I joined bookstagram the same time I created this blog on the 9^th of August 2020. The goal was to promote my blog through different channels and Instagram is a very creative place for bookish people. But very quickly I was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, its beauty and brilliance.

So here I share a few things I learnt in the very first month I was on IG for books. Some of them are silly, but truly important lessons for me.

1. Books can be glamorous.

Whoever thought books are boring never visited bookstagram. There is glamour in hardbound books, their beautiful dust covers, book stacks, flatlays, shelfies and so much more. Have you seen some of the props bookworms use? They are gorgeous, shiny, and beautiful and so much effort has been put into making these masterpieces. The themes book lovers follow for their feed is nothing short of inspirational. I could look at them for days.

2. You are not alone.

If you thought you would be the only one taking book pictures, you were wrong. If you compare yourself to a book, bookstagram is a library, no, a national archive of books. Truly you will find thousands if not lakhs of bookstagrammers.

3. Boys/men love books too and yes romantic ones too.

This was a surprise. Really. When I was researching for this blog to create a user profile in my mind I always pictured women who read books, reading about my blog. I mean all Google trends, Analytics, Ubersuggest everyone said the audience would be the feminine club. So naturally I was surprised to find not one not two at least 10 accounts on the first day of Male Bookstagrammers young and old taking about books and bookish fetishes. Subsequently I’ve come across at least 1 or 2 accounts daily. The number isn’t huge but it’s most definitely encouraging. Read On Guys!

4. The discovery of book boxes.

Frankly, call me old or whatever I never knew such a thing existed, not in India at least. Curated book boxes, with the latest releases, that too in hardbound copies with bookish accessories that are so unique and pretty and at affordable prices. I wanted to buy them all. No jokes. But I have shown tremendous self-control and I have promised myself to try all those curated boxes in the not-very-far future as a reward or celebration on special occasions.

5. Giveaways are a huge thing on bookstagram. But don’t expect to win.

I did my first giveaway, in the first month. Yeah I know you’re going to say, that was way too early. But I had 24 unique people commenting and participating. That’s a good number in my opinion. Well better than nothing. And got at least 50 new followers so I went from 100 to 150 followers. Yay!

Well I chose a winner, the winner got the voucher, and then she even got her book. But I see at least two giveaways every day, participate in at least one of them, every day, and I’m yet to win a single one. Go figure.

6. Props in book pictures are essential but not always essential. Taking great pictures has many aspects to it, but it develops our creative juices most.

Many bookworms buy a ton of stuff for their pictures and go through careful planning and detailing. It obviously shows in the pictures, and they are brilliant now doubt. But I somehow love the minimalists more. Nothing just a white backdrop, a coffee cup, some natural light, and a beautiful book. It’s so charming.

7. Talking about books can be fun. It isn’t one bit boring – this is primarily for people not particularly in love with books.

80% of movies have been adapted from books, did you know? It’s true. And no one can call movies boring. So how can their originals be boring? And its so much fun to talking about them, their characters, the twists, the dialogues, the dressing, the landscapes, it's endless. Because there are endless books. 

8. Only books can also get you thousands of followers.

In a month, I’ve already seen at least 3 accounts who have a million followers. The owners only talk about books, mostly. Don’t even ask me about the numerous accounts of 20, 30, 40 thousand followers. I’m still a puny 150, I know.

9. Young Adult Books, specifically fantasy books, are all the rage currently, and silly me has gone nothing beyond Harry Potter.

One shocking discovery was the number of books I have to read, especially YA books and Fantasy books. I keep seeing Sarah J Maas and Cassandra Claire and Leigh Burdough everywhere I go. These authors have probably written tons of books. I haven’t read even a single one of them, honest! I do plan to read at least some, though. Find out what all this craze is about myself.

10. People do still read.

That’s the best thing I realized after joining Instagram for books. People the world over are still very much in love with books. There are tons of hundreds of new authors writing beautiful books every day. And there are millions more reading them. Contrary to a frequently discussed topic- are books becoming history – my answer is no way. Not in the least. And as proof, please just search for the hashtag #bookstagram, and you’ll get millions if not trillions of bookish photos introducing you to the world of books to never let you return.

Hoping I keep learning and keep improving and keep growing, and so do you. If you are already on bookstagram, I’ll share a piece of advice I’ve heard at least a million times-be consistent.

Do you share the lessons you learned from bookstagram?