Interesting topic. BookTube can be a grind, no doubt. For me the benefit was I never wanted to treat it as a job. I knew this would never be "quit your job money" and that set my expectations from go. I wanted to create a positive community and just chat about books I love and I think I've created that. And the need some have to speed run as many books as possible was never going to be my thing. I've been reading 4-5 books per month since about 2015, eyes only, and I'll never change that pace. Again, reading is my favorite hobby and BookTube is just an extension of that. I think a more difficult part is the crappy comments BookTubers receive. It's weird since there is maybe nothing more subjective than reading. And as for growth, it took me 5 years of 3-4 videos per week to get to 100k. Unfortunately there's no magic bullet there, at least not that I know of.
I love the dedication and free love you have for booktube. Its not binding for you & that's great. And yes, RUclips can't be the only source of income for a lot of book tubers
Less is more. I’m a “slow” reader in that I usually read four or five books per month, but I do remember what I read because I often have deep dive discussions on the books. This is not a way to grow a channel fast since such discussions don’t get many views, but it’s a way to get great satisfaction from reading, in my experience. Thanks for the video, Johan!
@@neondemon5137 Definitely! That’s why I put quotation marks around “slow.” I read for my day job too, so it’s really a lot in the grand scheme of things. But in comparison to many other BookTubers, I’m not reading so many books. I also don’t use audiobooks, which is one way many people get to more stories.
The problem, as I see it, with a lot of booktubers is that they want to fit an easy niche in an already saturated market. Most seem to want to read whatever is easy and popular rather than doing the work to find interesting and unique books that haven’t been widely talked about. If you’re one channel amongst a thousand all doing the same thing, you probably won’t get any real traction.
I started reading at 3. I'm now almost 80. Reading is really the majority of my life. I am a loner. However, I have been comfortable reading at my own pace. I recently discovered BookTube and (basically) Goodreads. I did discover that my reading time became longer periods of time and trying to read more books and let people know how quickly I am reading. I discovered that I hated it. I want to enjoy my books at my speed. I dropped the BookTubers and am now realizing that I really am enjoying reading again. So, sorry, but real books are what I love and I'm gone.
And I'd rather have friends on Goodreads and check what they're reading and use that as a recommendation. Booktubers only share the most famous books or the NYT best selling novels which I usually don't like.
as an older reader i love booktube, giving me new fresh writers and books to try, 1 thing i have noticed , is that i follow , mike , leo you and like 4 other booktubers , but i have to manually lookup each week if your channels have update, eventho i follow you guys have notifications on, youtube rarely tells me that you guys/girls have new vids , which is a shame and doesn't help with the feeling of creators not getting value/respected for their work.just wanted to say i value you all and keep up your passion about the books you love!
Same for me! Older reader, and I follow as many booktubers as I can to find more books. I'm a voracious reader, but I only read paperbacks, so I'm hindered by the cost and I am compelled to choose carefully. Book review videos, and using them to find books I'm willing to spend money on, is getting more and more sparse. I actually have different accounts for my interests - this one is writing advice, books, history, and dinosaurs. If I look at one off-topic subject, the account gets polluted with that topic. The trouble is, all the new recommendations are very similar, and I can see why my booktuber subscriptions aren't being pushed - they don't fit the trends of bloated pointless content pumped out fast. I have to go looking for booktube content, which I already did and subscribed to them! I'm enraged when I see videos that are otherwise low-content nonsense being slipped in where I could be seeing something I actually signed up for and requested notifications for. Then I find myself spending a couple of very cranky minutes telling youtube WHY I don't like the video I am hiding, and commenting fluff on videos I DO want to see more often in the hopes they will start to pop up. I've started following channels on other social media so I actually get told when their videos are up from the horse's mouth, and I follow reading groups instead. Booktube is definitely a sunken cost in the grand scheme of book finding, for viewers and creators. 😢
Small heads up: if a video isn't showing up on your "subscriptions" feed for some reason, switching to the "today" feed will show it. Personally I check my sub feed and save everything interesting to my watch later during the week, and binge on the weekends 😅 Never missed a video! Hope this helps!
The booktube community is wonderful compared to some other communities on RUclips. Every creator that I follow seems to be supportive of other creators and actively promote each other's channels. They all love reading, and that's about all I could ask for. In other communities, there are fueds and drama going on constantly. Another positive about booktube is that when I leave a comment, other commenters are nice and friendly and just want to discuss books with you. I'm legitimately scared to leave a comment on other types of videos. People can be really mean in the comment section.
