Booktubers

[mascaraeyes]

I've come across from GG because the site was so slow and this was the only thread I watch that TL didn't already have

Booktubers talk about books (for the most part) and the 'largest' booktubers, and the ones most discussed before, are:
polandbananasBOOKS
Sasha Alsberg
Hailey in Bookland
Regan / peruseproject
Katytastic
jessethereader

What are your thoughts on any of them, or any others you may know?

 

[Horatio]

I love reading but have never found a book tuber that I got really into even when trying to find ones who read things that interest me (ie not YA) So , sorry I can’t be that helpful discussing those listed above. I don’t know why but sometimes a YouTuber doesn’t click with you for whatever reason. I was a big sunbeams Jess fan though who does book stuff alongside other content - though not as much these days.

And this is a weird one but I just had a book video by PewDiePie recommended to me. I don’t watch him much and didn’t even know he had done anything like this but it was really good so I ended up watching a few. He reads an interesting variety of classics and some lesser known without it always being the same old cliched choices (no 1984, great Gatsby etc - I love them both but i don’t need to hear another vlogger summarise the plot or give their take on what it says about society)
Also he says really intelligent insightful things without being pretentious. In fact he seems a little shy about appearing pompous. He comes across as a very clever humble and interesting guy. So yeah, PewDiePie is a book tuber, who knew?

 

[mascaraeyes]

I love reading but have never found a book tuber that I got really into even when trying to find ones who read things that interest me (ie not YA) So , sorry I can’t be that helpful discussing those listed above. I don’t know why but sometimes a YouTuber doesn’t click with you for whatever reason. I was a big sunbeams Jess fan though who does book stuff alongside other content - though not as much these days.

And this is a weird one but I just had a book video by PewDiePie recommended to me. I don’t watch him much and didn’t even know he had done anything like this but it was really good so I ended up watching a few. He reads an interesting variety of classics and some lesser known without it always being the same old cliched choices (no 1984, great Gatsby etc - I love them both but i don’t need to hear another vlogger summarise the plot or give their take on what it says about society)
Also he says really intelligent insightful things without being pretentious. In fact he seems a little shy about appearing pompous. He comes across as a very clever humble and interesting guy. So yeah, PewDiePie is a book tuber, who knew?

I get the YA thing - a lot of the larger ones are so YA focused and it's harder to find channels that have more adult books, without just being classics and it can get tiring and boring
And I've not watched PewDiePie's book videos before, but heard of them quite a bit in the community... I think there was a bit of drama on that. But I tend to stay away from public drama in the book sphere

 

[Horatio]

Oh really what was the drama about? Coming from a basically neutral position I was quite impressed by his videos as I said - haven’t been sure what my opinion on felix is for years because I have no interest in gaming and always associated him with that.

The YA trend is tedious but in my experience some of the channels which define themselves as NOT YA can be just as tedious. The same sort of choices like I said, if contemporary 1984/Gatsby if classic Austen or Dickens. Nothing wrong with those but just seems that’s all lots of channels go for. Oh wait you basically said the same - well I agree!

 

[mascaraeyes]

I think it was along the lines of 'we've been promoting reading for years but as soon as PewDiePie does it he gets media attention and praise' - it seemed to be a lot of jealousy because he got way more numbers and praise for his interest in books It was a bit pathetic really - but a lot of small booktubers whined about it.

And yes! It seems to be YA or pretentious classic snob, with minimal in betweens and outside the boxes.

 

[Horatio]

Ah yeah he even mentioned in one of them that Waterstones had dedicated a table to his choices. And if you look at comments a lot of them are saying “only PewDiePie could get me to read” etc...which I think is great. He is insanely influential, no booktuber could ever come close let’s be honest. If they really loved reading they would appreciate him inspiring 13 year old gamers to pick up a book as well as suggesting some interesting stuff.... Definitely jealous though you’re right. It’s a shame it can’t just be about love of reading but that’s to be expected on YouTube nowadays isn’t it.

 

[Lars Guinard]

I watch Felix from time to time, I enjoy his non gaming content. If he is ‘influencing’ young/people to read then that is a positive, in time those who are reading (as a result of Felix) may read more varied books and discover other ‘booktubers’.

