As a full-time content creator and the person behind the popular BookTok account aymansbooks, influencer Ayman reads upwards of 70 books in a year. 

Based just outside of Chicago, Ayman has amassed a large audience of like-minded readers on TikTok, where her following is quickly approaching 1 million. (As of this writing, the count is 911.2K on TikTok and just over 300K on Instagram.)

The 25-year-old weaves together regular posts about daily life, celebrations of Pakistani food and culture to celebrate her family’s heritage, and a steady stream of book-related posts, memes, reviews, and more.

Ayman says that when it comes to posting content, window lighting is preferred. 

“Sunlight is the best,” she says.

Her favorite products include the DJI Pocket 3, which she calls “the best nonchalant camera,” or simply her iPhone.

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 $419 at Amazon
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For shooting still photos, Ayman says that 35mm film is her “recent hyper fixation because it’s so nostalgic.”

Opens in a new window Credit: Fujifilm Fujifilm x100VI $2,459 at Amazon
“These photos come out so dreamy.” Shop Now Opens in a new window Credit: Canon Canon PowerShot G7 X $1,649 at Amazon
“Best when I’m working with low light, the photos come out so crispy!” Shop Now

Ayman says she edits everything on CapCut because “it’s so easy to use and there’s so many creative features on there.”

Credit: Ayman / Mashable

We caught up with the content creator about her favorite books, her opinion about e-readers, and the other gear she relies on as a BookTok regular.

Favorite bookish gear and accessories while reading?

Annotating tabs and pens, a really nice bookmark, a reading light, and a good comfy place to sit (my bed usually).

Opens in a new window Credit: Kicnic Sticky tabs $5.99 at Amazon
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Printed books or e-reader?

It really depends because I love both. If I already have the physical book, I’ll read that. If it’s on [Kindle Unlimited], a fanfic, or I just wanna save money, then e-reader. Even through I have a huge books collection, I believe I would still end up choosing e-reader if that was my last option, simply because it’s convenient. I currently use a Kindle Colorsoft and Kobo Colour with the Kobo Stylus 2. I really like both but now I keep most of my fanfics on my Kobo since they take up so much storage. 

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What is your preferred reading set-up?

In bed at night with my lamp on. The setting has to be quiet. No sounds at all. Pillows all around me. 

Top 5 desert island books?

• The Scorched Throne by Sara Hashem

• Alchemised by SenLinYu

• Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

• The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab

• Mate by Ali Hazelwood 
  

If you start reading a book and realize you don’t like it — what do you do?

It depends. 90% of the time I push through because when I review the book I wanna stay honest and let my audience know it doesn’t get better. I’ve been getting better at DNFing recently because life is too short to read boring books.

Editor’s note: DNF stands for “Did Not Finish” and is an abbreviation that has been widely adopted by the BookTok community.

What do you love about what you do?

I love that I get to connect with like-minded people that love and enjoy the same books I do. I love that this jobs gives me opportunities that I could only dream of, [for example] attending premieres and meeting authors.

What goals do you have for your digital footprint:

My thoughts lately have been “full-send, just go for it, cringe is dead,” while also staying safe of course. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.