Day in the life of a Bookstagrammer: @KatReads
I can’t remember the last time I got my book recommendations for an outlet like the New York Times or the Washington Post (if I ever did) but I do remember that last I got one from a bookstagrammer. It was last week from @KatReads (The book was the memoir, A Cup of Water Under My Bed by Daisy Hernandez in case you were wondering.)
The power and influence of bookstagram has grown over the last decade to rival any traditional books media. What started as a niche community of book lovers on Instagram is now an enormous digital ecosystem of perfectly curated book stacks, engaging reviews, community building, and literary exchange of all sorts. The average bookstagrammer is also doing this as a hobby in addition to full-time jobs, schools, kids, and pandemic living.
Last week, I hopped on the phone with @KatReads, one of my favorite novice bookstagrammers and Harlem resident, to talk about balancing life and books, her favorite reads, and the beauty of the book community.
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The NONAC: What is your day job like. What do you do outside of bookstagram? I know for many it’s a labor of love.
KatReads: Yeah, and I think I didn't realize how time consuming it would be either, which is also really interesting, but I'm a school psychologist during the day. I work in a school with students with special needs. I've always liked reading, and I wasn't able to read as much when I was in grad school. Then once I finished, I think last year I was like “Oh, I'm gonna sign up for the Goodreads challenge.” Then I stumbled across more and more books. And then I decided to make an account. And that's how that all started.
The NONAC: I can imagine grad school can be completely all consuming. And you only read something that you're using.
KatReads: Yeah, and I think so for me. When I made the bookstagram account, it was because I also wanted to return to writing. I do a lot of evaluations, and that's all very structured. I used to like writing but I felt like every time I would try to write I was sort of in work mode. So for me, it was also just wanting to get into the habit of writing again. I think [in] grad school, it's just your life and so much of your energy, your ability to read, so it's been nice to return to that creative space.
The NONAC: So then how are you balancing reading books that you want to and read and then also being a school psychologist?
KatReads: It's been difficult to be honest because I’m a slow writer, so for me to draft reviews has been interesting.
And then also just taking in people's recommendations but also engaging with people’s content takes a lot more time than I thought it would. It's from people that you've really created relationships with and community with, so you always want to engage fully. But then it's like, “Okay, I want to engage with this, but I also want to read, but I also need to write, but I also need to work.” It's all these different things to juggle.
It's been interesting because I feel a little bit burned out, and I haven't been on bookstagram for that long. You definitely start to feel sort of like you need to set your boundaries if you wanna maintain an integrity in your relationship with the community.
The NONAC: How long have you formally had your @KatReads account?
KatReads: I started it at the end of August. So maybe, like 6 or 7-ish months, 8-ish. Very new. It's been really nice to be new. Everyone is so welcoming that it feels like I've been there forever. Everyone in the community is just, like, really amazing.
The NONAC: How do you pick the books that you choose to read and host and review?
KatReads: I've been struggling with this actually, because I don't ever want to be in a space where I'm speaking negatively about a book. I don't know. I think it's also books that I've learned the most from that I tend to spotlight. Or books that I've mentioned in my stories and that people express a lot of interest in, but I think I just tend to post the things that I'm excited about. To be honest, things that I want to process a little bit deeper, I tend to spotlight because that just means that I have to sit and, you know, work the words out, to sort of experience. So it's a little bit of thinking about the community, but also just me needing to process.
I always try to think about the author on the other side. I just respect that they put so much into it.
The NONAC: How do you view relationships between bookstagrammers and publishers?
KatReads: When I made my bookstagram account I had no idea about that.
I didn't know about the relationship between publishers and bookstagrammer and I didn't think I was on the receiving end of that at all. It's been really interesting because I know as I started to make connections, some people would offer the information freely about how to go about creating relationships with publishers, [but other times] it felt like it wasn't as easy to access that information. I wasn't sure how much of it I was allowed to say until I started seeing actual publishing companies being transparent.
