In what appears to be just a day, bookstagrammers have finally begun the potential Litsy craze. It’s an app that’s been under the radar for months, but now it’s become the new bookstagram. Designed like Instagram, it has features like “likes”, hashtags, comments, and tagging. However, it’s not exactly the same.
For one, posting isn’t just pictures. It can be a blurb, a review, or a quote. Which means there doesn’t even need to be a picture for a post to be made and creates posts similar to tweets on Twitter.
Next to the like and comment buttons, there’s a special stack button, which is similar to the Goodreads feature of adding books to to-read, reading, or have-read shelves. Every post has a specific book linked to it, so when a post has a book that interests you, you can hit that button and add it to one of your stacks. No more switching over to Goodreads every time you see a book you want to read!
Comments are kept separate from the activity feed for “likes” and stacking. This is helpful, since tagged comments can easily be missed beneath a sea of “likes” and then there’s that awkward moment when someone doesn’t respond to a comment you tagged them in. As well, there’s even a feature that lets you edit comments you’ve made, which wasn’t available on Instagram.
Then there is the important part, the reason why all of us are so frustrated with Instagram. No algorithm. Litsy even mentions this specifically, so we can count on them keeping our posts in chronological order. Finally, an app that listens to us!
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But it isn’t all perfect. Afterall, it’s a fairly new app. There are bound to be some bumps in the design or features that are still missing.
There’s no grid to view your photos. We all take pride in our themes, since it’s what draws in new followers and is pretty to look at (when we get it right). There have been a few debates on this. Should we have the grid pattern, or keep it the way it is so we don’t have to stress about themes anymore?
Then there are the comments, which, are formatted in a way that makes it difficult to easily skim over them. Regular comments show what the person is saying, but for comments where you are tagged in them (ex: @infinitbr) do not show the comment and instead say “[person] tagged you in a comment about [book]”. This might be just me, but I’d like being able to read what was said without having to click on the post!
Finally, the biggest change I’d like is the addition of DMs. I could never switch completely over the Litsy because of the many DM conversations I have on Instagram. Conversations are made easier on Litsy by having comments in a separate feed from other activity, but it would be most efficient to talk to other people in a chat-format like DMs.
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So, what do you love about Litsy, and what do you want changed? I’m hoping this post will encourage more of you to join those of us already on the app and post your own reviews to help improve their app!
Lou is a moonchild, someone rarely born in the magical world. Under precise circumstances, she was born from the sacrifice of her mother and raised by humans to have no memory of the magical world. She never felt as if she fit in with humans, and when she is taken away years later to train in the enchanters’ city, she faces her newly discovered home with little sadness.
As a moonchild, she has four versions of the major powers of earth, wind, fire, and air. This makes her more powerful than any of the enchanters with each only one power. However, her powers must be kept a secret, because the magical world has been waiting for thousands of years for a moonchild…since only a moonchild can find the Emerald Tablet, which holds the powers of the gods.
The beginning was slow because of world building, but once I pushed through it, I finished half of the book in just a day. The consistent action enthralled me, and the book even caught me unaware at one point with a plot twist. These days, that’s pretty hard to do since I’ve seen them all.
I found the overall idea of the story to be beautifully unique. We’ve all read a lot of books where the main character is born powerful or prized and they’ll end up saving the day blah blah blah…we’ve seen it all. I think people just like writing about it because we’ve all wished we could be that person- born naturally amazing. But what makes this one so different is that Lou spends her time training and with other (well developed) characters, instead of becoming famous or saving the world straight away. As well, there are also the details Contant writes into the story that make it so different.
A detail that shaped the entire story was the greek mythology threaded through it. Not only was there incredible imagery of mythical creatures, but also characters based around myths. Then there were the outfits, written about with careful thought that I could easily imagine. These details showed the author’s personality through her writing, and created a connection I can rarely find in books between the readers and the author. One last one I’ll mention…the enchanters lived off of sweets. I found that to be a cool little detail that brings to life the dreams of mostly everyone- eating their favorite junk foods with no side effects.