 

[LittlePaw]

I always thought the problem booktubers had with PewDiePie was more about his association with Nazi and alt-right tendencies and usage of a racial slur and how they didn’t want booktube associated with that, rather than “jealousy”. A lot of people acknowledged that it was good if people wanted to read more, but they’d wished it had come from a better source and worried that his audience would turn to other booktubers, “mainstream” or otherwise, and perhaps start some “drama” there as well.

 

[Hobbitsies]

Just going to bring back this thread if that is okay.

I love booktube have 100% been watching it for years at this point. The thread at the other side it always being used so I hope this one can get some traction again.

I don't understand how booktube is so drama filled. It is so messy (mostly on twitter)

I find reviewing so subjective obviously but it honestly makes me roll my eyes when certain booktubers shit on entire genres. Like I don't love sci fi but I still have read some great sci fi books. I adore crime books but there are some awful ones. The most recent version of this was Daniel Green's YA video which while raising some interesting points about YA being a marketing genre rather than a genre based on the storyline itself completely misunderstands the whole point of YA.

Did anyone else watch it?

 

[chocolate choux]

Just going to bring back this thread if that is okay.

I love booktube have 100% been watching it for years at this point. The thread at the other side it always being used so I hope this one can get some traction again.

I don't understand how booktube is so drama filled. It is so messy (mostly on twitter)

I find reviewing so subjective obviously but it honestly makes me roll my eyes when certain booktubers shit on entire genres. Like I don't love sci fi but I still have read some great sci fi books. I adore crime books but there are some awful ones. The most recent version of this was Daniel Green's YA video which while raising some interesting points about YA being a marketing genre rather than a genre based on the storyline itself completely misunderstands the whole point of YA.

Did anyone else watch it?

I have no idea about any booktube drama as at this point I only watch two booktubers and they seem to steer clear of it all - but I’m interested to know more

I agree about the shitting on entire genres. Recently realised that I like some thriller/crime fiction after shunning it as trash for years same with women’s fiction

Though I’m going to kinda contradict that point and agree with the old posts on this thread and say I hate the lack of variety booktubers showcase. I’ve grown out of YA (even books I used to love, I don’t appreciate anymore) and I like some classics but when a book is decades/centuries old and popular, there are so many reviews out there and few are original. Would love to know about any booktubers who don’t focus heavily on YA and classics

 

[Hobbitsies]

I have no idea about any booktube drama as at this point I only watch two booktubers and they seem to steer clear of it all - but I’m interested to know more

I agree about the shitting on entire genres. Recently realised that I like some thriller/crime fiction after shunning it as trash for years same with women’s fiction

Though I’m going to kinda contradict that point and agree with the old posts on this thread and say I hate the lack of variety booktubers showcase. I’ve grown out of YA (even books I used to love, I don’t appreciate anymore) and I like some classics but when a book is decades/centuries old and popular, there are so many reviews out there and few are original. Would love to know about any booktubers who don’t focus heavily on YA and classics

Well if I have understood correctly the most recent drama centres around a girl writing an "essay" about why another booktuber was a toxic friend and the impact on the community that she was having? The girl accused of being toxic essentially removed herself from twitter. She also happens to be Filipino so other booktubers are accusing this whole thing of being racist? I don't see how race comes into it but

Oh I completely agree! I watch booktube for recs mostly so I love watching booktubers who don't read 100% of what I read naturally. I follow Books and Lala for crime/thrillers, drinkingbymyshelf for literary fiction, Peruse project/Daniel Green for fantasy, Merphy Napier for a mix of YA and fantasy etc etc. I do like YA don't get me wrong but I also like to see a wide range of tastes otherwise everyone is just reading the same books. Oh and jeansbookishthoughts is fab! Really like her even if out thoughts don't always line up.

 

[chocolate choux]

Well if I have understood correctly the most recent drama centres around a girl writing an "essay" about why another booktuber was a toxic friend and the impact on the community that she was having? The girl accused of being toxic essentially removed herself from twitter. She also happens to be Filipino so other booktubers are accusing this whole thing of being racist? I don't see how race comes into it but

Oh I completely agree! I watch booktube for recs mostly so I love watching booktubers who don't read 100% of what I read naturally. I follow Books and Lala for crime/thrillers, drinkingbymyshelf for literary fiction, Peruse project/Daniel Green for fantasy, Merphy Napier for a mix of YA and fantasy etc etc. I do like YA don't get me wrong but I also like to see a wide range of tastes otherwise everyone is just reading the same books. Oh and jeansbookishthoughts is fab! Really like her even if out thoughts don't always line up.

