book ● sta ● gram
/ˈbʊkstʊgram/
noun
a virtual dwelling of many an amateur photographer and professional bookish fanboy/girl

 As both amateur photographers and professional bookish fangirls, the bookish section of Instagram is our home-away-from-home. Like most social media platforms these days, Instagram has spawned ridiculous communities and impromptu communities and glorious communities in turn.

 The most glorious of the lot (in our not-at-all biased opinion) - bookstagram - is where a love of books meets a love of bizarre angles and a quest to overcome crappy lighting. We don't judge books by their cover at all - we just invest all our money into the prettiest ones, then spend hours on end composing them into perfect shots.

 As for ourselves, we are quiet pumpkins on bookstagram - mostly because it's exhausting running a blog and all its social media platforms while juggling real life and Uni and jobs. There aren't enough hours in a day to interact with the lovely peoples in all the lovely places and let them know just how very much we appreciate them and look up to them and pray for a Freaky Friday moment with them for a little while. So this week, we are sharing our 10 favorite bookstagrammers - and reasons we stalk their profiles regularly.
Picked by: Lexie

 I'm pretty sure Allissa is my patronus - or, if she is averse to protecting others on command, then I must be hers. Because apart from our inevitable Slytherin-Gryffindor rivlary - Allissa's bookstagram feed is how I imagine heaven. It's a procession of my absolute favorite books, my dream bookish merch, and a sort of talent I can only hope to someday obtain in a Faustian-deal sort of arrangement.


Picked by: Natalie

I'm a fan of Cait full stop, but her Instagram is always buzzing full of some amazing snaps of her impressive book collection. The photographs are interesting, stunning and always feature wonderful choices of books! We're subjective. You can see how well thought-out the photos are by how amazing the outcome is. And with the props Cait uses to get the best out of every shot, I can't not just sit and scroll through her page for entirely too long, and like entirely too much. I highly recommend a follow for Cait!

Picked by: Lexie

 Behold a trifecta of epic! Not only is Andew one of bookstagram's most talented humans, he is also an all-around awesome human being, and an owner of the world's fluffiest dog who photobombs his shots like a pro. (Seriously, Luna has turned photobombing into performance art.) With all this going for a person, they don't even need a good taste in books to earn themselves a following. But Andrew's taste in books is one thousand different kinds of perfect (that it mirrors mine probably doesn't hurt, either), and has all but guaranteed years of bookstagram-stalking in my future.

Picked by: Natalie

What I love about Mands's gallery is the simplistic way in which she composes her photos. The bright, clean and simple pictures are so pretty - pretty enough that I still like and fangirl over pictures of books I've not even read yet. I can't help it. They're not too busy and overpowering, and another really cute touch is that she also sometimes matches her nails to the book cover! I'm quite a fan of nail art. So bookish nail art? Yes! What a lovely way to show your love for a book - your nails. I love it.
Picked by: Lexie

 Usually, I like to make a show of objectivity and recommend bookish things like this: I liked it, and I hope you check it out. However, I understand if this is not to your taste, because de gustibus non disputandum est. (Yeah. I Latin like a pro.) Now watch me fly in the face of my own objectivity in simple English: you must follow Josephine, and it's not even a matter of taste. For one - look at that feed. It's to everyone's taste. And for another, Josephine is not only a talented human, but she also doubles as a bookstagram superhero. She periodically dons a superhero suit and brings us a Bookstagram 101 feature on her blog, WordRevel, where she shares tips and tricks to making the most out of a bookstagram account and how to marry a love of photography with a love of books.
Picked by: Natalie

The first thing that made me think to put Nikki in the list is the colouring and/or the filter that she uses in most of her shots. It gives them a warm, magical quality, whilst not being too 'in your face'. The shots are toned down, not at all aggressive, and all seem to have a sort of autumnal feel. And, y'know, autumn is the best season ever.
Nikki's gallery is full of wonderful books, merchandise and versatile shots. It's not all just YA, either, and I find that quite refreshing! 
Picked by: Lexie

 I mean, being named Alexandra automatically guarantees an awesome human (#objective and not at all biased). But on top of an awesome name, Alexandra is a fellow book blogger, a ballerina, and the first person post-Cartier-Bresson who has conquered The Right Angle Conundrum. While photographers around the world struggle endlessly with angles, framing and composition, Alexandra rules over angles from atop her throne of books and submits them to her will. (What other explanation is there for her bookstagram feed?)