Now, what we’re all here for. The darkly sexy love interest *smirky smirk*. LORD BLACK! The romance between them was slow-building and flirtatious. This is the best type of romance because we want that satisfaction of our ship coming together, but we also need that time in between where the characters are so clueless of each other or hopelessly crushing. It’s just adorably frustrating. Also, he was completely evil, like many other characters we know and love. Warner, Rhysand, Draco…all characters from other books with this totally evil demeanor that stole the heart of the main character. Oops was that a Drarry reference?
When I tell people about little-known books I want them to read, this comes up in that list. Just because others haven’t read it doesn’t mean that it’s not worth your time or just as enjoyable. I’d recommend this to anyone interested in magical worlds, greek mythology, or maybe just some good old romance.
It doesn’t have to break your bank to be fancy with your bookstagramming! It’s been one year since I started my bookstagram, and I’ve slowly brought in more and more equipment to up my game. Sure, you can use your phone camera and natural lighting, but if you want your photos to be high quality and to use fancy camera tricks (will be doing another post on that 😉 ), then this is for you!
The Camera
You don’t need a high-end camera! The quality of your photos depends on your skills with the different settings, not on the thousands of dollars you spend on a camera. It doesn’t take much to learn the basic settings you need for effective bookstagramming, which I will detail in another post soon.
I use a Nikon D60, which is a 2008 model that I bought years ago. Now, it costs between $100-200 based on the seller you choose! You only need to buy the body if you’re planning to buy a lense.
Lenses
I use two lenses. One is a zoomable one for flaylays and my very first lens. It’s helpful for higher quality pictures with extra detail and zooms out far enough that I can easily do a flaylay without needing wings…or maybe a ladder…
The other lens is for my bokeh shots, since it has an apperture of f1.8 (meaning that it takes shots with very blurry backrounds that make my fairylights into pretty little circles) and is 50mm (which means that it’s not zoomable and any picture I take of a book will make the book appear much closer than it really was when I took the shot).
If you’re deciding between the lenses:
(uneditted except for top right)
I found the zoom lens here and f1.8 lens here on Amazon. The f1.8 is from the same seller I bought it from and includes a ton of accessories!
Studio Lights
This is my grand secret for being able to take pictures past midnight. I bought my lights for only $56 dollars and it’s my favorite investment. Any picture you see after December 2016 was not taken with any natural lighting! Plus, they’re easy to set up and reflect beautifully off of white sheets. No more worrying about awkward shadows or the sun going down before you get home from work or school! You can find them here.
Tripod and Remote
Invest in a tripod! They’re helpful for flatlays and shots that your body is in since we don’t all have a model on hand!
Also get a remote. This is used to connect wirelessly with your camera and take a photo without you needing to touch the camera.
I recieved both of these as gifts, but you can compare models on amazon.
I hope this helped you! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or DM me on my Instagram! Also give a like, share, and follow because it would encourage me to make more posts like this.
The title of this book is a warning. I became heartless afterwards.
Don’t get scared of it, though, even though I just told you about the inevitable pain. As readers, we learn to expect the books to completely destroy us, so how is this book any different? It’s just one more book that will make us cry so hard that we will eventually enter into a drought. Unless you’re like me- who already entered the drought a long time ago. I cried dust instead from the rubble of my heart.
My Summary:
Modeled after the Queen of Hearts from the book Alice in Wonderland, Catherine is the sweet daughter of the Marchioness and Marquess. She is pined over by the king, much to the delight of her parents. But even though she is a noblewoman, she wants to have nothing to do with titles or royalty because all she wants to do is start a bakery- the best in all of Hearts.
However, pressure keeps building between her, the king, and her parents as the king desperately wants her to be his wife and her parents want her happiness- to be rich and a ruler- or rather, what they think leads to her ultimate happiness. But Catherine only wants the feeling of dough molding between her fingers, the fine dust of flour upon her arms, and the warm heat from the oven.
