Introducing Jess: The Bookish BFF You Never Knew You Needed

Meet our Bookstagrammer of the Week, Jess! On her cozy and positive page, @jesshalfpagereads, you’ll find every book rec imaginable!

Kaija Strong –
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A background that looks like textured cream colored sheets. In the center, two images of book piles and a third of a bookshelf. All images are framed by a cream and pink watercolor background. Over the center image is a brown banner with @jesshalfpagereads in white lettering. Up-and-Coming Bookstagrammer of the Week in brown lettering. Framing the corners are pink and brown flowers.

Welcome to Bookstagrammer of the Week! Today, we’re introducing you to the up-and-coming Jess, also known as @jesshalfpagereads. Jess’s appetite for books is truly admirable! Her Instagram features stacks upon stacks of curated reading lists. If you’re lacking a well-rounded book club in your life, she may be just the thing you need! After all, as Jess will admit, she may not know much about modern TV recs, but she has books down pat! Read on to get to know more about this week’s featured Bookstagrammer.

A white bookshelf with books organized by color. The top shelf has blue and green books. The second shelf has yellow and pink books and decorative glasses. The third shelf has black books, framed photos, a glass, and two figurines. The bottom shelf has red and orange books and a sketch of a building.
IMAGE VIA JESS

Jess of @jesshalfpagereads

INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

Thanks for chatting with us, Jess! Let’s get down to the interview.

Where are you from?

London

Why did you start your Bookstagram?

I was boring my real-life friends to tears with book chat, so I felt an instinctive need to find like-minded people.

White bedsheets. On top are two rows of multicolored books. There are twelve books in total. Only some titles can be seen because the covers are overlapping each other.
IMAGE VIA JESS

What do you want your Instagram to bring to the world?

Positive, fun, passionate book chat that doesn’t take itself too seriously!

Aesthetic / Instagram page theme:

Loads of colourful books and specific recommendations!

How often do you post?

I go through phases — I either post every day or not for weeks. It depends on how busy I am! But consistency is key.

White bedsheets. On top are tow rows of books. There are eight books in total. Titles are: Evenings and Weekends, How to Say Babylon, The Paper Palace, Great Circle, The Rachel Incident, Green Dot, Sunburnt, and Pride and Prejudice.
IMAGE VIA JESS

What does your Bookstagram mean to you?

I love it so much, it brings me so much joy, I can’t even tell you!

What’s your special approach to content?

I wouldn’t call it special, but I actively keep my page positive. I’ll never review a book I didn’t like. Not only would I hate for the author to find it, but frankly, if I’ve not enjoyed a book, I don’t want to spend any more time on it!

White bedsheets. On top are 11 books: Anyone's Ghost, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, Invisible Child, The Bee Sting, Say Nothing, What My Bones Know, The Goldfinch, Down the Drain, Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Great Believers, and Rules of Civility.
IMAGE VIA JESS

Favorite Bookstagrammers:

Author to take a selfie with:

Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver wears a black shirt, jeans, and clear glasses. She sits at a desk with her chin resting on her fist. A computer with an open document on the screen is in front of her. The desk top is covered with papers, books, a printer, a phone, and a green mug. Behind is a wooden door and a corkboard covered with pictures.
IMAGE VIA BARBARA KINGSOLVER

Favorite Books and Authors:

Books:

White bedsheets. On top are three rows of books. There are twenty-four books in total. Only some of the titles are visible because the covers overlap each other.
IMAGE VIA JESS

Authors:

  • Sally Rooney
  • Elizabeth Strout 
  • Anne Tyler
  • Ann Patchett

Fictional Crush:

Noah in Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy — truly, the only fanciable men in fiction are those written by women.

A dark pink background. Pale purple silhouettes of two city skylines, a car, and a man and woman. The woman sits writing and the man has a guitar in his lap and sits in front of a microphone. Some yellow stars and starburst drawings. Romantic Comedy in white and yellow gradient lettering.
IMAGE VIA BOOKSHOP

TBR List:

Favorite Bookstore:

Village Books in Dulwich — my husband proposed there!

Who would you have supply you with a lifetime of books?

Turn my house into a library! The dream!

Favorite book cover:

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

A white background with a border full of blue and black sketches. Sketches include the ocean, sunset, a skeleton, pills, a coin, flowers, a motorcycle, a birdhouse swarmed by birds, a toadstool, mining tools, a log with an axe, mushrooms, a mountain, a snake, a crown, a spider, a football, a pine tree, a boombox, an open book, butterflies, and a boy flying a kite. In the center, Demon Copperhead in copper colored lettering.
IMAGE VIA BOOKSHOP

Book you have claimed to have read that you didn’t:

The Book Thief! The shame! I don’t know why I did it.

When did you know you had made it as a Bookstagrammer?

I still don’t really believe I have, but when I got sent a copy of Elizabeth Strout’s new book Tell Me Everything — a book I’d already preordered because I love her books so much — I was like “Oh, ok, this is big!”

A pale yellow background. A branch with two yellow and black birds. Five yellow dots. Tell Me Everything in black lettering.
IMAGE VIA BOOKSHOP

Advice for aspiring Bookstagrammers:

Please do it! You’ll never look back! And there are so many wonderful people to help you along the way.

A thousand thank yous to Jess for letting us peek into her crazy, book-obsessed world! Be sure to follow Jess on her Instagram and check out her Goodreads to see if you can keep up with her TBR! Be sure to tune in next week to meet another amazing Bookstagrammer.

Click here to get to know another UK-based Bookstagrammer.

Find Jess’s favorite books and more on our Bookstagrammer Picks bookshelf on Bookshop.org.

INTERVIEW VIA BOOKSTR / SANJANA PATEL
FEATURED IMAGE VIA BOOKSTR / LINDSEY WELCH