6 Tips for Connecting with Other Readers

Connecting with other readers can be hard, especially if you're the only reader in your family or friend group (or only one of a couple readers in your family or friend group). And even if there are readers in your family or friend group, they may not have many connections with other readers outside of their own social circles for whatever reason.

If you're a younger and/or new reader, it can be a bit intimidating entering the bookish community. Even I'm intimidated from time to time. I occasionally think that I need to be friends with every single reader I come in contact with, or that I need to have 500+ books to be considered a "true" reader.

Before I really get into this post, I'd like to state the following. You don't need to be friends with every single reader in the bookish community. You don't need 500+ books in your collection to be considered a "real" or "true" reader. Just read and make friends in the way you feel most comfortable doing.

With that said, here are 6 tips for connecting with other readers.

Tip 1: It's okay to just be acquaintances with other readers - you don't need to be friends with every reader you come in contact with.

Having connections with other readers can really help out. You don't, as I mentioned, have to be friends with every single reader. But having connections - following other readers on social media, etc. - can help you find new books and get more perspectives on books you're hearing (or not hearing) about.

Tip 2: Just reach out to other readers, and maybe even authors.

This can seem a bit daunting. However, reaching out to other readers, similarly with Tip 1, can help you find new reads, new friends, and other ways of thinking about and approaching books. Reaching out to authors can also do something similar, and you can see what books they did or didn't enjoy.

Tip 3: Make a bookish social media account on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc., and just talk about books.

Having a social media account dedicated to your books and reading can help you connect with readers a bit easier. Readers with bookish social media accounts tend to follow other readers with bookish social media accounts.

Tip 4: Post about your books and your reading journey.

You don't necessarily need to create a social media account dedicated to books to do this. If you have a public account (which is up to your discretion), you're likely to connect with other readers, even if your account isn't fully dedicated to books and reading.

Tip 5: If you're visiting a friend or family member, take a look at their bookshelf and talk to them about it.

You may not have family or friends who read actively, if they do read, you can still connect with them over reading. It may not be much, but it can still happen.

Tip 6: Start conversations on other readers' social media posts. (Just remember to be polite.)

Commenting on other readers' social media posts and starting, or participating in, bookish conversations can help you make those connections. Even if you don't make friends, you can still make those connections. Additionally, you can see what other people are reading and what their thoughts were.