Meet The Bookstagrammer: The Book Boy

Article contributed by Johanna H

Instagram is where we go to find inspiration and to dream away from reality. The bookstagrammers are getting larger by the number, and they are helping us to find the perfect books to read. With both great reviews and beautiful photos, we want to get to know the people behind the account even more!

Charlie Edwards-Freshwater is the person behind the colourful and very British-looking account @thebookboy on Instagram. We don’t want to be the ones breaking the news to you, but he is not British, but Australian! Although he now lives in a small idyllic town in England, but throughout his life, he has lived in multiple countries around the world. Charlie is an aspiring author, book collector, tea- drinking, who works within marketing and PR. We of course want to get to know him even more and interviewed him to see who is behind the popular account @thebookboy.

First of all, we love all of your floral shirts! How do you find them all? Is there a special brand that is your go-to-brand?

Thank you! I buy them from all over the place and have a complete mix of vintage and new prints, designer brands and high street stuff. Basically, it’s all about the pattern for me – if I like the flowers and the colours, I have to get it! I’m not much of a brand shopper but I do think it’s important that a shirt should be well made and comfortable – nothing worse than finding a beautiful shirt and realising that it’s skinny fit or some other strange cut that stops looking good on you as soon as you have a slice of cake.

Why did you start your book Instagram?

I was posting the occasional book photo on my personal Instagram page when I stumbled across some bookstagram accounts and thought- why not? I just thought I’d give it a go and see where it went and now, I’ve been obsessed with bookstagram for almost five years! I think the main reason that I started it though was to get to discuss books with a wider audience. I don’t have a lot of friends who read and it’s been a great way to connect to people who not only have very similar reading tastes to me but also to discover amazing books that I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise.

When you aren’t reading, what do you spend your time on?

I’m a big fan of nature walks and nature in general so try to spend as much time out of doors as possible. I live in such a beautiful little village surrounded by cornfields and old woodlands which are great fun to explore. I also love writing – I’m always brimming with ideas and jotting things down in notebooks, most of which never get any further but I do love playing with concepts and seeing if they are ideas that I can make a good story out of. Aside from that I’m really into videogames and watching films when at home – and of course I love food and travel – a day spent at a castle followed by an evening of Thai food and a trip to the cinema is perfect.

You have a lot of beautiful books in stunning colours. How important is the cover for you when buying new books?

I know it’s an awful thing to say, but for me a beautiful cover is basically essential. From a marketing perspective, these days there is no excuse for modern releases to not have gorgeous covers and I know for a fact that people do avoid fantastic books which have less beautiful designs. A book is a work of art in many ways – why not make it as visually appealing as possible?

If you could invite any five author or character (dead or alive) to a dinner party, who would you invite and why?

This is such a tricky question because I think it would all depend on the vibe of the dinner party I was going for. To embrace a theme, I would love to do a glamorous 1920s style soiree where I would not only invite Agatha Christie, but also her fictional detective Hercule Poirot. Add into the mix Virginia Woolf (My favorite writer) and Oscar Wilde (his wit is unbeatable) and then I think I’d top off the experience with some mad whimsy – maybe the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland? I think everyone present would have a good appreciation for tea. And possibly gin. Perfect.

You read a lot of classics; which classic novel do you think everyone should read?

This is tough because so often the joy of discovering a classic is reading it without being told – I think being forced to read certain classics at school tends to turn people off them for life! Saying that, some of my absolute favorite classics include Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Emma by Jane Austen and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. There are so many fantastic classics out there though, so some that I don’t see being read often but totally love include The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham, Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell and Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (a true Aussie classic!)

And lastly, how would an ideal day look to you?

A lie in is essential. I am definitely not a morning person so just starting the day without an alarm is a great way to go. After that I’m easy – seeing friends, visiting beautiful places, eating good food and having lots of laughs – the best days are always a bit spontaneous and filled with good company. Plus having time in the evening to settle down with a good book is obviously a big plus – as long as the day is filled with smiles then I believe it’s a day well spent.