Booktubers

[mindlessness]

@Kitt Yeah, it does feel like she gets a bit ‘ditzy’ sometimes, which I don’t actually think she is. I sometimes get the vibe she’s dumbing herself down a little to not sound too English grad student-esque. But I’d far prefer intelligent university level discussion that isn’t pretentious (*cough*Jack Edwards*cough*)
But I could just be giving her the benefit of the doubt too?

 

[kateps]

Don’t want this to come across mean but I don’t really know how else to say this.. really like Noelle but sometimes she comes across as a bit stupid in her videos. I don’t maybe it’s more like clueless or ignorant..? I don’t know how to put it. She’s doing a masters so she must be intelligent but yeah.

Totally get what you mean, especially about the inability to do 10 seconds worth of research. The most recent example I can think of was when she was discussing the Poppy War and she really really butchered the plot summary, to the point where it was a bit offensive. Some people called her out on it in the comments and she addressed it though, but still, Google is right there.

Another example that really irked me was when she was talking about her most disappointing reads of 2020 and she listed "The Secret History" because it made her "feel stupid" and triggered her impostor syndrome. Like, yes, if you only read romance and crime (which have their merits, I'm not saying they're lesser than, but they are objectively less challenging), then reading thick literary fiction will seem daunting, but the point is to also challenge yourself, especially if you're doing a masters in english. Generally, I think she's feeling out of her depth in an English masters, since she did her undergrad in another field, and she's realizing it's not just fun, easy reads all the time.

 

[queenamber]

One thing you can say about Lauren and the Books is that she's dedicated to a theme....

 

[DietGossip]

Don’t want this to come across mean but I don’t really know how else to say this.. really like Noelle but sometimes she comes across as a bit stupid in her videos. I don’t maybe it’s more like clueless or ignorant..? I don’t know how to put it. She’s doing a masters so she must be intelligent but yeah.

just been watching a recent book haul of hers and she’s talking about Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and she says she’s wanted to read it for ages but she couldn’t find it before and now finally has it. Then she says she can’t work out whether it’s memoir or fiction so let her know in the comments. Less than 10 seconds of research would answer that question. If you wanted to read a book so much surely you’d know the answer? If you don’t know just google it why are you asking for answers in the comments? She seems to be in that stage of booktube where you just blindly buy books and don’t know what they’re about.

Just one example of a time where I’ve been like.. are you just a bit dim or just talking tit. Yeah like I said I like her videos but it’s clear sometimes she’s talking about a book and almost just making tit up lol

Yeah one of the reasons I can't watch Noelle is because her recaps or descriptions of books are pretty much non-existent. One of her only talking points is how beautiful the cover is, not what the book is about or her thoughts on it.

 

[Flipships]

Ok yeah Emma’s books that changed my life vid was pretty infuriating at times. Again I like her choices and ideas but it just irks me that she’s assuming this life time of experience when like you say she’s just turned 23. Particularly the relationship stuff when she’s been in the one relationship since she was like 16 lol

 

[kateps]

Ok yeah Emma’s books that changed my life vid was pretty infuriating at times. Again I like her choices and ideas but it just irks me that she’s assuming this life time of experience when like you say she’s just turned 23. Particularly the relationship stuff when she’s been in the one relationship since she was like 16 lol

Yeah, exactly. I generally assume that people who go on and on about how "experienced" they are (esp. when they're in their early 20s), are probably exaggerating. It's a shame, I like her book-focused videos, and even her summer vlogs, I just can't with the whole "older sister" trend that's catching on on youtube, especially when your audience is basically the same age or even older than you

 

[Flipships]

Yeah, exactly. I generally assume that people who go on and on about how "experienced" they are (esp. when they're in their early 20s), are probably exaggerating. It's a shame, I like her book-focused videos, and even her summer vlogs, I just can't with the whole "older sister" trend that's catching on on youtube, especially when your audience is basically the same age or even older than you

totally agree

and to be honest I find the narrative around relationships so reductive at the moment . Of course it’s great to work on yourself and not worry about pleasing others etc, but there’s a lot of beauty in loving someone; being able to know yourself and also someone else. Lately it feels like of you defend being in a relationship you get pretty much accused of being in denial or staying because you’re comfortable. Although I’m sure I’m biased myself haha

 

[kateps]

totally agree

and to be honest I find the narrative around relationships so reductive at the moment . Of course it’s great to work on yourself and not worry about pleasing others etc, but there’s a lot of beauty in loving someone; being able to know yourself and also someone else. Lately it feels like of you defend being in a relationship you get pretty much accused of being in denial or staying because you’re comfortable. Although I’m sure I’m biased myself haha

I get what you mean. In her case I think it comes from being in a long-term relationship before she really got a chance to get to know herself, and eventually she got cheated on so it's understandable that she's bitter. It's good to see her date and be young and have experiences, as she should at 23 and after coming off her first big relationship. It's her superiority complex I can't handle, which manifests in many areas, not just relationships. Anyway, I truly hope someone makes a thread for her because otherwise we're going to be veering waaay off topic

 

[alwaysbreading]

So Reads with Rachel read JM Buckler's book after her racist rant just to do a click bait video that barely garnered her views?

