Interview with the Bookfluencer: @shanayahreads

Interview with the Bookfluencer: @shanayahreads

You might be asking, what on earth is a Bookfluencer? Easy answer: they’re book lovers that share their love for books on social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.ㅤ

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Hey Shanayah, thank you so much for being here! Let's start with a classic question: what started your love for reading?

I’ve been a reader since I was little, I picked up a book in kindy and have been reading ever since! I also had some incredible libraries in the schools I attended growing up, which definitely contributed to my love for reading too. My family moved to a new country when I was around 10 and it was hard to make friends, but I always had my beloved books to keep my company!

So you were pretty much born reading! We can imagine how hard it is to move around, but thank goodness the books were there for you.

What’s your genre of choice when it comes to reading?

Fantasy! I adore new magical worlds, mythical creatures and magic.

There are so many fun tropes within that genre, do you have any favourites?

Enemies-to-lovers, there’s only one bed and found family!

The best tropes! What about your favourite authors... or best fantasy books that you would recommend?

Rick Riordan - I grew up with his Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Kane Chronicles and Heroes of Olympus series. I absolutely loved them, and I remember growing up with the books, and the excitement I felt each publication day for every new book he had coming out. I’ve re-read them countless times, and it’s only grown my love for his books and for Greek mythology! Rick Riordan’s books have helped shape me as a person - each character is flawed, but still has incredible character growth and complex personalities.

So obviously, we chose to interview you because we are obsessed with your page and we just HAVE to know: where do you draw your inspiration from to create content?

I started my page back in 2016, where it [Bookstagram] was still quite new and I didn’t really know what style I wanted to go with. I felt like my original style didn’t really suit me, so when I returned to blogging this year after a bit of a break, I drew inspiration from comfort - my bed where I enjoy reading, hot cups of hot chocolate, and pretty paper roses that I loved making. I love taking photos of my pretty books, and sharing little bits of my mini-library that way! I love using photo challenges and tags to help generate creative photo ideas too if I get stuck on anything.

That’s so awesome. Do you think that your platform has changed your perspective on books in any way?

Absolutely!! There’s such a wide, diverse range of bookworms that I’ve connected with - a lot of them have helped educate me better on social etiquette, what may or may not be offensive to particular minority groups, what authors are problematic and to generally be more conscious of what I’m reading, and what I choose to share with my audience. Being more educated means that I’m able to read the books I wish, but also knowing and understanding certain aspects may be quite harmful to certain people to acknowledge that and push for change and awareness.

There's always so much to learn, no matter what we're doing! What are your top tips for anyone who wants to start a Bookstagram?

Just go for it!! I spent ages debating whether I should do it or not, and I would just recommend giving it a go - it’s your platform, don’t be concerned with the numbers or how you’re performing against others, let your passion shine through and you’ll find some wonderful people within the community :)

Great tips! Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this interview. We’re so happy to get to know you a little bit more!

Thank you so much! ❤️

Find Shanayah on Instagram.

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