I’m a big reader and I’ve been posting my thoughts on books to Instagram (@orbiting_storyteller) for over four years now. In that time, I started this website and have wondered whether it would be better to publish my book reviews here instead. I even did so for a while in monthly reading wrap ups. But, in the end, I decided I preferred using Instagram for this practice. This might not always be the case, and as social media changes in the future I may want to change how I do things, but here’s why Instagram feels right for me right now.
There’s an established book community
Books helped me explore my queer identities and it was Instagram’s book community – “Bookstagram” – which helped me find those books.
After watching Heartstopper on Netflix, I discovered Alice Oseman’s books including Loveless about an aroace person at university. This story reflected so much of my experience and left me craving more representation. I then went online in search of other ace and aro book recommendations to find multiple accounts on Instagram dedicated to uplifting queer literature, including the titles I was after. Because of this community, I found Upside Down by N.R. Walker, The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, How to Be a Normal Person by TJ Klune, and many more, and ultimately went out to seek the offline book club I now attend.
I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say I’ve spent hours reading other people’s reviews on Instagram at this point, and I have found many great books this way. So posting my own book reviews on this platform has always felt like a little way I can pay it forward and maybe help someone like me.
I can categorise posts in multiple ways allowing others to discover the books that I love
I have the same few followers who always like my posts, but I also make use of hashtags and highlights to boost the possibility of new people finding my account or a review I’ve written about a book that gives them the representation they’ve been looking for.
I use the search feature on Instagram to find book posts and recommendations all the time, and I know others do the same. The categorising methods on Instagram allow my posts to come up on these searches, whereas my small website gets little footfall. It’s not that I’m aiming for a huge following, but to give my posts the best chance of reaching people looking for ace/queer books, Instagram makes the most sense.
It’s easy and satisfying to post so I keep up the habit
This is a big one.
I have kept up the habit of posting book reviews to Instagram for over four years, longer than I ever thought I would. My website, on the other hand, is not even two years old at the time of writing, and uploading my monthly reading wrap up posts on here had already started feeling like a chore rather than something I want to do. In fact, sitting down each month to write those posts became something that was getting in the way of writing about other things that are important to me.
This has yet to happen with Instagram because Instagram makes posting super simple. I have the app on my phone. I have fun quickly taking a photo of the book, I copy my review from the notes app, I click share, and now I have another post on my aesthetically pleasing page. The habit is easy and fun, so I keep on doing it.
The character count is a challenge that makes me a better writer
The character count on Instagram posts was not on my radar when I first started uploading book reviews to the platform. Over the years, though, my book reviews have got longer. I use my reviews as a way of helping me the details of the book that stood out to me, as well as encouraging (or discouraging) others to read them.
These days, the character count plays a huge part in what I post. I often write way too much and have to cut my reviews down. It makes me stop and think, “is there a better/more concise way I can say this?”, and that thinking leads to better writing. Now when I first draft my reviews, without prompting, that question is already in my head. What I write is not an unstructured mess of too many thoughts, but a considered description and opinion on a book that reads well because of this limit. I feel good enough about the reviews I put out now that I will shamelessly quote myself in book chats in the real world. Just start a conversation with me in my DMs on Instagram, and you’ll see.