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Weird Bookstagram: 25 Accounts that Admire Odd Vintage Books

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Ashley Holstrom

Staff Writer

Ashley Holstrom helps make books at Sourcebooks. She lives near Chicago with her cat named after Hemingway and her bookshelves organized by color. Newsletter: Crooked Reads. Twitter: @alholstrom.

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Look, y’all, Bookstagram has a weird layer beneath the beautiful, artful posts with perfect lighting. It mostly involves very old books, or donated books, or, most often, very old donated books. A bonus: These weird Bookstagram accounts often double as stores.

Also, please imagine with me: Wouldn’t it be great if you could smell this post? All those old books. Mmm.

So here are 25 weird Bookstagram accounts to follow to add some odd, vintage books into your feed. Because not everyone can have a perfectly curated book collection.

Awful Library Books

This one is honestly one of my favorite weird Bookstagram accounts to follow.

Bargain Bin Book Covers

When I grow up, I want to go to estate sales and photograph the weirdest books I find. WAIT, I COULD DO THAT NOW. Or just follow this account and live vicariously through it.

Black Pulp Fiction

From the bio: “Rethinking race, gender, and sexuality during the golden age of paperbacks.” I’m into it.

bookcvlt

Sometimes they post really cool old covers, and sometimes they post really weird old covers. Just the way I like my internet.

Collectible Sci-Fi

The best part of this weird Bookstagram is you can buy the weird, rare books. All sci-fi, all the time.

Cool Book Art

This is mostly weird sci-fi art, and it is WEIRD.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByfUMKVAIqy/

Cover Aesthetic

From the bio: “Handpicked books, aged to perfection.” Beautiful.

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Faith of Tarot by Piers Anthony, 1980. This is a 1982 reprint with cover art by Melvyn Grant. Continuing the theme of finding out what jobs authors had before going full time. Piers Anthony was in the US army and later a schoolteacher. Anthonys website maintains an extensive list of publishers and his dealings with them, or the dealings of people who have passed them onto him. This seems to have arisen from a series of legal disputes he's had over the years. In the course of writing this post, I also discovered that Piers has the distinction of having the shortest known published "Pangramatic window". That is to say a "a stretch of naturally occurring text that contains all the letters in the alphabet". Read 2004s 'Cube Route" to see if you can find it! . . . . #art #author #aesthetic #artistsoninstagram #book #books #authorsofinstagram #piersanthony #xanth #bookblogger #bookstagram #bookworm #booknerd #bookphotography #booklover #library #paperback #fantasy #tarot #hell #demon #secondhand #thriftstore #vintage #vintagebooks #oldbooks #scifi #sciencefiction #satanic #typography

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Cover Critiques

Reading and critiquing the covers of such classic series as The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley High, and more. What more could you want?

Donated Books

Y’all, this is simultaneously my favorite and least favorite account to follow on Instagram. The books are hilarious and scary and amazing all at once.

Forgotten Bookmarks

Forgotten Bookmarks is a more delightful slice of old books. The owner runs a used bookstore and collects the items he finds inside donated books. He even put together a book, Forgotten Bookmarks, showcasing the highlights of his collection.

Horror Finds

Spooky, weird horror books!

Joyland Books

I am here for all the bright, colorful backdrops this account uses to showcase weird, vintage books.

Odd Archive Vintage Paperbacks

More weird sci-fi, ahoy!

Paperback Goldmine

This weird Bookstagram really is a goldmine.

Paperback Paradise

This account is a used bookstore that shares the weirdest of the weird that they find.

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$1 #book

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Paperbacks from Hell

They’re creepy and they’re spooky, they’re…Paperbacks from Hell.

The Preserving Machine

“Highly strange books.” You got that right.

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Degrassi Talks Sexuality “The worst thing was going up to my mom and asking her for my first bra. It was so embarrassing.” “To be sexual, I think, is to celebrate life.” Kids talk to kids … about the joys and struggles of puberty … about wet dreams, first periods … about feeling attracted to the opposite sex, to the same sex. #degrassitalks #degrassitalkssexuality #degrassihigh #degrassijuniorhigh #thezits #sexeducation #puberty #90s #canadiana #spike #pride #teens #cbc #retroontario #drake #degrassithenextgeneration #canadiantelevision #aids #wetdreams #periods #trainingbra #usedbookstore #usedbooks #etsyseller #etsyshop #bookstagram #thepreservingmachine

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Retro Reads

According to the account bio, they’re digitally archiving and restoring retro young adult and middle grade fiction. Because we really need to preserve these gems.

Spooky Kids Books

Boo!

Vintage Book Love

This account is run by an English teacher and it’s just the best.

Vintage Book Nerd

SO many classic kids books here, and I love them all.

The Vintage Book Vault

Mostly horror and other spooky, old finds.

Vintage Covers

Old book covers with reimagined titles. Brilliant.

Weird Literature

I mean, it’s right there in the name.

Yearling Reads

Yearling Reads is a beautiful weird Bookstagram account with cute, old paperbacks.

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No Kiss for Mother by Tomi Ungerer * * * I recently found out that Tomi Ungerer passed away earlier this month. His work spanned generations and he is well known for his contributions to children’s literature, both as an illustrator and author. While perhaps he is best known for his illustrations of Flat Stanley, I will always remember him for this book. No Kiss for Mother is striking in both it’s simplicity and it’s message. It’s a short story of young boy who is trying so hard to grow up that he pushes his mother a little too far. Written in the early 70s, this book may feel a little dated in places, but I still love it- especially the beautiful illustrations. I recommend looking up Mr. Ungerer’s work if you haven’t had a chance to do so. His stories will make you laugh and smile, but might also make you think, which I believe is exactly what he wanted to do ❤️ . #tomiungerer #bookstagram #kidsbookstagram #kidsbooks #childrensbooks #childrensliterature #kidlit #dellyearling #dellyearlingbooks #bookaholic #bibliophile #bookcollector #bookcollection #booklove #bookworm #booknerd #igbooks #igreads #reading #currentlyreading #illustration #illustrator #bookcover #bookphotography #coverart

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Please, please @ us with more weird book accounts on Instagram. They’re our favorites.