Even as a seasoned career travel and book blogger with a loyal readership since 2017, I sometimes need a little writer’s block or what’s “trending” push. These are my favorite book blog post ideas to keep content fresh, re-engage your audience, and have readers coming back for more. I’ll also tell you what to no longer write about: Topics (and practices) that may be destroying your book blog. Think major Dos and Don’ts.
Thrive in the sea of endless (and sometimes toxic) online content and blogs: Be memorable and helpful. Practice *good* SEO. With unregulated generative AI and copycat bloggers trying to make a quick buck, it is even more important to build a unique book blogging brand with your own voice and blog posts, especially in 2026 and beyond. Here’s how!
✨ The number one rule (and mistake I see) before you start: don’t copy anyone else. You’ll remain stagnant with few engaged and dedicated book blog readers. Ad networks won’t accept you, and you will face Copyright challenges. ✨
P.S. I have my MLIS degree and have worked in public libraries – I know what readers want, along with how to professionally book blog as a career (The Uncorked Librarian LLC is my small business – your online publication can be one, too). 💜 Christine
Quick List Of Successful Book Blog Post Ideas
Just a few topics I’ll cover below with dos, don’ts, and unique twists that still work well today:
- Book lists (I’ll give you a large list below)
- Book club books, discussion questions, and themed guides to host that book club
- Unique author interviews and spotlights (consider a $$ membership here)
- Reading tips, tricks, spaces, and more
- Literary travel, bookstores, libraries, literary-themed places to visit
- Reading challenges
- A second niche to pair with books – Lifestyle, nails, your Etsy store, fashion, gardening, cooking (recipes are still blogging king), hobbies, travel…
- Book reviews that resonate
- Literary lifestyle topics like shopping and gift guides
Book Blog Post Topics That No Longer Work
These are old-school book blog post topics that were popular when I first started blogging that I’d leave behind today:
- Book tags – This was a big Twitter/X thing back in the day, but Elon destroyed that platform
- Random guest posts and round-ups from equally random bloggers – I used to do these; people want your voice now (we’d do these for backlinks, which is a bad SEO practice today…)
- Books for a series and author in order (this is all readily available and easily searchable unless you add some unique twist or value)
- Book cover reveals – Save it for social media
- Blog tours
Starter Post Topics (The Basics)
If you are a beginner blogger, these are a few staple, basic book blog posts that avid readers rely on day-to-day, with the biggest mistakes that I see.
📚 Book Reviews
DON’T: Review those books, but don’t be snoozy or cut and paste publisher book summaries onto your site; that’s lazy, not helpful to your audience, and search engines may punish you for duplicate content. Plus, you’ll look like an AI bot (or maybe you are one), just trying to make a quick buck off affiliate links with no value or authority. Anyone can search and view a publisher’s summary independently.
DO: Write an authentic and brief summary with a memorable opinion. Use fresh ideas: List 5 reasons why you should read a book, or 10 things you learned from the title. Go for a catchy perspective, such as “Why [Book Name] Will Inspire You.” Or, try for top three character traits, 10 best reasons to read this book, or why you would sleep with the antagonist.
Use your book review as an opportunity to create a deeper niche. Think book review and recipe pairing. Quote other hilarious book reviews you find online. Paint your nails or make earrings to match the book. You get the idea. Start building your voice, and be YOU. Maybe you only focus on classics or romance novels. What are you passionate about and want to share?
Extra Tip: Where Else To Post Book Reviews
After years of writing book reviews directly on my website, I decided to move and post all individual book reviews on Goodreads and The StoryGraph as well as in our private Reading Challenge Facebook group (Uncorked Readers). This demonstrates my authority on the topic and that I read the books discussed (this is so important for 2026 blogging), while also not having too much content to update/maintain on the website. You don’t want content decay (guilty here!).
📚 Book Lists & Round-Ups (AKA The “Listicle”)
DON’T: Book lists are my personal favorite to write and go-to book blogging topic. However, what I’ve learned over the years and am now updating… Don’t make them massive like I used to. I’m talking 5,000 to 7,000 words with 50+ books. Don’t do it!
Your blog readers will skim, and you want the best of the best to prove you are also the best person to follow. Don’t copy someone else’s list, either. It’s not only unethical and illegal (I would send you a DMCA takedown), but it will only hurt you in the long run. You want and need a loyal following based on your tastes, your voice, and YOU. Readers won’t come back if your lists are generic and like everyone else’s. They can use ChatGPT for that. They won’t even remember you or your website.
DO: Write shorter book lists – 1,000 to 3,500 words maximum – with your top 5 to 20 books. Be diverse in selections and update this yearly. People like choices and short, digestible summaries. Make your book list posts fun and authentic. Choose books that people don’t normally read. You don’t have to read every book on every list – poll your readers, too – but you should, ya know, read and write what you know. Be the expert for your audience.
