Books, college, and a whole lotta T. Swift are the vibes you should be picking up from Alexis of @fromthelibraryofalexis, our Bookstagrammer of the Week here at Bookstr! She’s getting stuck in our teeth like cotton candy with her saccharine sweet Insta feed. This week, we talked with Alexis about her Bookstagram account, getting the low down on all the things you’re curious about. Let’s get to know @fromthelibraryofalexis a bit more!
Interview is edited for ease of reading for our audience.
@fromthelibraryofalexis
Bookstagram | Blog | Twitter | TikTok | YouTube
Where are you from? I’m from Ohio! I’ve lived here my whole life, and I hope that someday I can explore more of the world.
What’s a fun fact about you? Books aren’t the only thing I collect! I also love having tons of mugs, candles, and Taylor Swift merchandise. Oh, and, I never learned to ride a bike!
Where’s your favorite place to buy books? At the moment, it’s Half Price Books! There’s a location about 30 minutes from my house, and I recently started going… and oh my gosh! The selection is incredible, and the prices are great.
Let’s delve deeper into the psyche of Alexis by asking seemingly random questions that can be very telling of a person!
We all know I judge books by their covers, so what’s your favorite book cover? The people behind the covers of Emma Lord’s books are so talented! I love the covers for all three of her books.
Speaking of our favorite book covers, do you happen to have any favorite books or authors? When it comes to YA contemporary, I love anything from Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka! I’m also constantly raving about Tweet Cute by Emma Lord and Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon. For YA fantasy, Fireborne by Rosaria Munda, and for YA thriller, it’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson and The Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan by Gia Cribbs!
Everyone’s got their favorite fandoms; which ones do you just absolutely love to be a part of? The Good Place fandom, Percy Jackson fandom, and the YA contemporary fandom.
Sometimes we as book readers fib about which books we’ve read to fit in with the crowd. What books have you claimed to read that you actually didn’t? None that I can think of!
Perhaps the most telling question of all, if you could have someone supply you with a lifetime of books, who would you choose to be your supplier? I think I’d have to choose a few of my favorite bookstagrammers! Jordan (@theheartofabookblogger), Tiffany (@readbytiffany), and Caryn (@iam.caryn) are my favorite accounts for book recommendations. If I could trust anyone to supply me with a lifetime of books, it would be them!
Down to the nitty gritty, what you’re all really here for. We talked with Alexis about her Bookstagram page (obvi), and she gave us a little background. Why did you first start your Bookstagram, @fromthelibraryofalexis? In 2017 I first discovered BookTube, and I was instantly infatuated with the online book community! However, after several attempts there, I, unfortunately, discovered that video making was not for me. So, I ended up joining Bookstagram in October 2017 because I wanted my own space to talk about books and make friends within the community.
Everyone has their own theme that they follow; I’ve mentioned that you’re really living the Elle Woods fantasy at the moment! But how would you describe your Bookstagram aesthetic or page theme? Currently, my aesthetic is focused on bright photos with a focus on the color pink! I love changing up my style, and I have a few ideas for my next aesthetic in the works. If you look back on my account, you can see that my old theme included lots of green and fake pumpkins!
We know that running a big social media account can be taxing at times, but you make it look easy! Do you have a special approach to your content at all? When I first started my account, I used to take huge batches of photos daily and posted all the time. Now, the idea of doing that seems so daunting. My approach right now is to take a large batch of photos 1-2 times a month. I try to maintain a specific aesthetic while incorporating different props and genres!
Based on your approach and way you capture photos, and the fact that you’re a sophomore in college, how often do you end up posting? Right now, it totally depends. I used to post daily, but I found that forcing myself to post every day took the fun out of Bookstagram. I began to treat my account like a chore, and it severely impacted my mental health. Right now, I aim to post every 2-3 days as I see fit! This change in schedule has been beneficial to me and also given me more time to focus on creating content I love across my platforms.
But wait, before we continue with the serious questions, here’s a really intense one. And this might make or break us being friends, Alexis! Who are your fictional crushes? A few of my fictional crushes would be Owen Okita (Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka), Frank Porter (Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson), and Duck (Fireborne by Rosaria Munda).
Be honest, we all fall into fan culture. Which authors who you just die to take a selfie with? I’m so lucky to say that I have already taken a selfie with several of my favorite authors (I met Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka in 2019), but I would also do anything to get a picture with Rosaria Munda or Rachel Lynn Solomon!
Personally, my TBR (physical and on my Goodreads) is typically ignored. What’s on your TBR at the moment? Normally I’m a huge mood reader. However, over the last couple months, I’ve been challenging myself to set a monthly tbr to help me stay on track for my yearly reading goal! During the next few upcoming months, I really want to read: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano, See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon, These Deadly Games by Diana Urban
It’s time to get sappy, Alexis. A lot of people want to make a mark on the world, have a lasting impact, if you will. Of course, this doesn’t include everyone, but what do you want your Bookstagram to bring to the world? I want my Bookstagram account to encourage people to read the books that make them happy. As a reader, I’ve been told by my peers that genres like romance or YA contemporary are inferior, and I don’t agree! I want my account to be a safe space for people to talk about books of any genre and to not feel less than for what they enjoy reading.
If you agree with Alexis that romance and YA contemporary aren’t inferior genres, click here!
Having a platform like Bookstagram isn’t entirely about the masses. So, what does your Bookstagram mean to you? Since I joined Bookstagram, I can’t imagine living without it! Bookstagram is my safe space. I have received so much love and support from the incredible community here, and I don’t know who I would be without it. I am so eternally grateful for Bookstagram and all that it has given me. I’ve been able to connect with my favorite authors, work with publishers, and make a circle of friends who mean the world to me.
When did you know that you had made it as a Bookstagrammer? The first time that I ever had this feeling was back in 2019. That summer, PenguinTeen reached out to me to participate in the cover reveal for Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, and I was so thrilled! It was one of my first experiences working with a publisher, and I will never forget that feeling of pure happiness and excitement.
Now you’ve mentioned that you love the community that you found on Bookstagram, and I know it’s hard, but if you had to choose (!) do you have any favorite fellow Bookstagrammers?
Honestly, there are so many. The Bookstagram community is so lovely, and I’m so glad to have found many inspiring friends through it! Here’s a few Bookstagrammers that came to mind for this question:
Tiffany @readbytiffany
Caryn @iam.caryn
Kat @pretty_little_library
Jordan @theheartofabookblogger
Allison @universewithinpages
Jozi @thatbookishbaker
Stephanie @theespressoedition
Any additional bookishness that you want our audience to know about you? Aside from Bookstagram, you can find me on my blog! I recently launched my new site, and I’m loving it.
And as a final sign-off, do you have any advice for aspiring Bookstagrammers? My biggest piece of advice is to just go for it! Start your account and focus on having fun rather than your photos/account being perfect. I spent months agonizing that I couldn’t have a Bookstagram because my photos and captions weren’t perfect, and now I wish I had just started earlier and taken the jump! The community is so warm and welcoming, and will be so happy to have you in it.
We had a blast talking with our Bookstagrammer of the Week, Alexis! For more Bookstagrammer of the Week articles, click here!