Meet Angie: How the Booktok Community Changed this Travel Blogger’s Life
Photos courtesy of Angie Cox
Angie Cox aka thebiglittlelibrary is no stranger to social media. She was a successful photographer and travel blogger during the height of the Instagram era of 2016-20, but like many, became a bit disenchanted with the pretentiousness that sometimes comes with it. And when COVID hit, and she discovered Booktok, she went all in on a community she says can feel a lot more real.
She explains it’s a refreshing change from the travel community, where she was mostly interacting with only other travel bloggers. “You don't really meet [other] people. But with the book account, most of the people I talk to don’t even have a bookish Instagram or bookish Tiktok,” Angie explains. “My DMs are full of people who just actually love to read and want to talk books. And so I actually feel connected to the people I'm talking to…as a community, it's so much more enjoyable.”
How did she get her roots in photography? She credits her husband for helping her realize her dream to be a photographer: “I was a history major…I was like, ‘What am I? What am I going to do?’ And teaching was the only thing or going back to school, and I did not want to do either.”
She remembers talking with him about wanting to try photography, but lamenting the fact that equipment is so expensive. “He bought me a camera for Valentine's Day and was like, ‘Go out and try,’” she says with a smile. “So, I got a mentor…I shadowed her and [was] her second shooter, for weddings and senior photos.”
Eventually, she branched out on her own for five years before seeing more and more Instagram photos of people traveling, and thought, I can take those photos. I can do that.
“So then I started taking photos while I traveled, and posting them,” she says. “It, blew up because it was 2016 when the algorithm didn't suck…it's kind of just progressed from there.”
So as a world traveler, I obviously have to ask her what fictional world she would visit first? I guess Not-Hoth since she’s an Ice Planet Barbarians fan, but she shoots that down right away. “I honestly could not live there…doesn't matter how sexy the big seven foot alien dude is.”
She thinks for a moment before answering: “This is probably basic, but Prythian, Velaris, the Night Court, Starfall. Yeah, that's the dream.”
Her love of reading for fun didn’t pick up until after high school and college: “I went to a…college prep school. And it was so rigorous, and we were reading…just the classics…like Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Socrates. And so I didn't have time to read, because I was only reading this stuff.
“I just didn't have the energy…then when I went to college, I was a history and art history major…I'm reading incredibly dense works of literature or scholarly texts…my fun time wasn't reading.”
She finally picked up Harry Potter for the first time because she loved the movies. “I got obsessed with it…shocker,” she says, then adds, “Like I'm undermining my nerd love of Harry Potter.”
Since she had to read so many classics, I have to ask her for her favorite. It’s not one you might expect: “I love Frankenstein,” she says. “Which is weird because I hate horror…Another one is The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is also kind of like Gothic and horror. So I don't know what's up with that? Maybe I do have a thing for Gothic and horror…I just felt like the characters were so complex. And the writing…for that time, it felt like it just flowed really well.
“I feel like most people would think I would pick like Jane Austen or something, which, I love Jane Austen movies. I love the stories, but…I cannot read books.”
As an Austen fan, this hurts my soul a little bit, but she follows up by sharing her obsession with the 2005 Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice. “I think I'm a roman[tic] at heart,” she says. “I remember my mom bought me that movie…I watched it. I had no clue what the fu*k they were saying…but the visuals, the cinematography, the music, the piano. I literally…I cried,” she confesses. “That was…the most groundbreaking movie I think…I watched that three times in a row the first time. And then I watched it every day for probably a solid…two years.”
Like much of Booktok, the pandemic and lockdown had Angie joining TikTok. She’d known about the app for a while from a travel blogger friend, so she created a travel TikTok, but at the time she didn’t think it would go anywhere, “I was like, that's not gonna be a thing. It's like Vine.”
Little did she know, she’d find some of her closest friends on this little clock app. In the beginning, she was mostly watching funny videos her friends would send her, but she kept seeing the popular books from that time on her FYP, like A Court of Thorns and Roses, Shadow and Bone, and The Cruel Prince. As a seasoned social media creator, she wanted to keep her travel account separate, so that meant creating a new account dedicated to book content.
“I joined [Booktok] late in 2020,” Angie says. “I saw ACOTAR, and was like, ‘Why is everyone raving about this?’ I read it…honestly…that series just holds a special place in my heart…so many people have that similar story where it's like: 2020. COVID. ACOTAR…those are the three things that so many of us have in common…it kindled our love for reading, and it's kind of cool that we all can share that, you know.”
Her friend and fellow Booktoker, Amanda (@theboozybookworm) also told me it’s how their friendship started: “We bonded over the ACOTAR books, which then turned into FaceTime sessions and Ice Planet Barbarians, Dramione fanfics, and Harry Potter. And all of that lead to an in-person meetup, and what will undoubtedly be a lifelong friendship–all because of books!”
And this month, Angie is meeting up with another book friend in Scotland. “It's kind of crazy how…some of these people have become some of my best friends…I'm meeting another two in August…we're all just so excited…we're gonna just talk books and hang out….it's just bizarre…how books can bring us together.”
Having spent time in Scotland for work in 2021, I had to share all the must visit bookstores in Edinburgh with her. She mentions they’ll be hitting a bunch of Harry Potter and Outlander spots in Scotland as well.
Now, if you follow Angie for any length of time, you’re also going to realize her love of Dramione fanfiction (Draco and Hermione romances), and specifically Manacled by SenLinYu. “I still haven't met a single person who hasn't been like, ‘this is the best thing I've ever read,’” she says.