Book List Ideas
Just a few book lists to consider for your book blog (I’ve left these more generic because if you found a *very specific* list online, everyone else did too; you want to spice these up for your website with your twist):
- Genres – Contemporary fiction, romantasy, cozy mysteries, thrillers, graphic novels
- Periods, eras
- Famous people recommend
- Bestsellers and bestselling lists; anything ratings; read this, not that
- What’s trending on social media (BookTok loves…)
- By an author
- Seasonal, holiday, special day
- Book club recs
- For certain age groups
- Audiobooks
- Books on sale
- Read alikes (“Books if you like”)
- Anything themed (detectives, teachers, sports, royalty, shapes, growing up, animals, colors…)
- Destinations
- Related to specific reading challenges
- Quotes
- What you are currently reading
- Most anticipated and upcoming books
- New releases
- Best of
- Reading tropes
- Banned books
- Ugly, favorite, best, worst, pink, etc. book covers
- Retellings
- Adaptations: Books to movies and TV series
- Gift guides (gifts for book lovers)
- Anything inspirational, happy, cozy, escapist, fluffy (or the opposite if you specialize in “darker” media)
- Book pairings: wine, food, tea, music, Taylor Swift
Popular Book Features For Your Website
A few more book blog post ideas that are fairly standard include author interviews, reading challenges, book club discussion guides, and reading tips.
Author Interviews
DON’T: Truth be told, for engaging book blogging ideas, I find many author interviews tedious and poorly done. You can lose me quickly here. Don’t just have author interviews to play the SEO game or because you think you have to. You don’t. Think intention and value before tackling this…
DO: Pick authors you champion and want to highlight. Write engaging and authentic questions that you’ve gathered from your audience. These interviews and authors have to fit with your website, or no one will read them. Make sure readers leave with more value, more books to read, and inspiration.
A Better Way To Do Author Interviews
Consider a book club membership with monthly book club discussions and guest authors. OR, host an in-person event like a book club at a bookstore with an author interview and signing.
Reading Challenges
DON’T: When January hits, so do the reading challenges. First, don’t copy someone else’s; that hurts everyone, including you. Second, reading challenges are ridiculously oversaturated from when I first started book blogging – so if you aren’t a long-time book blogger or aren’t offering something wildly unique or fun, you might want to skip this. Like author interviews, don’t just host one to have it.
DO: I’ve been running our Uncorked Reading Challenge since the beginning. I’ve changed formats over the years, and I poll my readers each year to see what they want to keep them coming back. The challenge is FOR THEM, after all. My Uncorked Readers help decide our format, rewards, where we share, and topics. We’ve had monthly, yearly, quarterly, and bonus challenges.
Book Club Discussion Guides
Along with your book club reading lists, create solid book club discussion guides. You might even want to sell these or offer them as a newsletter opt-in. If you pop on Etsy, you’ll see some cool book club discussion guides for new release/trending books paired with questions to discuss, snacks and drinks to serve, and decorations to buy.
Reading Tips, Tricks, And More
Help your audience accomplish their yearly reading goals. Readers never have enough time to read. Amiright?! Write book blog posts about:
- How to read more
- Reading trackers, review platforms, reading journals, and more
- Reading tips for families, children, and educators
- Great reading and bookish spaces: libraries, bookstores, home design, and decor; favorite teas, cozy blankets, lighting, and more
- Tools that you love for reading (your Kindle page turner and protective book sleeves)
- Reading lifestyle
- Book subscriptions
- Social media people to follow for book recommendations: Bookstagrammers and best Bookstagram accounts, Book Bloggers, BookTubers, BookTokers, and more
- Reading quizzes
Even More To Share On Your Book Blog To Stand Out
As noted above, it’s important to stand out in a sea of blogs and AI. Create a well-rounded book community. You can write off-topic and off-niche. Don’t let any SEO tell you otherwise (trust me, I’ve hired the best of the best over the years, spending tens of thousands of dollars). Try to incorporate more of you and your life in your blog posts, like:
Home Bookshelves
I appreciate Marie Kondo (and we’ve moved a lot over the years), so I don’t have walls upon walls of books; however, I do have a cute home office with book carts, bookshelves, LEGO builds (my geeky jam), and bookish decor.
Travel
I love sharing not only literary travel to bookstores, libraries, literary-themed hotels and restaurants/cafes, and historic & literary sites, but also just my favorite places that I know my readers will appreciate. I blog about where I live, too.
Shared Hobbies
My readers and I tend to have similar interests, so I try to share hobby posts like gardening, yoga, gaming, podcasts I enjoy, favorite movies, and more. Cats. Grape juice. You know.
Lifestyle
Like my hobbies, my readers and I discuss and share aging, fashion, working out, candles, and things like what supportive shoes to wear in your 40s…
Health
I have multiple autoimmune diseases like Graves’, TED, Ulcerative Colitis, and UC-induced arthritis. It can be inspiring and just soothing to find your people and connect about chronic illness.
