I've been noticing a ton of super cute book stack challenges on bookstagram lately showing off stacks of books with strong female protagonists, books of all the same color, and even book stacks of book series'. Some of the joys of these challenges is to be able to look at your own library of books in a fresh, new way as well as be inspired by other book recommendations. I know I have certainly added many books to my TBR after seeing them in other bookstagrammers stacks.
The idea of book stack challenges and other bookstagram challenges is very new to me as I'm a fresh face on bookstagram. However, one specific challenge stuck out to me, and not just because I was tagged by fellow bookstagrammer @baylee.reads. She challenged me to post a picture of myself with my books. Simple right? But not just any pic, a bare-faced pic. No makeup. Just me and my books. I know it sounds silly for this to even be considered a "challenge," but as many people know whether it be on regular old Instagram OR bookstagram, social media is a place focused very much so on aesthetic and beauty. Maintaining an "image" and gaining followers seems to be a goal in "the land of social media." But on bookstagram, the focus is to share one thing: the love of books. And with this book challenge, #BareFacedBookChallenge, bookstagrammers are empowered to be their true self while sharing their true passion. It's not about the likes or the followers; it's about the fact that bookstagram is a true community. A community that encourages each other and supports each other's passions and interests no matter how different.
After posting the picture of myself for the challenge, I felt so supported and seen. Now that might sound silly to some, but as someone who has a huge love for makeup, I rarely post a bare-faced photograph on my personal social media. To post my face, blemishes, imperfections and all is something I'm sometimes reluctant to do. And listen, I can see how many people would say this is the problem with social media and technology. We are so caught up on appearances, filters, and validation from others. But I would say that is why the #BareFacedBookChallenge is so important. This should be the norm. This should be the type of "challenge" we see not only on bookstagram, but Instagram and other social media platforms as well. That way it won't be such a "challenge" anymore.
I'm looking forward to continuing sharing my bare face and books with you all.
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