#BelovedBooksProject: A Celebration of Well-Worn Books on Instagram
I love scrolling through bookstagram. Some people have book photographs down to a science: There’s a beautiful book with trinkets that are picking up elements of the cover placed around it just so, fairy lights twinkling in the background, and the lighting and framing is pristine. Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m looking at someone’s hobby or a professional ad. But as nice as those can be to look at, they set an impossible standard for most people. My books don’t look like that, I’ve never been able to perfect lighting, and I don’t have an expensive camera. So why even try? Clearly this is not a medium for me.
Recently, Meleika (@endlessyarning) brought up this barrier to entry in a twitter thread, where she said
I’ve become distant with Bookstagram recently bc it feels like You have to be rich to take photos. You have to have perfect books, no bends or scuffs. You gotta be white. Have ‘nice’ things in pics & thats honestly tiring for someone who’s poor. Like here in Aus. A PB is $20 a HB is $35 upwards. I’d rather old/used books tbh
She continues in the thread talking about how the mostly white, well-off community on bookstagram and other bookish internet spaces is alienating to people who don’t share their circumstances.
https://twitter.com/endlessyarning/status/855964137221902336
Out of this frustration, Meleika created the #BelovedBooksProject: a hashtag to showcase the well-loved, used (or library), “imperfect” books that don’t usually get the spotlight on bookstagram.
The results are amazing. While immaculate new hardcovers may look nice in photos, they don’t look… real. Or loved. These books look like they’ve been read and adored.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTcrqoqFHWf/
I think most book lovers have at least one book on their shelf that they have loved to pieces (sometimes literally). The Harry Potter series is a common one–childhood books rarely survive to adulthood in perfect condition.
I work at a used bookstore, so I’m biased, but I feel like worn books are more aesthetically pleasing. They suggest a history; they ask you to imagine the people who have turned those pages before you, and what the same words brought out in them.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTgEdL-FHw5/?tagged=belovedbooksproject
Go check out the #BelovedBooksProject tag on instagram to see more! And add your own used or library books to the conversation! Especially if you’ve felt like you don’t have the right camera, accessories, lighting, etc to participate in bookstagram before this. Here, I’ll go first: