Howdy world! We’re back with another Bookstagrammer of the Week to quench your thirst for new bookish accounts to follow! Now, it is Black History Month, so we’re featuring Black Bookstagrammers who we just can’t get out of our heads. This week, our fantastical outreach team was able to get in contact with Naomie of @naesreadingnook, so we can talk about all things bookish! If you want to talk about impressive women though, Naomie should be someone you mention! Let’s get into this interview, so you can meet our Bookstagrammer of the Week!
Naomie Matilus
Bookstagram | Goodreads | Pango Books
If you aren’t familiar with our Bookstagrammer of the Week content, let me give you the low down. Every week we reach out to a different Bookstagram account to talk to the owner about all things bookish. Sometimes, we’ll gear our questions toward a specific idea or theme that we’re following for that month.
As February is Black History Month, what are some books that you recommend us to read?
This month (and any month), I am encouraging everyone to read Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan, Yellow Wife and The House of Eve (publishing 2/7/23) by Sadeqa Johnson, Don’t Cry For Me by Dr. Daniel Black, and The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West. These stories are beautiful and they need to be read!
Sometimes our readers are just looking to diversify their bookshelves and times like Black History Month give a wider range of authors more room to create content. Publishers are pushing Black authors like never before, especially with all the conflict in our world today.
Why is it important to you to highlight Black voiced narratives?
When I was a little girl, the majority of the books available to me in school or libraries were written by White authors. I am proud of the work that is being done as we are seeing phenomenal books being published by talented Black authors and their stories should be shared!
Having a platform–like @naesreadingnook–allows you the opportunity to show a light on books and authors that you think deserve it.
What initially inspired you to start your Bookstagram account?
At the end of 2021, I started reading again and remembered how much I loved getting lost in a good book. I noticed that there were these “special accounts” on Instagram that featured books and books alone, I was in heaven and my TBR was filling up faster than I thought it could. A close friend of mine had just created one and she and my sister encouraged me to create my own account.
Those “special accounts” have provided a lot for the bookish community! It allows users the opportunity to find their people and a place in the world. Another thing they offer is a chance to make an impact on your community–in our case, the bookish one!
That being said, what do you hope to one day see more of within Black literature?
I hope to see more opportunities for more Black voices. I hope to see publishers providing Black readers with the opportunity to read those stories first. I hope to read from some new Haitian authors too; our stories need to be told!
Now, we’ve talked about what books you’d recommend to us so that we can start to diversify our bookshelves. Another way that we can do this is through shopping certain authors–and subsequently, whatever authors those authors recommend.
Who are some of your favorite Black authors?
I am a huge fan of Sadeqa Johnson, Dr. Daniel Black, Mike Gayle, Ibi Zoboi, Vanessa Miller, Kennedy Ryan, Joya Goffney, Leesa Cross-Smith, and Denise Williams! I will blindly purchase anything they publish!
You posted a lot of content last year! According to your Goodreads account, you read over 250 books, which is mighty impressive!
Have you created any reading goals for yourself this year?
Last year I read about 278 books. My goal is to read at least 188 books, but no pressure. I am also making sure that if I don’t like a book, I promise myself to put it down and find something else that moves me; there are so many good books out here!
Unfortunately, our time with Naomie is coming to a close. Thankfully, the Internet is pretty cool and you can follow Naomie on Instagram to catch all of her bookish content at the touch of your fingertips!
Now, Naomie–tell us a fun fact about yourself to send us off with!
I honestly never know how to answer this question. Lol, two summers ago I won a sweepstake [contest] with Smirnoff for $7K and a free yacht party with Tyler Cameron from The Bachelor. I got to bring friends along and they picked us up in a free party bus! Funny thing is, I had no idea who he was, but we had so much fun!
Be sure to head on over to our Instagram–@bookstrofficial–to see Naomie’s feature that our amazing graphics department was able to create for her! And make sure to follow Naomie on Instagram as well, she’s always posting the best pictures and being honest with her reading!
Want more Bookstagrammer of the Week content from me? Check out last week’s feature here!