So as someone who has never read any fanfiction, I asked her to break down her favorite Dramione fanfics. Obviously Manacled is number one, even though it’s extremely dark. “That's probably my favorite story of all time in the universe,” she says. “But…on the flipside, the most beautifully written, happy, romantic Dramione fanfic…it's called Remain Nameless…this is almost canon compliant, where it's like nine years after the war…it's like an enemies to friends, to like lovers, to soulmates. It's…the most beautiful progression of a romantic relationship I've ever seen…Impact-wise it's completely different from Manacled.”
She’s been slowly getting her favorite fanfics bound by book binders. Since fanfics aren’t allowed to profit from characters they don’t own, there’s an incredible community of hobbyists who bind them for fun, and you only pay for the materials. A recent addition to her bound fanfic collection is The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy by Speechwriter, which is an alternate ending of if Draco would have accepted Dumbledore’s offer of a way out in the Astronomy tower (IYKYK).
“That's actually my third favorite, I think,” she says. “But honestly, it replaces the seventh book for me. Like if I were to read the books in order, I would throw out Deathly Hallows and read this book.”
Wow. A bold statement, but she’s convinced me I need to read it. Manacled has been on my TBR for so long, but now I need to add all of these to my never ending list.
Speaking of, how does she keep up with all of the books Booktok recommends? There can be a lot of pressure, she admits: “Last year, I read I think…over 100 books, which, I know, that's nothing compared to some book people…I was going through stuff last year where I felt lost. And so books are what kind of grounded me…but this year, I'm way behind. And I don't feel [this] way now, but I felt like such a pressure to keep up with books coming out, and reviewing them on time.”
Ultimately, we both agree you should read what brings you joy and at your own pace, which also brings up the controversial topic of reviews. There’s been a trend going around Booktok lately that you shouldn’t do any negative reviews. But Angie agrees it’s important to be honest, as well as have constructive conversations.
“The prep school I went to, it was a Socratic discussion school where we would sit in circles and debate the things we talked about. So I'm like, let's talk. This is what I did for four years in high school,” she says.
So what makes a good review? Angie puts a lot of thought into her Goodreads reviews. “First of all, I know this is annoying for a lot of people, but writing a little summary…even like a paragraph or two because I feel like sometimes the blurbs on the back of the book don't actually tell you the significant stuff,” she begins.
Below are a few more bullet points she recommends including, but says she doesn’t stick to a format, and instead focuses on the biggest things that stick out to her in each individual book:
Talk about the writing and its style
Talk about the characters and why you like or dislike them
Talk about the plot
Key things that surprised you that the author did really well
Be specific about what you didn’t like, even if you think it’s trivial.
Having nuanced discussions about books is a big part of having a book community of friends. And people can disagree and still be friends. “I feel like in the last two years I've grown and…changed as a person,” Angie says. “And not even…book tastes, but just literally as an individual.”
She mentions she’s a lot less judgmental than she used to be, and believes reading and the book community have helped her be more open-minded. “I know, that's probably a weird one to pull up. But I think reading, especially since that's all I did during the pandemic…[and] interacting with so many different people in the book community,” she explains. “We're all very different individuals and connecting with them…having that common thread of books and…making no assumptions, not judging them for…their 10 second video, and like, preferences of what they read.”
So you could say Booktok and the pandemic both had a profound effect on her. She’s recently moved to the beach with her husband, and started doing social media and marketing for one of her favorite authors. “I think we kind of realized our priorities and…what we wanted out of life. But it kind of did make us more aware of staying present and then also just interacting with actual, kind people…It's been great. I feel the happiest I've been.”
It’s definitely normal to go through ups and downs as a creator. Angie got super real about there being times where she doesn’t feel as inspired to create content or none of the trending audios grab her. So in those times, she just doesn’t post. And it’s ok.
“Only make the content that you enjoy making…a lot of people get caught up on the type of content they should be creating in order to attract followers, but…the truth is, people follow you if they connect with you, right? Just literally be yourself…because people will sense how much you enjoy it. And that's what you're trying to attract.”
If she was just starting out, she’d care less about the number of likes. “That's something that I struggled with when I was doing travel blogging, and…I mean, six years later, I'm finally not caring. And I'm…realizing that really doesn't matter. And just connecting with people is what matters most,” she says. “Don't start a Bookstagram because you think you're gonna make money or because you want followers…odds are that's not happening…But…if you have a passion…and just want a place to share it…almost think of it as like a diary of sorts…and if people want to connect with you, then they will.”
She’s incredibly grateful for the community she’s built. “I honestly don't want to think about what my life would be like without social media,” she says. “More than half of the people I talk to on a daily basis are people I've met online, either through travel blogging, or through the book account, and I think life would be a lot more lonely, you know? Oh, that's so sad. I'm so glad that we have this.”
Me too.
Rapid Reveals:
Where to find Angie:
Her fave genres to read:
Romantasy
RomComs
Alien Romance
Dramione fanfics
Her favorite format to read:
“I love the look of hardback but I love how easy it is to read paperback.”
Her favorite tropes:
Enemies to lovers
I hate everyone but you
Hurt hero
Her favorite place to read:
In her bed
Her last reread:
The entire Clecanian Series by Victoria Aveline
Book one is Choosing Theo
The Book she recommends you read this summer:
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
What she does when she’s not reading?
Free diving with her husband, traveling, and photography.
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