Legal Resources For Monetized Book Bloggers
If you use (or have goals to use) affiliate marketing, ads, sponsorships, etc. for your book blog to make income for your hard work, I highly recommend and use these resources:
👩🏻💻 Legal Bundle (this is a must; legal pages at the bottom of your website written by a lawyer and 6-figure blogger)
👩🏻💻 Affiliate Agreement
👩🏻💻 Sponsored Posts Agreement
👩🏻💻 Freelancer Contract (I use this for my writing contributors and when people ask me to freelance for them)
👩🏻💻 LLC Operating Agreement – Once you make more than $400 a year, I highly recommend forming an LLC for your blog. This 11-page document legitimizes your business, separating your blog from personal assets like your (personal) bank account, car, and house.
Before You Go: What To Read & Do Next
Monetize your book blog posts with affiliate links. These are my favorite (and easy to use) book affiliate programs.
I am a new blogger and this is the best list I’ve come across. so many ideas! thanks!
Aw, thank you!
this post holds a special place in my heart for when i run out of blogging ideas! 😂
Haha! I am so glad! Thank you.
After reading this article i came to knew many new things like Bookstagram and Bookish Hashtags. Thanks for sharing this content.
I’m so glad that this article was helpful! I hope you gained many new book blogging post ideas. Thanks so much for reading.
Wow, these are fantastic! Thank you so much for such a helpful list!
Thank you!
I’ve been wanting to start my own book blog for a while now, but was unsure about what I would really like to share. This and your other “starter” posts have been super helpful!
Thanks so much! Good luck with your book blog!
Love this, it is so helpful to me! Thank you
I’m so glad! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing the ideas listed. I’ve had my book blog for almost 2 years and there are lots of good advice here. Some of the advice can be used for other blogs as well besides just book blogs. Thanks a bunch for sharing!
Thanks so much! I am actually just about to update this post, too. I am glad it was helpful. Have a great rest of the week.
This is a great list, thanks so much for all the inspiration! We’re just starting to look at adding a blog to our website and I’ve been trying to come up with ideas, and this is super helpful!
Hey! Thanks so much for the kind message and for letting me know. I appreciate it! Best of luck with your blogging adventures.
Hello
I Read your article. Thanks for sharing such beautiful information, and I hope you will share some more info about best book reviews. You wrote really very well, I really like your blog and information provided by you. I appreciate your work.
Thanks
Hi! That’s a great idea. I will try to work on a new post for book reviews soon. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for these tips. I am planning to start my own book blog too. I am 19 and hella nervous about it. Anyhow, just wanted to leave a message, your blog is so cute and doing its work <3
Much love,
Aliya.
Thank you so much for the nice comment. Good luck with your book blog. I am sure you will do great, and please let me know if you need any help. Have a great week, and thanks, again! I really appreciate it.
Thank you for sharing the post nice!!
Thank you!
Hello,
I just started my own blog last week. So still figuring things out. I would like to do a post about with WWII fiction books I read during this COVID19 quarantine. But I’m not really sure how I can make this post visually appealing (maybe a collage of the covers, or list with links to amazon). Can you please guide me to some useful software or links?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Kate,
I saw that you already published your WW2 post on your blog. I think the ereader picture you took works. A bookstagram photo is always fun. I always include book covers with my book posts paired with purchasing and Goodreads links (I see that you included Goodreads).
You can use the free version of Canva to create graphics: https://www.canva.com/
I joined the Amazon Affiliate program, which provides readers with purchasing links where you also receive a small commission. Just remember that you then have to disclose at the top of the post that you are using affiliate links, make those links ‘no-follow’, and read and follow Amazon’s rules–if you decide to go the affiliate route. That program is here: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/.
I hope this helps!
Hi, I’m very new too book blogging and this post was a huge help!
Thank you so much x
Hey Sammy! Thank you so, so much for letting me know! XXxx
Hey Christine! I’ve been following you from now on and I love reading your tips. Thank you so much for sharing these suggestions, I started my blog about 6 years ago but then never got a piece of proper information for niche and blog post ideas so I didn’t focus on it, but from now on I’m surely going to follow some of your tips. Thanks! 🙂
Hey Andrea! Thank you so much! I am so glad to hear that everything is helpful. I definitely need to update a tad more for 2020. I agree, completely: back when I started book blogging, I am not always sure that I found the best or most helpful information out there. I am trying to remedy that, at least for my book blogging readers. Thank you, again!
Hi Christine! Your post is amazing and really helpful. I have been feeling less motivated for over a year now but your post reminds me of the basket of fun book blogging holds. Thank you.
Hey, Thank you so much! I am glad that this post helped, and thanks for letting me know too. I appreciate it! Sometimes a break is needed, too.