As the time before the day the king asks for her hand starts to lessen, she can see no way out of it without disappointing her parents and embarrassing the king. What’s even worse is that there is another factor pulling her away from her parents’ wishes- the irresistible charm and mystery of the court joker.
My Review:
I screamed into my pillow several times while reading this book. Knowing the ending just made the ending so much worse because I knew that every action Catherine would take would eventually make her into the cruel Queen of Hearts. But also…knowing the ending made the ending more managable. If it had been unexpected, then I think my heart would have been shocked so hard that it truly turned to ashes.
I loved so many characters. The Mad Hatter (Hatta) and the Cheshire Cat were major characters, which made me so happy. For Hatta, his story was connected to Catherine’s because by the end, they had become their characters in Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts. The Mad Hatter wasn’t always mad- though aren’t we all just a little mad?- and it showed his character development. Another character that I loved was Jest… OH JEST! Fictional characters like him are my krytonite because I am constantly scared for their safety and my heart clenches every time they’re in danger. Jest was such a flirt, but not a dumb flirt, if you know what I mean. He was clever and funny and everything that makes up a fictional crush for me.
Then…there are the annoying characters. First of all, I’d like to mention THE most annoying character- Catherine’s mother. The Marchioness was so blind to Catherine’s happiness and made me want to say OFF WITH HER HEAD! Then there was the king, who I started to imagine as the king from Wreck It Ralph after @beaulitful mentioned it. He was exactly the opposite of Jest- old, plump, and with the brains of a toddler. I cringed every time he danced with Catherine (on tiptoes) or kissed her hand. Ew.
The book has a lot of underlying plots, like the constant attacks from the Jabberwock, a creature known to carry off people to eat and that was believed to be extinct. These details made the book action-packed and kept me wondering, even though I knew the ending. It proves that even when a book is spoiled for you, it’s still possible to read it and love it even if you know what will happen.
I was so scared to start this book, especially because of the dire warnings from my friends. They told me it would leave me heartless, and they were right. But it was worth it in the end because it perfectly explained how the Queen of Hearts came to be that way- from a sweet baker to a kill-crazy queen. My heart is gone but its empty cavern is happy that I read it.
Tegan Lockwood lives in England, settled in a village of snooty and rich neighbors who look down their noses at her and her family. Ever since her parents had bought Lockwood Manor, they have been deep in debt despite the shiny exterior of their home that screams riches. During the summer, Tegan spends long hours laboring keeping the family business alive, a vacation spot for tourists in her own home. Each summer, there is a constant stream of people in her home and she is used to it.
That is, until Mason Keane comes to live with them. He’s an American pop star, loved by his many 12-year-old fans, and Tegan despises him for his cocky attitude, repetitive songs, and long history of romances. But, like any unlikely pair, they find themselves drawn to each other, despite their outward differences, because they might not be that different at all.
Review:
I loved this book from start to finish and couldn’t bear to finish it. Think of it like tea- I sipped it, rather than shooting it down like a shot, and each page left me satisfied. Dallas’s writing is full of imagery and his characters are so well developed that I felt like I knew all the characters personally. I smiled at their successes and laughed at their humor. I even felt second-hand embarrassment, like when Mason caught Tegan staring at him working out (I would do it too, no one blames you girl).
The book synopsis sounds cliche- famous pop star falls in love with the one girl that isn’t his fan. But this book’s imagery, characters, and inside information on the music industry made it not at all the cliche book you would expect. Hidden away from his fans, Mason isn’t a popular singer and is just the raw and hurt person hidden inside. As you progress through the book, you see his painful history and his lonliness and he becomes just another person with a broken soul instead of a face on the front of magazines. Once Mason became a regular person, the differences between him and Tegan disappeared because of her own personal painful history- why she is distrustful of men and her secret hopes and desires.
