#meetthebookstagrammer interview with @whatellisreadnext

I first got in touch with Ellis (@whatellisreadnext) when I was trying to find participants for the May 2019 #mbhreadathon. We got chatting, with Ellis trying to find out more about what I was up to, and that formed the beginning of a wonderful Bookstagram friendship. Ellis has been an amazing supporter of The StoryGraph, always tuning in to live shows when she can and sharing insights into her mood reader ways. I’m so grateful for her time.

Nadia: Your Instagram bio reads: “In 2018, I took a vow to put my phone down more and pick up a book instead.” I want to know more about the thinking behind that. Were you not much of an avid reader before that?

Ellis: I’d not read constantly for a long time; since my A Levels, in fact, where I took the English papers. I didn’t read throughout the whole of university, and so in 2018, I think it was Ian McEwan’s ‘Nutshell’ that got me reading again. I managed about thirty-three books that year, which was a lot more than the one or two the year before! But the irony in my comment is that I’m on Instagram all the time now, so I can be an active member of the Bookstagram community.

Nadia: How did you get started with Bookstagram specifically?

Ellis: I found BookTubers first. Then @booksandlala put up a video about taking Instagram photos. I didn’t even realise this whole community existed. Then I started following a bunch of book people. And one night, I was in a hotel, away for work. I had a book with me and I took a picture and posted it — and that’s how it all started.

Nadia: Wow, so it was very spontaneous?

Ellis: Yes, the girl who was also on this work trip told me to just do it. And so I did! And everyone was so lovely that I just carried on.

Nadia: So, you love thrillers. And yet you’re making a conscious effort not to read them at the moment. Can you tell us more about that?

Ellis: There was a time where I was reading nothing else. When I did read a normal book, I was constantly waiting for a twist, a turn, some shocking ending, but that’s not the way real life goes, is it? So, I was missing out on appreciating these great books because I was waiting for a twist. So yeah, I have been making this effort not to read thrillers as they’re making me not enjoy other books as much.

Nadia: Something @ab_reads commented on recently was the fact that she got burnt out by thrillers as there were a lot of stereotypes and similar tropes. How much did you notice that, if at all?

Ellis: I was noticing it a lot. I am quite picky when it comes to thriller writers. One thing that’s very annoying is alcoholic women who can’t remember what happened. You see that a lot. Or the woman who’s on drugs. It’s about finding those writers that don’t go for the stereotypes. Pete Swanson, Lisa Jewell—I think they do interesting things with their thrillers and I do end up remembering them. A lot of thrillers I’ve read I just don’t remember at all.

Nadia: You’d think that a way to stand out would be constantly trying to write things that steer clear of those stereotypes. Is it that the writers like to keep writing these sorts of things or the readers aren’t getting bored?

Ellis: Well, people like what they like. And there is a big market for this stuff. I think, when you start reading really good thrillers is also when you start to appreciate just how hard it is to write one that works really well and is different.

Nadia: You get sent quite a few books by publishers. How much do you request them or do they come unsolicited via your Instagram profile?

Ellis: They’re not unsolicited, but I have been invited to a few publisher-sponsored buddy reads recently. That’s quite nice. There’s the #fakelikeus one at the moment, where we’re reading the book in quarters and then we talk about it every week on Quercus’ page. And then there’s a Titan one I’m doing as well. Most of the books are requested though. I think unsolicited book mail is more of a thing in America. A lot of publishers I’ve spoken to said they prefer requests as they want to know that you’re interested in actually reading the book.

Nadia: How do you go about requesting books from publishers?

Ellis: I had about eight-hundred followers when I started getting books. I’d say go onto the publisher’s website and just message them. Find the publicity email, be genuine, and message them saying why you think you’re interested in the book. And always put your address as sometimes they won’t reply to you, but they’ll send out the book.

Nadia: How often have you been surprised by a book in the mail when you haven’t received a response?

Ellis: Only a handful of times. But the biggest surprise was when I got ‘Recursion’ by Blake Crouch through, because I love his books. I audibly screamed.

Nadia: I’ve always wondered why your feed is so beautiful. I found out recently that you have a photography degree. Can you tell us a bit more about studying photography at uni?

