A.k.a. Why the heck are you not following book trends, Liliana???
Okay, this draft has been staying here unfinished for almost 3 weeks already, and, of course, I could’ve finished it within like, 4 hours, but then, as you probably remember, weather changes hit hard on my health, so I took a break from hardcore brainstorming. But now that I’m back, let’s have another #bookwormproblems discussion!
This time, I will talk about following the mainstream.
What kind of mainstream I mean here? No, it’s not the mainstream on certain types of book photos, or trendy fiction genres. I’m talking about following the reader mainstream.
As you probably know it, the key of bookstagram/book blogging community is, of course, communication. But to communicate, you need some common topics, which we basically already have, but it’s not that easy. Sure you can blabber all you want about those books you read (and that’s actually the main point you started your bookstagram/book blog, right???), but you are still nonverbally obliged to follow newest book releases, if you don’t do that already.
In order to (more or less) flawlessly communicate with other bookstagrammers/book bloggers, you should at least know on new releases, following by forever multiplying your TBR pile, and then where are you gonna end up?
You’re gonna end up like me: tired from actually keeping up with new book releases, not being able to get through the existing pile of books that have been there waiting for you furrever, and eventually, losing all the interest in being a part of the community. Luckily, I still didn’t (and don’t even plan to!) end up at the last stage because I still love our bookish community for its friendliness.
I’ve been questioning myself: Is there even a point to keep up on a reading track with the rest of the book community?
Will I feel satisfied at seeing my bookstagram having pictures of the same books other bookstagrammers post because it’s currently trending? What’s gonna happen if I withdraw from this invisible race of following the trend?
Probably for the majority of bookish community it’s much easier to follow up with book updates and purchases, but for me, it’s always an inevitable latergram effect. Sure I can buy freshly released books from Amazon and other international online shops, but by the time I receive my package with that book, all that hype around it will slowly fade away.
Sure this case doesn’t apply to the upcoming release of A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, but it’s somehow torturing to see everyone talking about the book when you have to avoid spoilers at all mights, just because your copy hadn’t arrived yet.
And then, when you have books you want to talk about, chances it get noticed? I’d say lower than if you post about a currently trending release. I have to confess: it was a pure nightmare for me to see all ACOTAR/ACOMAF related bookstagram photos without actually knowing what those books are about and why there’s so much hype around them. I should add: it’s still hard because I only started reading ACOMAF.
I somehow was concerned if my Do The Talking: Russian books section would be of any interest to the others, but I received only the warmest response from followers, and that keeps me continue searching, reading, and ranting about books written in a language I dear so much.
Within this really short amount of time since I started my bookstagram, I understood that it’s completely impossible for me to follow up all those releases. One thing is you buy books upon having another extra money AND you can buy them anytime – just go to the bookstore next door! The other thing is you get your salary, you order books… and then you have to (im)patiently wait for another month (if not two) for your purchase to be delivered to your country that doesn’t seem to fancy following the mainstream as well. By the time you get the book, everyone already moved onto the next trend, and you feel like as if when Goodreads say you’re (insert number) books behind the schedule on your 2017 readathon.
As I currenly follow almost 300 other wonderful bookstagrammers, I could finally understand that it’s not even important to try to follow the reading mainstream. Because books will always be there for you, no matter when they were at their peak of hype. You can always pick them up and read, for your own satisfaction. It doesn’t matter if you’re way too late on reading/reviewing them, because you have to understand that nobody cares when you read that specific book. People have lives, and sometimes life can stand in your way to opening the story you wanted to get immersed in ever since it was announced/released/trended.
What I wanted to say with this post is: don’t be way too obsessed on trying to follow the book trends. I can say for sure: unless you’re Hermione Granger that can read a 400-page book a day, it’s impossible to keep up with that. Especially when you live in another country, and the speed of delivery can’t allow you to even make a foolish attempt.
So keep reading all those books you still have on your TBR pile, don’t overload your wishlist with way too many books (remember to frequently clean up your Goodreads to-read list!), don’t be afraid of being too late compared to the rest of the community, and most of all, don’t feel stressed over the whole bookstagramming/book blogging thing. It’s not why you started all of this, and it’s definitely not worth all your concerns. HAVE FUN.
Do you try to keep up with bookish updates? Have you ever had concerns about being behind the trend? What is your philosophy in general towards reading/being a part of bookish community?
Let me know what you think of this here in the comments section!
See you soon,
Liliana N Bookish Blog 
I think it often can be valuable not to follow the mainstream because you can set yourself apart that way. If everyone else is reviewing the same book, why would anyone have a reason to review your book rather than someone else’s? But if you are featuring more original content you have a better chance of gaining an audience.
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I agree with you Krysta. I actually think that there should be a reasonable ratio between reading and reviewing trendy books, and sticking to those less known you wanted to read. Plus original content, and that would become a very interesting blog to follow! That’s what I’m actually trying to do 😀
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Nice post! I get what you mean in that need to follow up with the hype. Unless it’s already a book I’m interested in, I don’t usually read trendy books. Probably because I don’t enjoy them as much because of the hype and expecting more and whatnot. Now, I probably read more quiet YA than anything! 😉
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I will also read trendy books IF and only if they’re appealing to me, otherwise I can freely skip it. But in terms of really wanting to read the trendy book/series, still comes the time obstacle that makes it impossible for me to follow up 🙂 And of course, I’m still reading those quiet stuff I’ve been wanting to for so long! /especially a long list of classics/
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