Tegan and Mason are a perfect pair. They are both singers and songwriters, but one ended up famous and singing lyrics that aren’t even his own and the other hides away her songs. When Tegan finally started seeing Mason for who he was, a sweet guy with a sense of humor to rival her own, she started to cast away her barriers. The times when they sing together, I can almost feel the electric intensity between them and imagine the sound of their voices intermingling and the feel of Mason’s fingers under Tegan’s as she helps him play the piano. Sometimes in romance books, it feels like the romance was forced down our throats (*cough cough* Tamlin and Feyre from ACOTAR) by the author, but their love comes so smoothly and naturally as if they are soulmates. I particularly liked their “seduction battles” where they tried to seduce the other in public settings under the oblivious eyes of Tegan’s family. If they were real people, I wouldn’t even crush on Mason, no matter how hot he is, because I wouldn’t be able to bear the idea of him being with anyone else than Tegan. However, even in their perfection and chemistry (think the chemistry of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling), they are nearly pulled apart because of Tegan’s internal distrust of both Mason’s history as portrayed by the media and men in general.
I found the details about the music industry to be the most interesting. As a singer himself, Dallas Coryell has a lot of details that he put to use while describing Mason’s musical history. Mason is in debt, far more than Tegan’s family, despite what the public believes. His songs he writes are given to other artists who sing that type of music, while his boss gives him repetive pop music that apparently the teenage girls will love. Even his personality and attitude is changed in the sake of making teenage girls fall in love with him and bringing more money to the music industry. He is unhappy, unloved (the girls are only in love with the idea of him- his portrayed personality- but not the person he is inside), and he can remain that way if he only signs to work for them for 5 years and as a result signs away part of his life. However, he will be free of debt and have enough money to live on for the rest of his life. Facing a difficult desicion, he is sent to Lockwood Manor to hide away and contemplate.
Tegan’s family was a detail that made the book for me. I love books that give the main character’s history with their family and connects the reader with the family. There is her rambunctuous sister who has a history of trading pranks with Tegan, part of their close relationship. Then there are her brothers, her “wanker” (“” because Mason called him this with a fake British accent and it cracked me up) brother Noah and her much less wankerish brother Joseph. Then, there are her parents, who are fulfilling their dream with their business, but live in fear of losing it.
There is one last detail that I would like to mention- letters that Tegan found in her home’s attic between Violet and Jonathon. Violet, who had to marry another man instead of her true love Jonathon, and Jonathon, who went to war while still pining over his lover. These letters are the extent of Tegan’s love life, and although they aren’t incredibly important to the storyline, they, with other details, add a special touch to the book that doesn’t leave any boring moments.
You may be tired of cliche books, but this is not your typical one. Even the ending is unexpected for a seemingly cliche book. It is a love story, one full of breaking past barriers and past pains. The fact that Mason is famous only adds to his personality instead of making it a major part of the story. I challenge you to get rid of your fear of cliche books and dive into this one.
Thank you to Dallas Coryell for sending me his book! This does not at all impact my obsession with this book or any opinions I have.
Fun Fact: all of the songs by Mason and Tegan in this book are sung by Dallas Coryell. You can find the song “Into You” here.
Now I haven’t met enough authors yet, but I’ve had some pretty strange experiences that I still laugh about! Is it weird for me to say that I have crushes on authors? That sounds so strange, but what I mean is nonromantic crushes and more like dayumn-i-want-to-be-them and can-we-please-be-friends crushes.
Erin Hunter – author of the Warriors series
(hers is the least pretty of the signatures just saaaying)
This is my most prized autograph, both for the story behind it and the fact that it was my very first author autograph. The book is from the Warriors series, a 30-book (even longer now) series that I was absolutely in love with. It was my favorite book from the series, and I have to treat it with caution now because the cover is barely hanging on and the pages are yellowed from constant flipping. I must’ve read the book at the very least ten times.
The series is in the point of view of cats who are divided into four clans. They are constantly fighting, gory deaths (some of the worst fictional deaths for cat lady me) in every book. Even though the books had torn apart my heart, I kept reading. Clearly these were the books that made me nearly immune to fictional deaths.
