Welcome to chapter 22 of the book column. The best thing about book lovers' culture is that it does not stop at physical books.
There are countless social media accounts dedicated to book lovers. Whether it is your favorite books, writing prompts or amazing libraries, anyone can find their favorite account.
These accounts are the perfect way to add flavor to a drab news feed that consists of mainly friends and family.
Such accounts often introduce books that are about to be published. Sometimes, they interview authors or cover book signing events.
Most accounts add photos to their stories as well and occasionally ‘go live,’ so there are endless opportunities to see their content.
One account, Epic Reads, is available on all social media platforms. Epic Reads, the brainchild of Harper Collins publishing, even has a Snapchat account called epicreads. They add photos of one page excerpts from new books. These photos allow readers a better way to see if they would be interested in the book.
The account's reviews are honest, and helps you find readers with similar tastes.
On Instagram, Epic Reads asks questions along with their pictures to generate user discussion. These questions are often about recommending books or confessing to book habits like binging an entire series in a week.
A popular Instagram account for writers is @writing.prompts.s. This account posts multiple creative writing prompts per day.
Occasionally, they re-post user-generated short stories that were started from their prompts, which are always creative and inspiring. They cover every genre from contemporary literature to science fiction.
Almost every book store and publisher has their own social media account.
My favorite, @strandbookstore on Twitter, is based in New York City. The store boasts 18 miles of bookshelves.
Their social media accounts always cover the author events at the store. They post photos of new merchandise and books in the store as well.
Their employees often post photos with their favorite books in the store and tell followers about them.
This account is extremely active. They often post lengthy stories on Instagram that take a few minutes to watch. I would especially recommend this account to anyone planning a trip to New York because you can’t go to New York City without a trip to The Strand.
Following your favorite authors on social media is another great way to be connected to the literary world.
Famous contemporary writers like J.K. Rowling and Veronica Roth are always posting about their lives and their work. For the bookworms who are also dog people, Roth has an adorable dog she is always posting about.
Even publishing houses have their own accounts.
Well-known companies like Simon and Schuster, Little Brown and Random House post photos or tweet at their followers on a daily basis.
Most of their content is self-promotional. They post about books they are about to publish or authors they have just signed a contract with.
Any book or writing-related social media account is easy to find using hashtags like #books, #booklovers or #bookshelves. They post often, and they post relevant photos or topics that will mix up your newsfeed.
