Featured #Bookstagrammer Memory, aka @Xicanti

Our featured #Bookstagrammer today is Memory, also known by her Instagram handle @Xicanti, and accompanied here by her wee poodle, Murchie. When not Instragramming, Memory blogs about books and food at In the Forest of Stories. Take it away, Memory!

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Tell us about yourself! Where do you work/play? What books do you like to read? Do you have any non-bookish hobbies? Any pets? What's your one great ambition?

I'm Memory, an avid reader of most things and a particular fan of SFF. I live with a tiny poodle named Murchie, who stands opposed to my Ultimate Life Goal, which is to pet every dog ever. He's much more supportive when it comes to my ongoing quest to eat all the tacos, though he does wish I'd share the spoils a little more often.

How did you get started blogging on IG? How long ago?

I first heard of Instagram through Kelly of The Written World. It looked like a lot of fun, so I signed up as soon as I acquired my first mobile device with a camera. I think that was around three years ago, but I'm bad with time.

IG started as a way for me to share pictures of my dog, Murchie, and my feed quickly expanded to include shots of my current reads, places I'd wandered to on my walks, and whatever I was eating. Around a year ago, I decided to combine the Murchie photos with the book photos; thus was my Murchie Plus Books series born.

Hashtags: What are some of your favorites? Do you have any "rules" when it comes to using hashtags?

I tag all my bookish pictures with #murchieplusbooks. When Murchie and I are apart and I've got to use a stand-in (usually someone else's pet, but sometimes one of my Funko Pop! bobbleheads) , I add #specialgueststar[stand-in's name].

Right now, I've also been tagging all my food pics so people observing Ramadan can filter them out if they deem it necessary. And I always tag my taco pics with #tacowatch2k15, which started as a joke on Twitter and has now become an actual thing.

What are some NON-bookish things you love posting?

Foooooooooood. Whenever I end up with a remotely photogenic meal, I Instagram it. Tacos have a particularly large presence on my feed on account of Ultimate Life Goal #2.

Selfies: Yes or meh?

Meh on my own account. I've taken maybe five selfies in my entire life, and at least two of those were alongside Murchie. I'm not a photogenic person. I do enjoy other peoples' selfies, though.

They say a picture's worth 1000 words. What story does your Instagram feed tell about you? Do you think it's accurate?

Surely anyone who stumbled across my feed would think I like dogs and comics and things one can eat. This is entirely accurate.

How do you integrate IG with your blog? Or do you?

Every Sunday, I do a round-up of all my Murchie Plus Books posts from the previous week. I include descriptive alt tags for my vision-impaired readers, and I add some additional commentary on the books and on anything cute or quirky Murchie may have done during the photo session.

What are four of your best or favorite photos/videos that you've posted in the past year?

A small grey poodle, Murchie, sits on a fuzzy red and white blanket. He wears an orange t-shirt and has his mouth stretched wide open. Behind him is a white Kobo with the cover of John Lewis's March, Book One on its screen.

Murchie stands on a patch of green grass, his ears perked. Slightly in front of him is a trade paperback copy of Tomboy by Liz Prince.

Murchie lays on a concrete step, his paws stretched out before him. He wears an orange t-shirt with brown trim. Beside him is a paperback copy of The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.

Murchie lays on a black couch. Beside him is a white Kobo with the cover of Matt Fraction and Christian Ward's Ody-C on its screen.

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If you want more cute poodle pics, be sure to follow Memory's Instagram account. You can also connect with her on Twitter.