We are back with another installment of the BookToker of the Week! Friday 23rd, Bookstr went live on Instagram for an interview with BookToker Faye hosted by Morgan Boyd. The team at Bookstr and our audience had a lot of questions for them.
MEET Faye!
@literarylesbian
Faye is the creator behind the TikTok account @literarylesbian. They have helped their over 100,000 followers find great and representative books in the young adult and LGBTQ+ genres.
Q&A
q: What are your 3 To Read? Hot Pick (new release), Dark Horse (mystery/thriller), Beach Read
Faye: My Hot Pick is The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (warning: this is Adult fantasy). For Dark Horse it’s Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (it covers topics on Anti-Black racism so do know that going in), it’s the author’s debut novel and it’s amazing. For Beach Read is Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, it’s about two sisters that don’t know they are sisters and it takes place in the Dominican Republic.
Q: What is your advice for people who want to start a BookTok?
Faye: Find your niche and do what you enjoy; have fun! Talk about books that you actually enjoy or don’t like, just do what you want to do without any ulterior motive. There’s a lot of romanticizing of getting free books and it’s really not all it’s hacked up to be.
Q: How do you come up with your content? Is there a drafting process or does it just come to you in the moment?
Faye: I’ll come up with really weird ideas. I have like 800 drafts, any fragment of an idea I have I’ll put it in my drafts, and then when I want to make a video I look back and go off of ideas I put in there. I guess writing down ideas and then using them as inspiration helps.
Q: do you have any anticipated releases for the rest of the year? or ones that have recently come out that you’re super excited about?
Faye: Probably Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong even though I’ve already read it. I got an ARC of it, I rated it four stars. It’s a lot, I haven’t even written a review yet. This is so much better than the first one in my opinion.
Also The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould, I received it as an ARC and I’ve only read the first five pages but so far it’s good.
Q: What is a book you read because of Booktok and what were your thoughts on it?
Faye: We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya, 1) by Hafsah Faizal. That book is so good.
Q: What is your favorite and least favorite aspect of content creation?
Faye: My favorite is probably when you make a video that you’re very proud of and seeing people find it just as funny as you did. It’s the most validating feeling.
The least favorite is the imposter syndrome and the burnout.
Q: Have there been any surprises that you found in content creation?
Faye: Probably the amount of stuff that goes on in the background that you don’t necessarily see. I have made so many friends and I’ve also had bad experiences on BookTok that people don’t realize. The number of experiences that I’ve had that are not on TikTok.
Q: Who are some of your favorite creators on Booktok?
Faye: @SixOfHoes, @TheSequelNobodyWanted, @MoonGirlReads, @SerenaGov, @AMomsBooks
Q: What are some good dark academia books?
Faye: Definitely Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao, Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, and Vicious by V. E. Shwab.
Speed Round
Q: what’s your favorite book to movie adaptation?
Faye: The Hunger Games especially Catching Fire.
Q: Who are your automatic buy authors?
Faye: Hafsah Faizal, Adiba Jaigirdar, and Leigh Bardugo.
Q: hardback or paperback?
Faye: Definitely paperback.
Q: beveled edges yes or no?
Faye: No.
Q: Favorite and least favorite trope.
Faye: Favorite: friends to lovers, and least favorite: love triangles.
Q: Ao3 or wattpad?
Faye: AO3.
Q: What is your favorite genre?
Faye: Contemporaries.
Q: dream book adaptation?
Faye: Sick Kids In Love by Hannah Moskowitz, but I prefer TV adaptations so much more than movies.
Q: What is a book you wish you had read sooner?
Faye: Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko.
Q: What is The NEXT BOOK IN YOUR TBR?
Faye: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson (Author).
Watch the full interview below:
View this post on Instagram
Stay tuned for our next BookToker of the Week Instagram Live, details on our Events Page.