@books.in.films is the IG account offering, well, exactly what it says on the tin. Launched by a book lover called Galine in 2017, the account is a curated feed of film or television characters spotted with books. The more books, and the more fan-favourite characters the better.
“I went on a Bergman, Allen, Truffaut and Rohmer movie-thon and loved that a common theme in the films were books, books, and more books. It grew from there!” Galine explains about the start of her page. With its initial focus seeming to be on the literary Instagram aesthetic we’ve all come to know and love, the first post is a still from the 1967 film La Collectionneuse, featuring Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Oeuvres Completes.
Over time, however, the account has evolved, with her 14k followers submitting posts they want to see featured – from Shelley Duvall in The Shining reading The Catcher in the Rye to Cher from Clueless in front of a stack of books, there are also book memes and snapshots from shows such as Netflix’s Sex Education and The Simpsons.
For Galine, however, the IG’s central focus is a nostalgic ode to classics and vintage – her favourite post being Pierre Clementi crafting a full wall of books in Partner by Bernardo Bertolucci. As for all-time favourites reads, she credits “The Bell Jar, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Demian, and everything by J.D Salinger” for changing her life.
And while book lovers often can be left disappointed when their favourite novels are turned into cinematic adaptations, this account provides a fresh take on the age-old books versus films debate. Flipping the conversation to show the role books can play in films, Galine still “gets nervous”, however, when her favourite books hit the screen. “I tend to avoid them,” she says. “Though A Single Man, The Virgin Suicides and Rosemary's Baby were, in my opinion, perfect.”
On the other hand, Galine’s favourite cinema book spotting has been, “Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha in Mars Attacks,” and if she could see any character reading any book she’d want to see, “Drop Dead Fred… reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”
Whether or not all books are meant to be in films and vice versa, @books.in.films provides a charming place for bookworms to soak in the joy of them both, and while it’s at it, provide some grade-A book reccs. Curated exclusively for Dazed readers, the book and film connoisseur suggests, “Helter Skelter, I'm With the Band, Slow Days Fast Company, A Single Man, The Virgin Suicides, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Cherry by Walker, Hippie by Coelho, and Tropic of Cancer.”
Looks like we’ll be starting our summer reading early this year.
