Kaia Gerber, Emily Ratajkowski And Kendall Jenner: Models As ‘Bookfluencers’

The 20-year-old daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford started her book club on IG in March 2020, when the pandemic was just beginning and people were looking for ways to entertain themselves during lockdown. She posted about it, saying, “i know we are all feeling isolated right now, so I was trying to think of easy ways we can stay connected (beyond just scrolling) and decided i’m gonna start a book club. i read a lot on my own, but would love to be able to talk to you guys about it.”

Gerber isn’t the only model who’s been showing off her bookworm side on Instagram. For years, Emily Ratajkowski has been sharing her literary recommendations on the platform as well, and is an author herself of a collection of essays titled My Body.

In fact, the 28-year-old beauty, who’s famous for her flawless physique and her habit of flaunting it on social media, was once a guest of Gerber on Instagram Live to discuss Joan Didion’s 1970 novel Play It As It Lays. Yes, behind those pretty faces are smart and bookish brains!

We also have to mention Kendall Jenner here. Though she does not officially have a book club, she has also shared her must-read list in the past and been snapped by paps a few times while relaxing with a book – once in Cannes reading Darcie Wilder’s Literally Show Me a Healthy Person and another time in Miami with Chelsea Hodson’s Tonight I'm Someone Else.

Both books sold out on Amazon as a result of Jenner’s accidental endorsement, according to their authors.

In terms of sales, it’s clear that “bookfluencers” like Gerber, Ratajkowski and Jenner are just as effective for authors and publishers as style influencers are for fashion brands. As another example, when Gerber and Ratajkowski featured Alisson Wood’s Being Lolita on their lists, the author saw a spike in book sales as well as in social media followers. It’s great that book lovers are able to connect in this way, and even greater that models and celebs are involved as bookstragrammers, showing fans a different side to their personas while also driving sales for books.