Dear Bookstagram: creators who inspire
A love letter to my favorite newsletters, podcasts and instagram accounts
In early 2020, I was burnt out. I had an infant, a toddler and high stress job that required regular 5am calls and frequent trips around the world. Not to be too predictable but then the world shut down and suddenly I had the first two but not the third. For the first time in years, I was not constantly jumping time zones or getting up at ungodly hours for flights. My circadian rhythm breathed a sigh of relief while I panicked - what to do with so much time at home? Would I take up baking? Cross stitch? I still needed some form of escape and hobby to get me through and maintain my sanity with all those diapers and endless hours of child minding in between work calls.
I decided to return to my roots and pick up reading again, a habit that had largely fallen to the wayside in the years leading up to the pandemic, though I’m not sure I realized it until I had time to stop and look around.
The San Francisco Public Library set up an incredibly efficient system that allowed me to reserve books online and pick them up outside at the Main Library with minimal human contact. Those Sunday morning trips became a ritual the whole family looked forward to as there’s a great playground across the street and a coffee window nearby. It was often the only trip outside our yard we’d made in several days. These weekly visits are some of the fondest memories I have of that tumultuous year.
Preordering was a shift from in-person browsing that required me to be a bit more intentional about selecting titles to read. I began by scrolling through instagram, as one does when one is in need of inspiration, and I was immediately overwhelmed with recommendations. So many accounts dedicated to books! So little time! As an organizational nerd, the first thing I did was build an excel sheet to track the recommendations that I found interesting.
In the years since, I’ve curated a really solid list of podcasts, newsletters and Bookstagrammers whose recommendations are diverse, interesting and trusted. My general rule is to avoid those who recommend only popular books (don’t even get me started on Lessons in Chemistry!) and seek out those with different views on life.
For today’s newsletter, I’m super excited to share some of favorite creators who continue to inspire me and provide an endless list of recommendations that keep my TBR stacked. Don’t forget to comment with your favorite places to find book recommendations!
One More Chapter Pod: I first met ClareBelleCWB back when we both lived in NYC during the nascent fashion blogging days (lots of large belts and costume jewelry). Recently, we’ve traded occasional book recommendations back and forth via DM and I always find her thoughts to be interesting and insightful. So I was THRILLED when she and Clara of
started a podcast. I adore their nuanced take on popular works (thankfully their opinions are in line with mine in Lessons in Chemistry). They both also make hilarious content on their respective Instagrams. Come for the books, stay for the sharp wit and keen cultural critique.
ReadwithNicole_: Based in the UK, I have laughed out loud at several books that Nicole has recommended. I love her unexpected topic groupings such as “what the f*ck did I just read?” and “books under 150 pages.” I frequently find recommendations on her page that I’ve never heard of before which is refreshing since Bookstagram can be a bit of an echo chamber at times. She offers great titles in translation as well.
CraftCookReadRepeat podcast: Full disclosure - one of the hosts of this podcast is a family member (Hi Cortney!) and I’ve had the honor of being a guest of this wonderful podcast. What I think works great is that the two hosts have very different reading genre preferences so there’s something for everyone with their recommendations. They also talk about their art/knitting projects and recipes they’ve tried and loved recently. Their show notes are immaculate and so easy to pop around to the different sections and find the book titles and authors they discuss.
Surabhi.reading: Surabhi’s bio states that she’s interested in books about race, environment, rural studies, Asian American studies and the American west. How can her reading list NOT be super interesting with such wide and vast interests? Surahbi is also a co-author of an amazing list of 102 best books of 2024 in response to the lackluster list released by the NYTimes.
Same Page SF (newsletter): Created by a San Francisco local, the author curates book-related happenings in the Bay Area and highlights local bookstores. I highly recommend the paid option to also see the author’s book recommendations!
Thank you for including Strong Sense of Place in your post. I'm SO happy you've been enjoying the show and adding books to your TBR.
And this is an awesome list! Looking forward to listening to the One More Chapter podcast. Thank you for that!
You wrote, 'My general rule is to avoid those who recommend only popular books...' I feel this! Sometimes it seems like everyone is reading the same book at the same time, which can be kinda fun — but as you know from our show, we're always on the hunt for the hidden gems. Good to know you like those, too!