Thanks for explaining, the community does seem messy for one that should be relatively drama free which is off-putting

I’ll check out some of those! I completely forgot about Jean, I used to really enjoy her videos and passion for history. I’ve missed watching booktube videos but haven’t had the motivation to find anyone new in a while

I do hate the materialism of some booktubers. Some books are beautiful yes but collecting hundreds of books, buying them at full price upon release (often being hardcovers too which are more expensive), having multiple different copies of the same book, not buying second hand/using libraries etc makes reading seem inaccessible. Reading is an escapist hobby and these things kinda ruin that

 

[Hobbitsies]

Thanks for explaining, the community does seem messy for one that should be relatively drama free which is off-putting

I’ll check out some of those! I completely forgot about Jean, I used to really enjoy her videos and passion for history. I’ve missed watching booktube videos but haven’t had the motivation to find anyone new in a while

I do hate the materialism of some booktubers. Some books are beautiful yes but collecting hundreds of books, buying them at full price upon release (often being hardcovers too which are more expensive), having multiple different copies of the same book, not buying second hand/using libraries etc makes reading seem inaccessible. Reading is an escapist hobby and these things kinda ruin that

So messy! Especially as it does have a lot of people who have jobs and stuff.

She is really nice to watch. Dead relaxing and very articulate. They are all good for different reasons but they all make content that is at least somewhat interesting most of the time. I just like reading vlogs because I use them as noise while I'm doing work.

100% so much materialism. I don't care really about them buying a lot of books. Even if it is ridiculous because it is their ~thing~ and I get it. I like my bookshelves too but I wish they would talk about libraries and stuff more! They are such an amazing resource especially for older books. I also feel a lot of the big booktubers buy so many and read none of them? There are exceptions to that but it just seems like buying for the sake of buying?

 

[queenamber]

Anyone here watch Laurenandthebooks? I generally really like her but I WISH she would give Her boyfriend David a chance to speak! It’s really frustrating watching her live shows because she won’t let him get a word in edgeways.

 

[audiobooks]

Welp I guess time to migrate here while GG tries to fix itself yet again.

Self pub author and booktuber Faith Lane exposed herself as homophobe in now-deleted tweets. She has then retweeted "I feel like much of the world has lost the ability to engage in civil discourse. Which is sad because I really do want to talk to people with different views than my own." Which is a tweet by another homophobic person.

cassidyreads exposed for refusing to post about BLM, blocking & subtweeting the person who asked, and then posting a blackout pic today in an obvious performative gesture.



Apparently cassidyreads was also crying on instagram live about it lol.

 

[Kitt]

I’ve just caught up on the Rachael Marie stuff on twitter from a couple of days ago. Never liked her but wow she’s fucked up.

 

[SoulDestroyer]

This may be considered a bit rude (sorry in advance!), but BookswithEmilyFox ... ever since she had jaw surgery I really struggle to tell what she's saying. Is it just me? Some of her words run into each other and she pronounces stuff weird ... "triller", not thriller ... Like her voice has completely changed. She used to be quite clearly spoken. I think I remember hearing she had surgery for aesthetic reasons, but I can't really tell the difference apart from her voice.

 

[SoulDestroyer]

Why do publishers send booktubers the ARC, the hardback and then the paperback of the same book unsolicited!! What a massive waste of money.

 

[blossombloss]

Why do publishers send booktubers the ARC, the hardback and then the paperback of the same book unsolicited!! What a massive waste of money.

I think it's just in the chance they show it in a haul. They typically will account for the cost of books for promo when working out all the numbers, so then it makes sense if you do have loads of the books to just keep sending them out.

 

[blossombloss]

I've just finished watching Jean from Jeansbookishthoughts, her September Second-hand video and I find it very weird that she did this video. Yes, it's applaudable that she now only buys second-hand clothes but it's a bit rich to keep going on about it when she hauls an insane amount of books every single month. Yes, some may be second hand but that doesn't excuse the extreme consumerist she is. I adore books as much as the next person but christ. I often wonder how she gets through any of them and then I see she's uploaded yet another haul vid, it's a constant cycle.