Picked by: Natalie

First of all - ourbookworlds is run by two people. As a co-blogger, I already approve of this. Secondly, what I enjoy about this gallery is how out of the norm it is. Instead of posed shots, a lot of it features Kyla and Kaylee's experiences as book lovers (whether that's reading in public or going to a book signing) - which guarantees a unique feed. It makes the entire gallery refreshing and show the real perks and joys of being a reader. I can't not smile when I scroll through ourbookworls, and I guess it shows that having two people running it, you can combine ideas and really go for something different.
(P.S. There's some appearances from a kitten a couple of times. Keep a look out! Very cute.)

Picked by: Lexie

 I want to live inside a Georgie-photograph. (And I'm in possession of several souls to trade for this feat, if there's anyone with the power to make this happen out there listening.) Because quite apart from being pictures of books, these are little atmospheric stories in their own right. Georgie composes shots in such a way that it looks what a book feels like. And there's little more I want out of a bookish photograph than that. It may have something to do with Georgie being an actual wedding photographer. (I guess I know who I want to commit the day I marry Richard Gansey III to film.) But whatever the cause - skill or talent - the end result is stunning and wondrous, and I haven't stopped staring at this feed for months now.

Picked by: Natalie

Elin's pictures are so darn pretty! Bright, pretty, floral and happy, she has a way with taking some simplistic yet stunning pictures without even needing many props to do it. Whether it's flowers, her bookshelf or just sitting by her cat, she can make any picture look Instagram-perfect. *goes on a liking spree* And unlike most of bookstagram, Elin features more than just YA books. That change in genre and age category is always really refreshing to see.


Picked by: Lexie

Because it wasn't enough for Australia to kick ass at the Olympics, it has to constantly kick ass at bookstagram, as well. Emily's feed (which she shares with a spotlight-hogging, fluffy, adorable cat) is a soft, colorful reminder of: (1) how effortlessly shots can turn out, (2) but don't, (3) because Emily rules, (4) and the rest of us don't. The touch of human element to the feed is also entirely too amazing and sets it apart from most of the rest of bookstagram (Emily, suffice it to say, doesn't only feature her feet), whether it's through self-timed shots featuring the photographer herself, or through another account of Emily kidnapping her sister's room/bed/bookshelf/light source/life essence. Whatever the case may be, it works for the gallery as a whole. This month, along with Cait and Kelly, Emily hosts the #AUSYAChallenge.


Picked by: Lexie

Charnell's bookstagram theme the closest you'll ever get to a bookish coma without an overdose on November Cakes in the middle of Barnes and Noble. Every shot is striking, not only thanks to the books it cleverly features (taste = mine = indisputably fabulous), but also thanks to the cover-worthy, lust-worthy, drool-worthy overflowing bookshelf in the background that you hope is Photoshopped because yours isn't that fabulous, but that you also hope it's not, because it's the only proof we have of nirvana being real outside of 90s grunge. (Spoiler alert: it isn't photoshopped. And all our shelf-pride takes a prompt hit.) Charnell is also a host of the endlessly inspiring monthly #RFAB challenges on bookstagram, wherein we all participate and watch our own shots turn out not-nearly-as-great-as-her-own. Talent is talented.




Ten, you say? Phsaw. We're 50% Gryffindor, 50% Valor, and 100% rebel. (We are also chronically indecisive and utterly unable to whittle this choice down to 10. In fact, TWELVE is tantamount to a miracle, and we should be appropriately praised and worshipped for it. Take your time. We'll wait.)

 Bookstagram is a glorious, glorious place, and it features no small amount of bookish and photographic talent. Fangirls and fanboys we may be, but never let it be said that we don't invest our all into it, and that we don't take the time to grow and improve. Scroll through each Instagram feed and marvel at the ever-constant improvement. (Except don't, because #shaaaaame.)

 Talk to us, lovelies! Who are your favorite bookstagrammers? Do you follow some or all of the above? (You should.) Do you follow us? (You should.) And do you have your own account (you should) that you feel is worthy of a follow? Leave us a comment below and let us know.