A Home Library

books! mostly history, nonficiton, thriller & mystery Bookstagram: @ahomelibrary

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Bookstagram Resources

Here is a quick list of Bookstagram Resources that I use all the time. Hopefully, they can be useful for you too. I am doing this off the top of my head, so I may leave something out. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Apps for Books

Libby (free, access is via library membership)

Amazon Kindle (membership based)

Audible (membership based)

Volumes 

NetGalley (free to use, review books for publishers)

Glose 

Hoopla (free, access is via library membership)

Comes with a designated monthly limit of checkouts 

Edelweiss+ 

Apps for Audiobooks

Libby

Amazon Kindle

Audible

Volumes

NetGalley

Glose

Hoopla

Reviewing Platforms

Instagram/Bookstagram (obviously :P)

Twitter

Goodreads

Readerly

The Storygraph 

Pinterest

Litsy

Wordpress 

Tumblr

Blogging Websites 

Facebook

TikTok

Retail Sites (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Booksamillion,Waterstones)

Edelweiss+

BookishFirst

ARCs, Giveaways, & Review Copies Opportunities

BookishFirst (good for beginners)

NetGalley (good for beginners)

BiblioLifestyle Newsletter & Social Media Pages

BookSparks 

Amazon First Reads

Publisher Email Lists & Newsletters

Goodreads Giveaways

Publisher Influencer Programs (individualized, need to apply for most)

Publisher Contacts 

Publisher Social Media Pages (Facebook, IG, Twitter, etc)

[ahomelibrary]

Book Review — “The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem” by Stacy Schiff (2016, @hachetteus)

Categories: Nonfiction, US History, 17th Century, Puritanism, Witches and Witch-hunts

Ratings: 3.25 on GR (20k ratings), my rating 3 stars ✨

My Summary + Thoughts ⤵️

Presented by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this book is a lengthy exposition of what scholars and historians know and theorize about the infamous Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s.

In the colonial Massachusetts lands, the witch trials resulted from a town’s mass hysteria involving people claiming possession by devil or knowledge of those working with demonic forces. Puritan sensibilities made this accusation detrimental to one’s reputation… and eventually, their lives and freedom.

Topics this book substantially covers:

• Salem: what was the town like?

• Church + Religion: What was its importance in Salem and how did town politics get involved in the church?

• Members of Community: Relevant people such as prominent families, those afflicted with bewitching, those accused of witchcraft, the authorities + ministers, skeptics.

• The Bewitching: How the first young girls acted and theories held by community, Tituba’s involvement, getting info about the accused from known people to strangers from afar

• Accused: interrogators/investigators, jailing and its conditions, trial and jurors + accusations & defenses

• Symbols: Things the puritans described as signs of guilt or trouble, including their elaborate stories of the accused’s antics and seeing black cats, red books, brooms, different types of animals, etc.

• Hysteria & Sociology: the social contagion + mass hysteria of the witch-hunt and high profile cases. Some theories on why this happened.

And much more. The book fills in gaps and bridges material with details contextualizing the trials. Anything from pointing out influences of feuding families to describing PTSD from Indian attacks, the book provides some padding to the sources. At some points, it’s a bit of a slog because it takes a lot of winding away from the point it’s making, but in all, a decent collection of info presented in a narrative style.

Goodreads Page: www.goodreads.com/book/show/24819449-the-witches Bookstagram Post: A Home Library 🌸 #Bookstagram (@ahomelibrary) • Instagram photos and videos