What is Bookstagram?

Bookstagram is what’s known as the book side of Instagram. Book lovers have gathered from far and wide on social media to post collections of books, book art—really anything and everything to do with books. This online community of bookworms share their experiences and love of reading through their bookstagram accounts. There are more than book fans on bookstagram, there are authors, bookshops, and libraries. These accounts bring a whole new way of reading to the world. A collective and immersive experience with each other that lets us bond over the books we have read, will read, and love. A great way to find your path to bookstagram is through its hashtag (#bookstagram) that is used on a large portion of these images. As of November 2021, there are almost 69 million posts under the hashtag.

So, if you have found yourself on the book side of Instagram, or have an account or want to start one, here are a couple of tips on writing your own bookstagram captions.

Caption Ideas and Tips

Captions can make or break a post on Instagram, but we all know the power of words by now. Bookstagram is no different than any other corner of the app. The captions need to represent your book photos in the best way possible. In that sense, always make sure that your captions and photos are related to each other. If you post a picture of a bookstore you found and your caption is about a new show you’re watching, it may be confusing to whoever is looking.

There are basic tips like staying away from block texts. When there are chunks of words just clumped together, the audience might lose interest. So make some breaks in the captions, try short sentences, or even add some fun emojis and questions to keep your audience engaged. You can even try different fonts to add that extra eye-catching element to your bookstagram. Simply putting into google “Instagram Fonts” will bring up different sites that you can copy and paste from.

One of the biggest helpers to your bookstagram captions will be the hashtags. You should definitely include #bookstagram, but adding others can help boost your account. It’s like your own personalized tagging system; the more you tag the more people can find your content. Try to keep all the hashtags at the end, though. When there is just a line of hashtags in the middle of your caption, it might throw off the aesthetics.

What Should Your Captions be About?

Book recommendations – If you’re a bookworm, you know the importance of book recommendations! One of the best parts about books is telling everyone else about them so they can read it too. Even if you personally have never read the book, but you’ve heard really great things about it, then tell your audience about it. Exchanging experiences and books is a part of the literary world.

Quotes of the day – Have you ever read a book and found a quote that just speaks to your soul, or makes you laugh, or blows your mind? Now is your time to share. Make a theme of your bookstagram a quote of the day and share your favorite quote from your favorite books.

Book reviews – This kind of goes hand-in-hand with book recommendations, but a nice addition to your page can be book reviews. Your experience with a book is important, whether you liked a book or maybe thought it dragged on a little bit, talk about it. Giving a book review can also open up conversation with your followers; maybe they can give you a book recommendation based on what you like or didn’t like about the book.

Your own experience with the book or author – All of these caption options share one thing in common: you! Whether it’s your favorite quote, talking about your new favorite character, or giving your audience a list of books to read, the most important part of your bookstagram is your experience with books. Your instagram page should represent you and the things you value. So, if there is a book that made you who you are, talk about it. If you met an author and it changed your whole perspective on a book, talk about it. If the book made you cry or cringe, talk about it.

At the end of the day, your bookstagram is totally and completely yours. Engage with other readers and let your captions be open for conversation; try to talk to them and not at them. Create a safe place for bookworms everywhere and maybe make some new friends in the process. It is completely up to you what you want to share with your followers—but remember to make it as unique as you are!