I was so excited to meet Erin Hunter (though little did I know, Erin Hunter was actually 6 women) and with this book and several others in tow, I went to listen to her talk. One of the first things she said was…I actually don’t like cats. WHAT?! If minds could literally be blown, mine would be in pieces. I have a strong suspicion that she’s the one who encouraged all of my favorite cats to die. As a cat hater, she had too much power…
I totally copied Sasha Alsberg (because she is bookaholic goals, let’s be honest) with the autograph on the outside cover. Zusak outlined the cover 😍
I totally expected him to be awkward. His writing is just so perfect, and he can’t be perfect in every way, right? Wrong.
If his accent was a person, I would marry it. Instantly. Combined with his humor and story-telling, I could listen to his voice for my entire life. I don’t need music anymore with his voice in the world. This is exactly why I fell in love with all of the Harry Potter characters! Accents just get to me. I CAN’T HELP IT!
He said that he never expected The Book Thief to be popular and that it took years for it to be published! In the beginning, he read his book to a person in a library (telling this from memory so could be a little different) and they fell asleep while he was telling it. If that’s not inspirational for us struggling writers, I don’t know what is!
THE SIGNATURE LOOKS LIKE BEAUTIFUL GRAFFITI ON MY BOOK! goals goals goals goals I need to stop saying goals!! But what author here ISN’T GOALS?! (oh except for Hunter because she is a cat-hater 😂 I do have priorities, you know)
I didn’t get much of her talk because of a family in front of me (yes, those people. We all know them). The little girl kept singing and glaring at me like I had stabbed her teddy bear repeatedly. It’s hard to concentrate when a child is directing all of the hatred such a tiny human can have directly at you. I didn’t even do anything…I love children! (I sound like I’m responding to the police- “I swear I didn’t kill her teddy bear!”)
I remember from it that Sabaa is incredibly beautiful! She was so nice and funny (tip for writers: eat a lot of chocolate and you can write like her. Sort of. Easy, right?!).
His smily faces are so cute. Mine usually look confused
He seemed like the type of guy you could easily be friends with. I met him this year when I was halfway through his book. I know, I know, I’m horrible for not finishing it! I finished it that night, okay? 😅 When he learned I hadn’t finished it, he didn’t mention any spoilers without telling me to cover my ears. Completely awkward for shy me, but worth it because it turned out there was a huge plot twist at the end (I started screaming when I got to that part and instantly commented on his Instagram page thanking him for not spoiling it for me 😂)!
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I highly recommend all of these books and authors (yes, even the cat-hating one)!
I’ve been reading since I was a fetus, which is probably why I cried when I was born! Because no one interrupts my reading with no small amount of anger and internal crying from me! Well, that may possibly be an exaggeration. But it feels that way! I first read Jack and Annie and the Magic Treehouse, but quickly moved up to YA with Alanna the Lioness when I was eight.
How do you gain loyal followers?
To me, loyal followers mean my best friends on Bookstagram. The important thing is to reach out to people! All of us love to talk about books and fangirl so just try DMing someone who has similar interests! Or if you have no idea who to DM, send me a message, haha!
As for gaining followers, it is important to be and stay active. This means following back a lot of people in the beginning of your account and liking and commenting on their photos. Also, you should post at least once a day (the best time is 5pm EST) and respond to comments on there! When I decide whether to follow an account I base it off of 2 things. Are their pictures pretty? Do they respond to comments from people? Also be sure to use hashtags! Both put them on your pictures and like pictures on them.
If you had to live in any fictional world, which would you choose?
I have two here because I have issues with choices (give me more than three choices and you’ll be waiting forever).
1. The Night Court from A Court of Mist and Fury because RHYSand!! Need I say more? Oh and the fact that it is the most protected city ever. Although I admire badass book characters, I’m not going to be defending the city or saving the world.
2. Hogwarts! Again, need I say more?! MAGIC!!
What are your top favorite books?
