Our Reading Lives

On Bookish Social Media

Jaime Herndon

Contributor

Jaime Herndon finished her MFA in nonfiction writing at Columbia, after leaving a life of psychosocial oncology and maternal-child health work. She is a writer, editor, and book reviewer who drinks way too much coffee. She is a new-ish mom, so the coffee comes in extra handy. Twitter: @IvyTarHeelJaime

girl sitting with a cell phone and books

I admit it – I’m a bit obsessed with social media. I check my phone entirely too often, and after I wake up in the morning, I check Facebook and Twitter from my phone, and then my emails, and then Instagram. You know, in case some breaking news happened while I was sleeping. I don’t like that I’ve become so conscious of social media, but I guess that’s normal these days, when you look around in a restaurant, subway car, doctor’s office waiting room, or Starbucks, and everyone’s checking their phones.

I’ve been a fan of Goodreads for a while, and yes, the app has been on my phone. Recently, a friend told me about the new app Litsy, which is similar to Goodreads, but not really. It’s more like a mash-up of Facebook and Instagram, but literary. It’s also a bit more confusing, in my opinion. I don’t quite understand it all just yet, and it’s harder to find people you know.

I like Goodreads because of the reading challenge, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment each time I finish a book and log it in. Silly, I know – but sometimes, it’s the little things. For an anxious Type-A personality like myself, it’s also a reminder/kick in the butt to up my reading, depending on how my yearly challenge is going. I’ve only been on Litsy for a few weeks, and it’s slow-going. But that hasn’t stopped me from getting anxiety over it. You know – that feeling of where is everyone I know? Why aren’t people following me? Am I doing this right? How do I increase my litfluence? And of course, the irony of the whole thing is that all these literary social media apps are distracting me from the real task of ACTUALLY READING BOOKS.

Are any of you on Litsy? What are your favorite literary apps? (And for the record, my Litsy name is Jaime13).