The title really sums up what I’ve been wondering for some time. It’s no secret that I recently dived into the bookstagram (book-Instagram for those of you who are unaware) community and I won’t lie – I’m loving it. So much that I’ve considered quitting blogging entirely and jumping ship.
I’m not leaving, of course. Sorry, you’re just going to have to deal with me for the time being. ;)
But I won’t ignore the fact that I did consider it and it led me to wonder why I didn’t drop the thought like a hot potato and instead explored every ridge and bump on that potato. For one, bookstagramming makes me incredibly happy. There’s the thrill of finding a spot with suitable lighting, arranging everything in a hundred different ways, taking at least three shots per angle, selecting the best picture, editing, and finally posting it with a fun caption. And I love every step of it. (You can click on any of the pictures below taken by me and be redirected to my Instagram account, @adeliscray!) (UPDATE: my bookstagram account is now @apageofheaven. @adeliscray is my normal account and there’ll probably still be bookish pictures posted but probably not as spectacular as my bookstagram since I’m mixing them in of pictures from my life too. You can follow one or both if you want, haha!)
As for book blogging… not so much. Due to the way I started out with blogging, I’m still now shaking off the feeling of it being a chore. Yes, I had been one of those super-enthusiastic bloggers pressuring myself to post every. Single. Day. And long story short, it took the fun out of blogging. Currently, I’m still learning to see blogging as something fun again instead of a job to get done. Thankfully, remembering that was a huge reason I didn’t ponder about leaving the blogosphere for long.
Plus, I love writing and I don’t ever want to stop stringing alphabets and words and sentences together.
The above reasons aside, what I realised was my biggest motivation for quitting the blogosphere and shifting to bookstagram was the lack of drama in the latter. Without even needing to point fingers, everyone who has been around the blogosphere for at least a few months would probably have heard of the myriad of dramas that go on.
I know some of these dramas start off with good intentions and people just want to spread awareness on a certain subject. But after a while and witnessing numerous other incidents, it gets really tiring for people like me who only wants to find a place to amiably fangirl/fanboy over books with other booknerds.
Maybe I’ve not been on bookstagram long enough but I’ve not witnessed any drama on it and everyone’s incredibly friendly, warm, and genuine. Not that book bloggers aren’t (I’ve been blogging for over two years and know of many lovely book bloggers), I just feel a lot more relaxed on bookstagram and love the laid-back vibe it gives. Kind of like you’re just chilling at a very pretty bookstore/library with a bunch of other book lovers.
It’s a little soon to tell whether I’m so in love with the bookstagram community because it’s like a thrilling new conquest but what I’m definitely sure about is my hope that the book blogging community could remember our roots again and that the whole point we’re here is because we love talking about books, not to shoot each other down or hate on one author or another.
I’ll admit, that wish is a little too good and happy to come true but a girl can hope.
In the mean time, I’ll still be happily blogging in my little bubble in the Internet, avoiding crazy things because drama in life is already enough for me, thank you very much. And on bookstagram, I’ll be that crazy girl who rushes home to catch the last bit of natural lighting, spends ages rearranging books and odd trinkets, gets into the most awkward positions in the name of good angles, and bothers her poor little best friend about which edit is best (JZ, I really appreciate you even though I don’t say that much YOU LOVELY LITTLE THING).
Book blogging and now bookstagram… who knows, maybe I’ll even venture into BookTube next. It’s good to keep your options open, after all. ;)
A Page of Heaven 
I unfortunately would be a miserable failure at bookstagram, I take my photos with an iphone :) but your photos are amazing!! I found your blog yesterday and saw them on the front page and goggled for a while.
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Aww, thanks! All my pictures are actually taken with my iPhone too, you just need to master the skill of hunting down good lighting, object placement, perfect angles, and just the right amount of editing! Maybe you could try giving bookstagram a shot, iPhone cameras are actually pretty good. ;)
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No way! I’m even more impressed. I will do my very best haha
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You can always ask me if you need any tips! Tell me if you do decide to join the bookstagram community too, I would love to follow you. :)
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There’s plenty of drama in the bookstagram world as well. I started out there and only started blogging a couple months back. Especially because on a blog I can write down ALL my thoughts and won’t have to shorten it; captions are often not read on instagram when they’re too long. I just started following you on Instagram btw @myrthe.dijkslag
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Oh no, hopefully I can steer clear of the dramatic side of bookstagram. I get what you mean about being able to write more in blog posts, it’s part of why I decided to do both blogging and bookstagram too. Kind of so I can get the best of both words, haha! And thanks so much for the follow!
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I’ve had a bookstagram account for nearly 2 years but I’ve only recently started trying to take proper pictures the beginning of this year and I’m LOVING it, I love looking at all the pictures and what everyone is reading and shelfies and everything but I’ve never considered moving solely to Instagram. I love writing all my reviews and seeing everybody else’s reviews and discussion posts in the blogosphere and it’s become my second home – I love it so much and I wouldn’t consider leaving it!
Very interesting post! :)
PS. Your photos are gorgeous! My bookstagram account is: @bookaholic007 :)
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Ooh, thanks! I think I stumbled upon your bookstagram account recently and followed you! So glad you’re enjoying the blogosphere so much, I really hope I can reach your level of love for blogging again one day because I miss the days when I’m so excited to write every one of my posts. I started out solely writing reviews and doing the same weekly features over and over again but I recently realised (I’m kind of stupid not to have earlier) writing discussion posts and other posts that aren’t so routine would probably get me out of my numerous blogging slumps.
Thanks so much for dropping by, seeing your love for blogging really motivates me to have more freedom and variety in my posts!
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Omg, I love this post, for me it was kind of the other way around lol. I started book blogging after I had been on bookstagram for a bit. Seeing everyone’s awesome book blogs really inspired me (: As for the drama, I really haven’t experienced any yet (I hope I don’t haha) and everyone that I’ve met has been really friendly & sweet. I love how you described it as a pretty bookstore because sometimes I get the feeling like we’re all having tea while discussing books lol. I’m glad you started a bookstagram though, your pictures are gorgeous! <3
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Aww, I’m really glad I got to know you and so many other amazing bookstagrammers too! As for the book blogging drama, it also depends on which blogs you follow and I guess I dumbly picked many who can get a little vicious, haha. But I’m so jealous you haven’t encountered any drama and I really hope you wouldn’t in the future either! Psst. You feed is very easy on the eyes too, hehe.
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I may be petite but I am no ‘little thing’. Also I’m suddenly tempted to join bookstagram. SHOULD I?
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HAHAHAHA. You’re littler than me so that’s still little. HEH. AND YES YOU SHOULD. It’s so much fun!
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