ACOMAF (A Court of Mist and Fury). ACOMAF. ACOMAF. ACOMAF. Annndd.. ACOMAF! Okay, fine. I will try not to be too much of an ACOMAF fangirl. Here is my list:
1. ACOMAF- surprise surprise! You never could have guessed! I am so obsessed with this book for two reasons. First, there is Rhysand, who is a cinnamon bun in the form of a haughty territorial Fae male who can crush your mind with just a thought. Really charming, I know. Second, Feyre goes from tiny little insignificant human to badass and that gives me a lot of hope because the most badass thing I have done is read ACOMAF in one day…I know, you should be afraid of my reading skills.
2. Empire of Storms…I haven’t read it yet but you know I have to reserve a spot for it!
3. Cress! There are so many cute moments between Cress and Thorne (my favorite couple of the series) and they gave me so many feeeels! Thorne is so flirtatious when really he is a cinnamon bun inside like Rhysand (are you also starting to see a pattern here?). Also I just generally love The Lunar Chronicles because it is so unique and well thought out!
4. I’ll Give You the Sun is the cutest realistic fiction you will ever read. The imagery and exaggerations are so unique to this book. And of course Noah and Brian are aDORAble!!!
5. Alanna the Lioness. I could give a ton of other books this spot but Alanna the Lioness meant so so much to me when I was younger! It is the book that made me start reading a ton more and trying to write my own books!
What is your favorite Bookstagram account?
They are all so unique that I can’t choose! But here are the top three most creative ones: seelieknight, xenatine, and highladyreads
Do you read in public places?
If you ever see me reading in public, stay. away. I cannot gauruntee that I won’t throw my book into your face if you distract me. Then I will cry and blame you if my book is at all damaged. Just fair warning. 🙂 But really, I hate it so much when people try to talk to me while reading! Like excuse you I am busy defeating Voldemort and kissing Rhysand. I didn’t ask you to interrupt, mortal.
Do you use bookmarks or dogear the pages?
Neither. And I consider dogearing pages a crime! That crease will be there forever because of YOU! What did the book ever do to you to warrant such abuse?! Now you are probably wondering what I do…basically I shut my book and memorize the page number. 100% of the time I then forget it so I spend several minutes cursing myself as I flip through the book to find my spot.
Do you relate some books to certain songs?
Every time I read the title of Since You’ve Been Gone I immediately start singing mentally, “SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GO-ONEEE!” from “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson. Go look up the song and listen to it and you will never be able to read that title the same way ever again. You’re welcome. 😉
If I can’t touch my toes, how am I supposed to hold my camera above my feet while making the picture look pretty?! That’s some gynastics-yoga-ninja stuff right there.
the closest I’ve ever gotten to a sock sunday
When did you decide you wanted to be Jaylin‘s bestie? (curtesy of Jaylin)
Um. Obviously since the day I met her on Bookstagram! I knew instantly when I met her because she’s “hilarious and amazing” – Jaylin . Or maybe it was because we bonded over Book Outlet, the heaven for bookworms that I basically screamed in caps to her about. Haha!
What are your tips on pictures?
First of all, NATURAL LIGHTING!! This is your best friend in taking pictures! I recommend sticking a white posterboard or wood slab in front of a window and taking pictures on that!
Second, props! Fake flowers somehow are loved by us readers, maybe because we are all secretly old ladies in our hearts, and fairy lights are an electric magic. It looks like Tinkerbell hopped all over my feed lately, really.
Tinkerbell flew around my feed
Third, editing! I use Ribbet to edit my photos and bought the premium version so I have even more options! The free version is still very helpful though! I recommend increasing the brightness and adding more shadows. Also, decreasing the saturation gives your photos a pastel look!
Do you have a genre you read the most?
This would definitely be Fantasy! I love being badass characters while I am laying in bed so I feel like I am actually accomplishing something. Also, I love that Fantasy is so different from real life!
infinitbr 