Whats better than our love affair with literature books? Finding like-minded souls who we could discuss everything that we want when it comes to our favorite literary pursuits!
Finding a literature enthusiast in Pakistan can be very hard if you don’t know where to look. However, some Pakistani bookworms have taken it upon themselves to make reading more accessible and easy for Pakistanis.
And here’s the thing. Reading books doesn’t have to be boring! In fact, thanks to the Bookstagram Pakistan account, readers can just show off their favorite books, passages, bookshelves, and more like those cool Instagram kids.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at these amazing people who will make you fall in love with books all over again. Let’s get to bookstagramming, people.
Zainab Zaheer
Zainab Zaheer is e Pakistani literature lover who ventured into the world of ‘Bookstagram’ with her blogging page on Instagram zmeetsworld. She had already been blogging about her reading experiences since the age of 15, but it was two years ago that she started her Instagram account.
I didn’t know other people cared about and shared books online because reading culture in Pakistan is often so limited.
It felt like a breath of fresh air to find this online space where people read a diverse range of books and discuss them at length.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBITDbOpTim/
Zainab Zaheer reads about five to six books in a month and shares intriguing reviews and opinions on her Instagram account. Her interests lie in books that are ‘socially conscious’ and she presents them to her followers in a way that is very eye-catching and impressive.
I aim to discuss the difficult issues I come across in my reading and what that story is teaching us about them. Be it child abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, heartbreak, infidelity, love. I try to make reading accessible or to pique people’s interest in books by sharing quotes that made me pause — this opens up the book in a way that people wouldn’t know if they just read a summary.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBkmCbZJfYL/
She also added that she wants to make these books more approachable to people following her account. Zainab says that by sharing tidbits of what she has learned from the books, she makes these books more accessible for readers.
If I can make reading books more accessible (through bite-sized quotes), then I share what I learn, about how women and minorities experience the world, and share stories of love and loss that others can relate to. I wanted to lower the barrier that keeps people away from books or reading– particularly for adult fiction
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBVEurPp-3Q/
Tamreez Imam
There are many others like Zainab Zaheer who are striving to increase the presence of literature in the country. Tamreez Imam is a 35-year-old who works for Emirates Literature Festival in Dubai. She started her ‘Bookstagram’ journey two years ago when she started sharing her love for books on tamreezi.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDIUx8gtur/
Tamreez also has another account where her focus is to promote books written by Pakistani writers. She does so from her second account readingpakistan.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBXXjX6A2wj/
Here’s what Tamreez has to say about her journey:
I randomly came across a #bookstagram account and a whole new world opened up for me. I started seeking out other bookstagram accounts and started posting and sharing about books myself.
She also added that the reason she started a separate account for Pakistani books was to bring light to the talent coming from Pakistan.
About a year ago I started @readingpakistan. I used to try and read everything that was coming out of Pakistan. A few years ago it was only a handful of writers like Kamila Shamsie, Mohammed Hanif and Nadeem Aslam.
Back then I could pretty much read everything that was being written. Now there’s so much new writing, in every genre, that is coming out of Pakistan that it is impossible to keep up. Which I think is so exciting.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBF-KhRggKb/
Khadija Amer
Khadija Amer is another new ‘Bookstagram’ account owner who runs the page ‘Chaayekhana‘. She says she took inspiration from other bloggers and Instagram accounts who focus on literature. According to Khadija, at the end of the day, visuals matter a lot on Instagram.
It is still Instagram and it’s about pictures involved in books as well… but a little bit more specific.
So I think people who love reading…or who want to start reading find inspiration on these accounts. They inspired me to follow through with reading more myself.
More and more people in Pakistan are now starting their own ‘Bookstagram’ account to share their knowledge and passion for reading.
Other Recommendations
Here are some recommendations for ‘Bookstagram’ pages on Instagram that you could follow:
It’s about time that the literary world of Pakistan takes a turn for the better and it is truly refreshing to see more and more Pakistani literature lovers coming forward and sharing their journey.
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments section.
Via Arab News
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