Thoughts: Freedom to Think and Social Media

I am sort of thinking of this as a new year reflections post. It's not really the new year anymore since we're already halfway through Safar, but since I didn't write one at the beginning of the year, I thought I would call it that anyway. This post is more directly the result of a combination of a question asked by Assia (@shereadsox on Instagram) - "what is Bookstagram* to you?" - and a lot of thinking I've been doing recently about Instagram and the way social media influences the conversations I have with people and the podcast itself.

What is Bookstagram to you? This is a question that is a recurring part of my "social media thought cycle", but I have been asking it increasingly frequently recently. I joined Instagram with my podcast account primarily to have somewhere to share new episodes and perhaps have a few interesting discussions. At the time, I had not long started my 2018 Reading the World project and it occurred to me that Instagram might be a great place to find book recommendations by people in different parts of the world that are not limited to the promotions of mainstream UK publishers, bookshops and reviewers.

I have indeed discovered some great books. I have also come across many sincere, passionate, intelligent people on this platform who have shared their thoughts and experiences of reading in many ways and in open, thoughtful discussions. Some of them have also become the most common guests on the podcast and have helped to transform this podcast into an ongoing learning experience for me as well as the listeners, I hope.

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