Instagram’s New Reading Banner Has Mixed Reviews

Bookstagram has been abuzz over Instagram’s new test feature allowing users to share their current read. If the current read banner is available to you, you can go to Edit Profile > Banners > + Fill in the blank > Tap to select “Reading” > Type in your title > Save. The options available aren’t limited to “Reading,” but also include: Current obsession Dream destination Playing Watching Looking for recs @thebookolics boarded the hype train in their announcement of the feature. “How fun is that?” the online community for readers and writers wrote in their caption. But not every reader is down to clown with bookish banners. See “Instagram’s new book feature totally misses the point of reading,” a brief opinion for The Independent that kicks off and concludes by invoking the chiding spirit of a second century satirist. Annabel Nugent chucks the new feature in the book-signaling bin with literary tote bags and even buzzy books, “whereby the reading of them signals to everyone else on the tube that you too are part of the zeitgeisty in-crowd.” Book Deals Sign up for our Book Deals newsletter and get up to 80% off books you actually want to read. A feature showcasing curren...