 

[alwaysbreading]

this was a nice idea but majority of the suggestions were hyped and well known in the online booksphere

 

[Kitt]

I do like Emma at Drinking by My Shelf a lot and her videos are fun by my god her accent recently has been getting more and more annoying. It seems very very put on.

 

[alwaysbreading]

Myonna deadass missed the point of the tweet

 

[mindlessness]

Myonna deadass missed the point of the tweet

Reading the replies I think a lot of them did!

I do like Emma at Drinking by My Shelf a lot and her videos are fun by my god her accent recently has been getting more and more annoying. It seems very very put on.

It's odd the way her accent ebbs and flows. It confuses me too and I am still not sure what her partner's name is. RJ? Archie? I don't know

 

[DietGossip]

Myonna deadass missed the point of the tweet

Yikes.

I really do wonder how some of these people who make book content have the time. I'm a fast reader but I'm not always in the mood to read- I wonder how many of them force themselves to read and I know that a lot of them read manga and comics to bump their numbers up even when they admit they don't have any strong feelings about them (looking at Becca and the Books who once admitted that she never rates manga more than 3*)

 

[silkytoes]

Yikes.

I really do wonder how some of these people who make book content have the time. I'm a fast reader but I'm not always in the mood to read- I wonder how many of them force themselves to read and I know that a lot of them read manga and comics to bump their numbers up even when they admit they don't have any strong feelings about them (looking at Becca and the Books who once admitted that she never rates manga more than 3*)

Yes I've always wondered this. I read 2 to 5 books a month depending on how busy I am and how motivated I am to read. This is a lot compared to many people I know who don't read at all or may read a couple of books a year while on holiday. But it's far less than many book content creators.

I keep thinking how much I'd love to start a booktube channel so I could talk to more people about books but I have no idea how to find the time to even make the content let alone read the amounts they do. If I take time to plan, edit and film videos, then that takes out of my reading time so that means more 2 book months than 5 book months, but that leaves me with very little content to talk about. Plus creators need to maintain a social media presence to get a following so I'd need to be a lot more active on twitter and Instagram than I currently am and interact a lot more.

I just don't get how people can manage reading 10+ books a month, create online content and maintain their social media without giving something else up. Like working full time or socialising.

 

[alwaysbreading]

Some of them don't have full time jobs or they've made this their full time job.

 

[Nelliephant]

Also, I've noticed quite a few of the UK based ones work for book box companies, so some of their video making likely makes up a bit of their work. Things like unboxings.

 

[Kitt]

I think some of them really do just commit a lot of their time to reading and booktube though. I always like that Lala is particularly honest about this aspect of her life. She says her life outside work is like reading / sleep / family and she can’t do all three. So if she’s reading a lot - family and sleep are probably suffering for it. I think that makes sense.

I think Lauren and the Books does nothing but read when she’s home and I think you can see that with other booktubers too like jadeyraereads. I do always wonder how people with partners manage to fit it all in. I always get the impression they just read a lot while at home and don’t necessarily socialise all that much with their partners. Like Lauren will read while eating her dinner and David will put earphones on and watch something. For me that time is for chatting to my husband so yeah I miss out on reading what 10-20 pages with my dinner but oh well. I’m not trying to cram in books for content.

I do admire the people who work full time and do booktube as well though. It’s a lot. But I do wonder what other aspects of their life suffer for it when some of them read such a lot. I know I couldn’t manage it.

 

[alwaysbreading]

Ashley has a good video up about balancing booktube and offline life

 

[qwikti]

I think i massively need to unplug from the booktube world, and i only really got into it around January this year. I have read SO much more than i ever have before, but i don't feel like i'm necessarily pursuing all the books that i feel like might enrich me.

It has encouraged me to explore my options more and try genres and books that i would never have tried before, but at the same time, it has kind of made me fall for this idea that it's okay not to challenge yourself with reading (which i totally agree with for some readers - like any hobby, it's all about what works for the individual), and so i've let so many classics fall by the wayside for me to pursue random fantasy and romance, which are great genres, but i feel i could be more enriched if i didn't fall into hype of good reviews on yt and just challenged myself a bit more. certainly an error on my part, but i'm gonna phase out some of the content to get back into pushing myself with reading.

also, is anyone else subscribed to * e m m i e * - i love her channel. she's an english student, and she defo has some longer form content, but honestly, i really enjoy it. i think she's one of the few who i may continue to stay subscribed to because she doesn't just recommend YA fantasy that i don't really wish to continue pursuing