I know how exhausting it can be to think up new post ideas every day. And if you want to grow on Instagram you have to post every. single. day! Thankfully Bookstagram is about so much more than reviews. So, if like most people, you can’t read a book and post a review within 24 hours, you’re in luck, below are 29 brilliant Bookstagram ideas to keep your feed a celebration of books and reading.

1. TBR – why not start with the eternal to be read stack. I have well over 30 books waiting to be read housed on my book trolley. Occasionally I’ll post a picture of my trolley, but more regularly I’ll share some of the books from it. You can create stacks, or a few laid out on a bed/floor or even a huge mountain of books to highlight your current state of mind reading ambitions for the foreseeable future. There’s so much fun to be had with a TBR pile, and also interesting conversations about reading/buying habits which lots of readers can relate to.

2. New Books – Whenever I pick up new books or I’m sent book mail, I feel obliged to share it with my fellow readers. I love to know what people are reading and why they’ve picked up a particular book. I also love book mail posts to see what’s new in the publishing world or if a particular author I love has a new book coming out.

3. Library Books – I’ve decided that this year I will be sing my local library much more than in previous years. There’s so much potential for content here, you can create reels on the whole trip, showcase your favourite part of the library, highlight any promotions or national reading initiatives they are partaking in i.e. Black History Month in October, Women’s History Month and World Book Day in March and Reading Well, an initiative that supports health and well being, there is an endless potential here, and if any of it aligns with your own interests than you have content gold. I also think its important to highlight libraries and access to free books as it feels more egalitarian than constantly showing off swanky coffee shops.

4. Currently reading – This one is simple and can be posted as regularly as you switch books. There are some great reel audios, with simple video ideas, to go along with this theme if you are reluctant about reels or it works well as a post. Tell us what your reading and how you feel about it so far. Browsing peoples current reads is usually how I end up with my own TBR pile!

5. Favourite author – It’s always nice to learn more about each others reading habits and this is an easy post where you share who your favourite author is and a little about why. You can share all the books you own by said author, a picture of the books in your local library, share a new release or post a picture of one of their older books. If the author is on Instagram you might even be able to tag them and hopefully get a response. Total fan girl moment when that happens, I can tell you!

6. Tea and books – Bookstagram loves a hot beverage pic! And it turns out cola is a great substitute for an actual black coffee! Post a picture of a book in any proximity to a drink and its bound to get likes. I don’t know the science behind it, because personally all my hot drinks become lukewarm when I decide to have them with a book, and it annoys me, but that doesn’t stop me from curating this look as it’s always a winner. By the time you get to drink your poison, after taking 2659 pictures, its freezing cold, but at least you posted on the gram!

7. Boostacks – Every month will see a new bookstack for a cause post, and I personally think its a lovely way to connect reading with something bigger in the world. You don’t have to take part in these, but its a great way to connect and build a community. If you’d just like to show off a stack, and why not, you can get as creative as you like. Colour blocking is a firm favourite (yellow stack, blue stack etc) but you can also do themes such as, books by women in translation, Palestinian books, books on nature, recent library books… the potential is endless.

8. Shelfie – Who doesn’t love a good old shelfie? Showcase your bookshelves in all their glory, let the spines and the shelves take a moment to be appreciated and bask in the glory and beauty of your shelving units housing your wonderful companions. If you want you can also feature in these pictures, show yourself picking a book or make a reel of yourself sorting your collection. We love to know how each of us organises, or doesn’t in my case, our beloved bookshelves.

9. Reading nook – I love to show off my reading nook, my happy place, and its a picture I repeat every couple of weeks. It just makes me happy whenever I get to spend substantial time in my little yellow chair and sometimes the light through the windows in so perfect I just have to capture the moment, and share it with my fellow bookworms who I know totally get it.

10. Book review – Bookstagram isn’t just about book reviews as we have seen and will continue to see, but they are a firm staple in most of our profiles. I love writing and reading reviews, but when life gets busy it isn’t always easy to make time for a in-depth review, but I am almost always working on one and post them as frequently as I can. This is where I get really into my comments and have back and forth conversations with fellow readers about a particular book. My bookstagam community is built around book reviews and is made up of people who share similar tastes, so for me these are my favourite and most time consuming posts.

11. Last, Now, Next – Does exactly what it says on the tin. What was the last book you read, what are you currently reading and what will you be reading next.

12. Monthly hopefuls – Some months I manage to convince myself I’m not a mood reader and will create a stack of books I hope to read that month. It’s usually no more than 5 books and it helps if the month has a theme, South Asian History Month for example. It’s also a fun way to see what others are reading and maybe if you share a book goal you can buddy up and read it together that month.

13. Reading update – A reading update is a great idea if you’ve been away from Instagram for a while and just want to check in. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount of books, in fact it can be none, you might be on a break or in a slump. It’s just a nice way to reconnect with your followers and let them know what you’ve been up to.

14. Books and Plants – Really it can be books and anything: pets, figurines, jewellery, bakes, whatever your other interest might be. For me it’s plants so I usually have at least one plant in my pictures.

