Literary Instagram sounds like it should be a fairly relaxed corner of social media. It conjures images of nicely staged photos of books next to cups of coffee, short reviews of favorite reads peppered with hashtags, and a welcome reprieve from the unending absurdity of the rest of the internet. Thanks to Mashable’s Heather Dockray, who has provided interested travelers with a guide to the weirdest accounts of what she refers to as “Deep Bookstagram,” we now know this is not the case.
As Dockray puts it, these literary accounts are “in many ways…the exact opposite of traditional Bookstagram, which usually comes with a cheery, gratingly cozy demeanor.”
The piece rounds up a number of good Instagram accounts that show off what she’s talking about, including one where books are photographed with scoops of ice cream dripping off them and a pair where wild old paperback covers are Photoshopped with new names.
The best accounts, though, are devoted to actual, un-doctored covers . The trio of @awfullibrarybooks, @donatedbooks, and @paperbacksfromhell simply archive some of the literary treasures that a careful observer can find in the wilds of used book shops, garage sales, and libraries.
The Donated Books account, which documents “interesting books donated to the Schenectady County Public Library,” is the clear highlight of these.