This week’s featured Bookstagrammer is Maha of @onetruedaydreamer. The Canadian-based, UK Born influencer lives up to her moniker with her colorful book posts and aesthetic journaling that makes every bibliophile feel like they’ve entered into a dream. Her Instagram is filled with great book recommendations, reviews, and journaling videos, causing book lovers to scroll for hours. Maha herself is an aspiring author working on a Middle East & South Asian inspired YA fantasy book and occasionally updates her followers on her progress. She started her Instagram to share her book reviews, but it wasn’t until a couple of months later that she was introduced to the bookstagram community and figured out what she was doing.
Learn more about Maha and her Bookstagram in the interview below!
Let’s Start with Your Favorites!
What are some of your favorite books and authors:
Ahh, the dreaded question. I’m going to go with the first ones to come to mind.
It Ends With Us — by Colleen Hoover
Ugly Love — by Colleen Hoover
All Your Perfects — by Colleen Hoover
Red, White & Royal Blue — by Casey McQuiston
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue — by V. E. Schwab
Blood and Ash series — by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Red Queen series — by Victoria Aveyard
Shatter Me series — by Tahereh Mafi
The Wrath and the Dawn Duology — Renée Ahdieh
The Grishaverse books — by Leigh Bardugo
Stalking Jack the Ripper series — by Kerri Maniscalco
And a ton of others that I spend all day talking about on my bookstagram page!
What is your favorite book cover?
There are so many beautiful covers out there, and it’s hard to pick! The first one that comes to mind is the cover for Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson!
What are your favorite fandoms?
There are so many good ones! The Grishaverse fandom, the Shatter Me fandom, the ACOTAR fandom. I have a love/hate relationship with that last one, but still!
What is your favorite bookstore?
I’d have to go with Indigo because it’s the most accessible to me! Unfortunately, my social anxiety and covid keep me from going out much and exploring local bookshops, but I hope to find a favorite amongst them one day.
Who are your favorite bookstagrammers?
Gosh, there are so many! Off the top of my head; @libraryinthecountry, @rebireads, @readwithtee, @rosebuds.reads, @a_feast_of_pages, @lulumoonowlbooks, @vickiereads, and so so many more! Seriously, there’s an unbelievably large amount of talented and sweet bookstagrammers to look out for!
Let’s Get into Fun Facts and Additional Bookishness:
Who is your fictional crush?
It’s nearly impossible to choose just one! I adore Nikolai (Grishaverse) and Hawke (Blood and Ash) a lot, amongst quite a few others!
What’s on your TBR list?
This question never ends well. I have hundreds of books on my TBR, but right now, I want to read The City of Brass trilogy, as well as An Ember in the Ashes quartet!
Who would you have supply you with a lifetime of books?
Either Indigo or Barnes and Noble! There are so many cool special editions available at each one!
Which author would you like to take a selfie with?
Ahh, so many!! And I’d probably be incredibly awkward in each one because of how camera shy I am, but I think the one I’d most want to take a picture with is Colleen Hoover.
What is a book you have claimed to have read that you didn’t?
I don’t think I’ve ever claimed to have read a book that I didn’t. I usually own up to the books I haven’t read, even the popular ones.
Let’s Talk about Bookstagram:
What do you want your Instagram to bring to the world?
Honestly, I hope to share my love for books with people who love them too. It means the world to me any time someone tells me they read and loved a book because of me or that they picked up a book that changed their life because I recommended it.
What’s your special approach to content?
I don’t have one. I just like to try to feature books I’ve read as well as ones I want to in equal measure!
How often do you post?
Daily! I’ve been posting daily for nearly two years now. I think it’s often rather taxing, but I’m comfortable with my routine.
What does your bookstagram mean to you?
It means everything to me. Joining bookstagram was the first time I ever felt like I found where I belonged—amongst other people who love books as much as I do. It’s more than just a community; it’s a family.
Every day, I feel incredibly fortunate that I get to use my page to share my love for books and that I’ve been lucky enough to have as many cool book-related opportunities as I have.
When did you know you had made it as a Bookstagrammer?
I think it was either the first time I had one of my pictures featured on a bookish shop’s page for posting a picture of one of their items OR the first time I connected with a publisher and received an Advanced Readers Copy.
What advice can you give for aspiring Bookstagrammers?
Enjoy yourself. It’s supposed to be fun more than anything else, and if you’re sharing your love for books, then you’re doing it right. There is no other requirement.
That said, interacting with other bookstagrammers in the community is a good way to go about things too, not only because it helps you make friends, but because it’ll make it feel like home!
For more on Bookstagrammers click here.