Online Book Communities

By Neus Forner

Book blogging has its place secured in the online community. From BookTube to Bookstagram, to traditional blogs, there is content for everyone. The online book community has been growing from quite some time. Here is your guide to navigating through the never-ending online book world!

Bookstagram 

Bookstagram has changed the way fiction is promoted, marketed and read. This movement has forever changed the books industry. It collides with the influencer movement, creating ÔÇÿbook influencersÔÇÖ whose job is to promote books and products related to the book industry. This platform allows reviews to be more colloquial and accessible. Not to mention that captions cannot be two pages long, so the reviews or the comments have to be short and sweet, perfect if you want a snippet of your next read. 

Picture by @mybookishlife_ Instagram

Photography also plays a huge role in bookstagram. The feed of bookstagrammers is of high quality, using books as their focal point but also including an array of props and different settings for their pictures. Each bookstagrammer has a different colour palette, from pastels to browns and whites, to darker colours. Each style has its own atmosphere and vibe. The photography is so good many people follow bookstagrammers to have beautiful pictures of books constantly popping up in their feed. 

Picture by @mybookishlife_ Instagram

Besides the aesthetic part of bookstagram, its content is great for book lovers. Short reviews are my favourite. Finding new book recommendations is so easy and entertaining, plus you get the bonus of pictures!! I also quite enjoy the different book prompts some of the accounts propose for discussion. From opinions on a genre to specific characters or the different troops you can find in books, it is extremely fun to share opinions and chat with other book lovers about what they think.  It is a very friendly and tolerant community, and you will always find someone to discuss anything bookish-related with. 

Picture by @mybookishlife_ Instagram

Here are some of my favourite bookstagram accounts: 

@mybookishlife_

@thecarrotstories

@marleyreads

@iammissmistake

@thebibliotheque

Booktube

Just like bookstagram booktube is another great community for book lovers. There are videos for everyone. Do you prefer serious videos discussing book recommendations or book reviews? You got it. Do you prefer fun videos of different book tags that are lighthearted and that will keep you entertained without the need of too much concentration? You got it. The originality on the videos is incredible. You can also choose the channel based on the types of books you prefer. There are booktubers that mainly discuss fantasy books, other focus on romance, others on young adultÔǪ the options are infinite. 

Something that is quite fun to watch if you are a broke student like I am and cannot afford to buy as many books as you would like are book hauls. Yes, just like clothing hauls but with books. IsnÔÇÖt it heaven? I can spend hours watching people show all the books they bought, while they explain why they caught their eye. 

Another type of video that I am guilty of consuming too much of is shelf organizing videos. I love watching people reorganize their bookshelves from scratch itÔÇÖs so satisfying! 10/10 would recommend!!

My favourite booktube channels: 

PeruseProject

jessetehreader

emmmabooks

Hailey in Bookland

Book Blogs

Although these have been around for a while, they are still very prominent in the online book community. Definitely not as strong as bookstagram or booktube, but still a form of bookish content, blogs usually accompany Instagram and youtube accounts. If you have more patience and enjoy well-crafted writing, blogs are for you. Also filled with longer book recommendations, top books, new releasesÔǪ Book heaven in a nutshell.  

The book blogs you need to check out: 

http://www.thebibliothequeblog.com/

https://papercupsandpaperbacks.wordpress.com/

http://lookingforabura.com/

http://lucythereader.com/