Romancetagram Real-Talk with @Remarkablylisa

Lisa runs the highly popular romancestagram and booktube channel, Remarkablylisa. She is best known for chaotic Instagram stories involving her latest romance reads, book hauls, and of course, Korean dramas/Kpop recommendations featuring super handsome men.

What got you into the romance genre? What made you decide to start a romancestagram account and how long have you been running it?

My cousin was the one that got me into reading. When I was a kid, I never read because of the stereotype that only ‘losers’ read but after spending days watching TV at home, my cousin invited me to go to the library with her and that was the start of my reading journey. I started off with Young Adult books but she introduced me to romance! 

After falling in love with reading, I looked for spaces to be creative but didn’t find a ‘match’. I used Tumblr but later on, I discovered bookstagram on my explore page and the rest was history. It must be 5-6 years now.

From booktube, to twitter, to blogging, you do such an incredible job being active on multiple platforms. How would you compare the various social media formats?

Booktube is still new to me but it definitely gave me a lot of stress in the beginning. I worried about the video quality, lighting, and the editing. It definitely takes longer to produce one piece of content versus a photo for Instagram and that’s why I’m hesitant about continuing Booktube. When I start something, I have to make sure it’s the best I can do or there’s not point for me to continue. 

Booktube gives me more time to discuss the books and give viewers a chance to see my emotions towards the book. I like making review videos a lot more than writing a review for Goodreads or my blog most of the times.

What is your review process like? How do you keep track of releases and decide which books to read?

With COVID-19, publishers have switched to electronic ARCs which means I can create collections on my Kindle app to sort them by their month of publication. I do well with following the shelves but at the same time, I’m a mood reader. There were also times I decided to focus on releases from a specific publisher and knocked off 5-6 titles off my TBR regardless of when they’re set to publish.

Do you like re-reads? What are some of your favorite books to return to?

I definitely re-read! Life is too short to read a bad book but life is also too short to not relive a good one. My favourites include Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella. I must have re-read that one 5 times.

What is your favorite thing about romancestagram? If you could change one thing about it, what would it be?

My favourite thing is seeing all the new releases and knowing which titles the community is most hyped about. It’s my main source of keeping up to date on romance so every account who posts news is extremely helpful to me.

The one thing I would change would be the prejudice I see against older romance titles or pictures featuring an electronic copy of the book on an ipad or a Kindle. For older romance titles, not many people ‘like’ the photos so it discourages creators to post pictures of their favourite lesser known titles. For electronic copies of the book, I feel that a lot of people want to see physical copies in photos but sometimes it’s not possible for physical copies due to financial reasons or publication reasons so we should all be supportive and give those photos love too. And we should also change our mindset that electronic copy of books can be promoted too.

You always take such gorgeous pictures, and I love the way you incorporate fashion into your shots. What goes into your process?

I pick out pieces that match the book cover or pick out pieces of clothing I like and then find books that match the cover. Something that either goes with the flow or will make the book pop in the shot! 

Do you have favorite subgenres? Who are your favorite authors or your favorite titles in each?

My favourite subgenre is romantic comedy. I really like to laugh when I’m reading! It takes a lot for me to laugh because humor is subjective but the authors that can make me giggle are Tessa Dare, Sophie Kinsella, Emma Chase, and Jenny Holiday.

What has been your favorite release of 2020 thus far?

I would have to go with Beach Read by Emily Henry. It was so freaking funny and it broke my heart at the same time. Highly recommend!

You’re stranded on an island: Which romance hero or heroine would you want to be stranded with and why?

Jack Harper from Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella because I’ve re-read the book so many times and I still fall in love with him every time. He has a dry sense of humor so he’ll keep me entertained. He’s also rich so I’m sure he’ll have resources to have someone rescue us. And he supportive of others so he’ll hear me out on my crazy solutions to get off the island.

What are your favorite tropes/catnip? Any tropes you don’t like to read?

My favourite tropes include boss/employee romance. There’s just something so fun about office romances where one has power and the other character has to respect them because of their position. Obviously, not in a creepy way… but in a professional way. 

The tropes I don’t like to read include widowed characters. I feel like majority of those romances would be a downer. 

What does the romance genre mean to you? 

The romance genre means happiness/excitement to me. There is not other genre out there that makes me feel the adrenaline rush I get when I read the meet cute or sense the strong attraction between the two main characters. It is also the only genre that teaches me to be more of a compassionate and understanding person in relationships.