Ellis: I’d always been taking pictures. At A Level I got into it more. I took A Level Photography, and I did a Fine Art foundation degree as well, before going onto Falmouth Uni in Cornwall. They have a fantastic programme and it’s a beautiful place as well. But I’ve always enjoyed just capturing the moment, and uni kind of ruined it a bit for me. I learnt a lot, but I lost the passion for it. I didn’t take photos for a long time before this Instagram account. But I’ve rediscovered it now and I will be taking a lot more photos.

Nadia: Great. And what do you use to take your photos?

Ellis: I’ve been thinking about using my camera, but then I have to use a computer too, and I don’t use computers often. So, I’m sticking to my phone. I did upgrade my phone to get a better camera. I’m on a Galaxy S10 now.

Nadia: Outside of Bookstagram, you sell things like flooring and carpet laminate. How did you get into that?

Ellis: All of my jobs have been sales jobs. It’s just something I fell into. Especially where I live, in the North of England, near Hull, there’s not much else. But I’ve always been good at sales and customer service.

Nadia: What’s the hardest thing about selling?

Ellis: In my current job, it’s the maths. Because you have to do a lot of conversions. People come in with measurements in feet and you’ve got to convert it to meters and then work out how much it’s going to cost. It’s daunting but I’m starting to get better at it.

Nadia: Okay! Now we’re going to go into the quickfire round. Are you ready?

Ellis: Yep!

Nadia: One book at a time or multiple?

Ellis: I used to be one book at a time, but it’s definitely multiple now!

Nadia: Mood reader or strict TBR follower?

Ellis: I would say mood reader, but at the moment I’m following a TBR as I’ve got so many ARCs I need to get through.

Nadia: Fiction or non-fiction?

Ellis: Fiction, but I do enjoy the occasional non-fiction.

Nadia: Print, digital or audio?

Ellis: Print, definitely. You can’t beat the feeling of having a book in your hand.

Nadia: Favourite light-hearted book?

Ellis: Umm…I’m going to say ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ just because I don’t really read light-hearted books. That’s as light-hearted as it gets.

Nadia: Favourite heavy/emotional book?

Ellis: I’m gonna say ‘Never Let Me Go’ as it’s my favourite book ever and it’s the first book that made me cry.

Nadia: Favourite unexpected favourite?

Ellis: ‘Dark Matter’ — I went into it not knowing what to expect and it blew me away.

Nadia: All-time favourite book?

Ellis: ‘Never Let Me Go’. So good.

Nadia: Wow. If you could have any career in books or publishing, what would you do?

Ellis: I kind of want to write a book. I have been looking at Creative Writing online degrees and courses, but I haven’t taken the plunge yet.

Nadia: You could also just start writing!

Ellis: I’m just scared. It’s such a hard thing to structure a book. I don’t even know where I’d start.

Nadia: I would say start writing something. Anything. Where you’re struggling, talk to people to get advice, try and figure it out yourself. I think the cool thing about things like writing is that you can do it cheap. If it’s just fear holding you back, start writing!

Ellis: Yeah, I should just go for it!

Nadia: Favourite thing to do outside of books or reading?

Ellis: I like biking. I bike around a lot. Going to coffee shops. And looking after my plants. I like propagating them.

Nadia: That’s lovely. And now three shoutouts. A book?

Ellis: ‘Age of Miracles’ by Karen Thompson Walker just because I don’t think it’s got enough love.

Nadia: Any ideas as to why it’s underrated?

Ellis: I don’t know. It’s a book from a couple of years ago. Everyone has been raving about ‘The Dreamers’ but ‘Age of Miracles’ was so much better! I got so lost in that book and I felt so lost when it was over.

Nadia: A Bookstagram account?

Ellis: @readwithnay because she was the first friend I made on here. Her account deserves more love than it gets.

Nadia: Something non-book related?

Ellis: ‘The Good Place’ because my boyfriend and I have been bingeing it and it’s really funny.

Nadia: Oh, yeah! I love ‘The Good Place’! And that concludes our interview. That was amazing. And you did amazing!

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