The NONAC: Many bookstagrammers have come out over the last year and voiced concerns about what is expected of them from publishers, while being unpaid, and questions of diversity, not just of books but the influencers they choose to work with.
KatReads: I think there are some bookstagrammers who are trying to understand the mechanisms of everything a little bit more. But I definitely have seen the conversation. It is a lot of labor, not just the labor of reading the book and crafting the review, but also the labor of engagement that you do to build your community, so it feels like there's a lot of effort going towards that. There's also this conversation that I just saw about getting sent towards book talks. There's this advocacy going on primarily by people of color for compensation, which I think it's a valid argument. I sort of see both sides of it. It is a hobby, but once you have the book there is a little bit of pressure. It's not stated, but there's a little bit of pressure to post the book and create engagement around it.
The NONAC: Do you still consider reading a hobby first?
KatReads: That's another thing that's starting to feel very much like labor. I was like, “Okay, wait, we have to stop.” I think it's because of the relationships with publishers. We're constantly getting notified about new releases or sometimes offered new releases. Sometimes we reach out and we wanna get the new releases. a ton of back list that I have to catch up on, too. Because grad school means I wasn't reading a ton. I felt like I was reading to do this thing that I'm supposed to be doing instead of reading because I like it and because it brings me joy. So I've had to evaluate and interrogate that relationship with myself and say, “Wait, what is it exactly that we wanna read? What is that? What is it that we want to explore more?” I try to measure the amount of new releases that I am allowing myself to even think about, though that is massive now because of bookstagram. It's been interesting to sort of center myself and to ensure that I’m doing it because I love it and to make sure it doesn't become sort of painful.
The NONAC: What kind of relationship or responsibility rather, do you feel to your audience and your followers? Keeping them in mind while you're reading, I guess.
KatReads: Mm. That's an interesting question. I don't know. I feel a little bit self-directed in what I read. I think it's honestly just because I have so much to catch up on. There's so much nonfiction that I need to catch up on. There's so many classics, like I just read Beloved [by Toni Morrison]. It's like these cornerstone things that I feel I should have experienced that I haven't gotten to before. So I tend to be self directed with that.
The NONAC: So, how do you find your books?
KatReads: I think it's been a lot of just seeing things on bookstagram.
Once you're in the community, you also see who recommends the books that are more in line with your taste. And it's just been wild. So I just got a new book case, and that's already got filled because there's just so much. There's so many beautiful new books that are coming out that I’m just so excited about and also things that I haven't read yet. But I think it’s just me connecting with the people who have similar taste and then just jotting down literally all the books that they're recommending.
The NONAC: Do you think that bookstagram is on the way to overtaking those more traditional ways of finding books if it hasn't already? Like traditional media.
KatReads: That's interesting. I just wanted to say that. Some of the content on bookstagram, there is so much put into it. I think that there’s so much quality on bookstagram and the way that people are engaging with books. It's profound and I think the feeling that a bookstagrammer just like a normal person also makes it wild. I don't know much about marketing and all this stuff, but it does seem like that’s the way that it's moving. Instagram is so accessible and so many people have access to it, that it is becoming the way that we find and discover authors and books.
The NONAC: How do you define a good book?
KatReads: Because I respect craft so much, I think the writing is a big piece for me. Even if the plot is a little bit weak, if the writing is stunning, then I'm in. And my heart is on the floor.
The NONAC: What’s the last book you read that you loved or a book that you hated?
KatReads: Loved Beloved by Toni Morrison. Runner up: A Cup of Water Under My Bed by Daisy Hernandez
The NONAC: Least favorite type of book to read?
KatReads: I don't really read suspense or horror or anything like that.
The NONAC: What is your palate cleanser book?
KatReads: So after I finished reading Beloved I picked up a couple of books and it wasn't working out. I was like “No, nothing is comparing.” So then someone had recommended I try non-fiction. And that was the perfect palate cleanser. So I picked up We Do This Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba, which was fun. I feel like everyone should read that book. But for me, the genre shift was super necessary.