15. To annotate or not to annotate – there are so many conversations to be had about annotating books. Do you write in the margins? Would you highlight entire passages? Are you currently bankrupt due to the large volume of post-it notes you’ve ordered? My past self would have been horrified at writing in a book, but I’m fully converted to using a pencil and highlighting words I don’t know and phrases I fall in love with. It’s so liberating.

16. Book Marks – here’s another one that can fuel endless content. What are you using as your current bookmark? Do you collect bookmarks? Why do bookmarks always go missing? Would you dogear the corners of a book or would you kill your spouse if they dared to attempt this heinous crime against paper? It’s also a great one for reels. I made one last year showing the various things I use as bookmarks i.e. receipts, foreign currency, leaves and chocolate wrappers of course!

17. Meet the Bookstgrammer – the thing with social media is, at its best, its social. We get to know each other and we build communities. I know lots of people don’t like showing their faces online, and that’s a totally respectable stance, so never feel obliged to share more than you feel comfortable doing. This one is more about the caption. Tell your audience a little about yourself. Assuming thy already know what you like to read, you can tell them a number of random things about you. Share what feels comfortable, it can be three facts or 33. You can also hide a “lie” in there and see if any of your followers can spot it. Have fun with it.

18. Audibooks – All reading counts. For many people they read via audiobooks and there is a big community of audiobook fans on the Gram, so if you listen to audiobooks share what you’ve been listening to, what platform you use and who your favourite narrator is. I love audiobooks and almost always have one on the go.

19. Favourite series – This ones for the fans of series, which I’m afraid I no longer fall in to. I still post about my favourite series from years ago. I loved Sweet Valley High, Point Horror and all the Christopher Pike books in that series as well as the Disc World books by Terry Pratchett. I could still rave about my love for all these series, (and I think I will) and I know all my fellow 90’s readers will relate. For the lovers of more current series, this is a great one to find your tribe.

20. formative reads – Let the world know what your favour read is. If this is like picking a favour child, and it should be, than narrow it down to month or year. It’s really interesting to see what readers are readers and how they relate to books all over the world, this is another good one to find people who have similar tastes.

21. Bedtime Reads – One of the things I’ve learnt over the past two years on Bookstagram is that your bed is your best buddy and accessory. Any number of books on a bed, organised in lines, shaped as a heart or just heaped on as a pile is a winning Booksta strategy. I also like to share what I’m reading at bedtime as often its different to what I’ve been reading in the day. #cosyreads #bedtimereads #booksinbed have amassed 60k tags between them.

22. Reading in the park – Books in the outdoors is a great way to connect your life and what your reading / how you make time to read. I often take a book to the park with me and I love to show the background as well as my book. Whatever the season, nature always has something beautiful to showcase. Reading outdoors can also provide great content for reels.

23. Coffee Shop Reads – I have to confess this isn’t an aesthetic I use often. I’m not a big coffee shop goer, and if I do its usually a social rather than solo trip, so pulling out my phone to take pictures of my hot chocolate and book isn’t going to happen. That being said it is very popular, and perfect for anyone who is a regular coffee shop goer, or even as an excuse to go out and shoot some pretty footage.

24. Monthly wrap ups – At the end of the month, or even in the first week of the next, you can show off what you’ve managed to read. You can just list the books in the caption or you can right mini reviews for each or maybe give them a star rating. I’m still not convinced I find star ratings helpful, but that’s a discussion for another day, I know lots of Bookstagrammers who do use them and find them very helpful.

25. Books in Translation – I have decided that I want to read at least one book in translation every month. There are so many wonderful books, from all over the globe, that are now being translated into English as the apatite amongst readers for this genre is ever increasing. Its a wonderful way to throw your support behind books in translation.

26. Read Around the World – So many of us are reading books from all over the world. From Japan to Turkey and Brazil to Nigeria, diversity in publishing is on the rise. It’s nowhere near perfect yet, but we are at a place where we can begin to enjoy literature from all over the world. To me, that’s something I like to celebrate and highlight.

27. Classics – Why not share your favourite classic and what it is about that particular book that resonates with you. Are you a Pride and Prejudice kinda gal, or like me, is Wutherig Heights more your love language? Maybe you don’t read classics or have classic literature in your own language you’d like to share – tell us, we are a curious bunch and love to hear about every element of your reading journey.

28. Reading goals – For some this might be the posts which sandwich the rest of the year, but for a reader like me, who’s mood dictates everything, my goals are fluid and constantly changing. As such I like to post about my reading goals quarterly rather than annually. My reading for Winter is often very different to what I read in the summer. Share your reading goals, even if its for the month ahead, its always lovely to have like minded people encourage and support you achieve them.

29. What This Week – I think readers might just be the most interesting people in a room. Not only do we love to read, we’re generally also into popular culture, like to listen to podcasts and appreciate the arts. As such, What This Week is the perfect tag to share what you’ve been up to. It was initially about what your reading, listening to and watching but it has evolved into a whole other thing. Share whatever the week has been for you. I’m trying to move away from watching TV so I like to include a trip to a gallery or museum.

And there you have it, a whole month of bookish content to keep your fellow book enthusiasts updated with everything related to books and reading in your life. Each of these is also a hashtag, and you can always follow the hashtag if its something your particularly interested in, or if your feed has a theme i.e. books and plants or books and tea.