new books.
While the sharing element of Bookstagram is what makes it special, it also pressured me to post my thoughts on a book before I had time to process. When I was obsessed with Bookstagram, I had to pull out my phone as soon as I finished a novel and record my reaction to how utterly awesome the ending was — not giving myself time to breathe. Without being on Bookstagram constantly, I now have the necessary time to ponder a book’s ending and form a developed opinion of it.
The community that Bookstagram creates for readers, however, can still be wonderful. Being a reader can be lonely, not just because reading is mostly done alone, but also because New York Times bestsellers are not household names. I felt alone when I read an amazing, thought-provoking book and had nobody to share it with. Bookstagram allowed me to easily connect with others who loved the same books that I do. Outside of discussing books in direct messages and comments, Bookstagrammers are also supportive of each other, sharing each other’s posts and cheering each other on. The platform is actually a great place to make new friends.
Another great element of the Bookstagram community is author-reader relationships. Authors have become their own marketing teams on social media, making graphics and sharing quotes related to their stories to try and grab the attention of more readers. Authors’ presences on social media mean that readers no longer have to attend book signings to meet their favorite writers; they can simply shoot them a direct message. Readers can express their love for an author’s story to that author immediately after finishing their book. I’m grateful for this because I have had so many wholesome interactions on Bookstagram with authors of books I have loved where I have thanked them for their touching stories and they have thanked me for my kind words.
While Bookstagram pushed me to focus on new releases and reading more books rather than on their quality, it is also a space filled with detailed, specific book recommendations that truly led me to many great stories. The character limit on Instagram forces Bookstagrammers to write concise, to-the-point reviews, which is very helpful when combing through the ocean of book recommendations Bookstagram provides. Often, Bookstragmmers will mention books similar to the one they are recommending, aiding readers looking to read similar stories.
Being an amalgamation of peer pressure, community-building and many other beneficial and harmful parts, Bookstagram is ultimately what you make of it. For so long, I made it a space that introduced me to new people and books, while also allowing it to badger me into reading habits that were harmful to my passion for books. Now, I have found my happy medium. I rarely check Bookstagram, but when I do, it is with intention: to find a new read or check in on a friend. So, when deciding whether or not to embark on the journey that is Bookstagram, remember that it can be your reading savior or your reading failure.
Siraj Bajwa is an Opinion Intern for the winter 2023 quarter. He can be reached at sirajb@uci.edu.