Booktube is niche, but Fantasy-SF booktube that don't rely on "the next big tiktok phenomenon" is EVEN MORE NICHE. Not only it is hard to find diversity on booktube, it is even harder to find creators that have interesting books to talk about. People who don't to that black hole of phenomenons to find material for their videos. It's hard but thankfully not impossible. Thank you Johan, Isa, Petrik, Merphy, Throne of Pages (sorry can't remember her name), Johana, Philip, Bookborn (again, I can't remember her name), and everyone else. I hope you guys never have that lonely feeling, because even if we don't talk much, we're watching, and most importantly, we're listening
I've read 100+ books now during like 3-4 years (since I discovered booktube and joined bookstagram) and the feeling of stress and to read much is constantly there. But for 2024 and forward I feel like I'm kind of sick of that approach towards books, and now I decreased by Goodreads goal to 50 books instead of 100 and I want to focus on the thicker fantasy stories that I love instead of reading shorter books just to read a lot of books - and two months in to the year and I've been loving my experience and I pick up books that is longer and I'm so excited to read fantasy and scifi and I couldn't care less about the stress to read much. It feels so refreshing!
I read primarily contemporary indie romance in the past. I got fed up with a lot of the authors taking advantage of readers, largely by constantly changing their covers or having special editions for only a chosen few. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I finally returned to loving reading but now it’s fantasy and finally the urge to pick up thrillers way more often. (They sound good but I rarely reached for them in the past.) I felt terrible because I’d read 100-125+ books a year and I just cannot sustain that now. It took me a while to realize there’s legitimate reasons for that and no fault to be had. Fantasy is just longer and more time consuming in a lot of cases. Now, contemporary romance sounds good but I don’t reach for those. The sad part to me is that (at least in my case) you have authors that should want everyone to read, especially their own work but because of their petty nature and outright greed, they actually turned a reader off from reading in general but moreover, a reader of theirs off from continuing to support and read them.
I did the same with Goodreads this year, down to 50. Agreed about not having stress related to the amount of reading. For me reading should be fun and relaxing, not stressful.
I’m a brown booktuber, so I certainly understand the “low representation” and “bipocs get lesser engagement” issues - because that is true. I was on tarot-tube too, and this was one of the reasons I quit it, because bipoc tarot readers just don’t get the engagement that non-bipoc folks do. But that experience really informed my booktube journey. So here is the thing - I totally respect all these creators’ feelings and there’s no shade here - but the reality is that what is trending keeps changing and if our goal is higher subs, likes and shares; then we should be okay with making the necessary reading-lifestyle changes that will bring about that type of growth. Why/how else are the biggest booktube accounts growing so quickly? It took me years to make my peace with the fact that in all likelihood, I will never be a “big” booktuber. Mainly because I am a very slow reader and I don’t generally follow booktube trends. But, I have found a handful of subscribers who genuinely enjoy the type of books I read and who are as eager to engage with me, as I am with them. And for me, that’s enough - I spent years feeling so dejected at my tarot-tube failure - and nothing is worth that kind of anxiety and self-doubt. I think booktubers need to really go back and reassess if they are willing to make that tradeoff, between - channel growth and personal freedom.
I have noticed recently that a lot of booktubers are doing massive unhaul videos… getting rid of dozens, if not hundreds, of books. I’m sure I’ve watched some before, but since I noticed that it (suddenly, to me) seems like a big thing to do, I am refusing to watch those. And following that, I don’t want to watch the videos with huge hauls, either. It does smack of consumerism. It does seem like they’re just buying books to make haul and unhaul videos with them, not to actually read them.
totally agree. I'm now 50, and i never thought in my life time, everyone would own their very own library's, but its just going to far with regards to consumption. i have been collecting and building my library for over 40 years i have my baby books still so probably longer lol, but they are getting them fully built in less that 12 months lol
but its good for libraries, if you donate the ones you`ve read, but dont want to read again, or the ones that dont look as interesting as you first thought they looked when you bought them.
I try not to buy more books, unless I'm out of the books I want to read or one I want to read happens to be on sale (the library in my town has a bad selection of genres I like unfortunately)
The reality is, RUclips for the majority of creators should really be seen as a hobby. If you are hoping to make a living from it, just like any small business where you don’t have another main income to draw from, you have to be all in. And most people in the end can’t afford that. People become disillusioned. That the work they have put in isn’t returning the rewards they expect they should get.
I’ve been wanting to start my own BookTube channel myself because of my love of books, but I will admit to feeling intimidated by the pressure to read tons of books, and the pressure to buy tons of books. Nothing kills the enjoyment of a hobby faster than feeling obligated to do it a specific way. I have also noticed a great deal of repetition in the types of videos creators put out there. There’s TBR videos, then vlogs where you can watch them read their TBR and get initial thoughts, and then there are wrap up videos talking about the TBR that they finished (or didn’t). Then there’s ranking lists, or top ten videos… the list goes on. The point is, they talk about the same books over and over and over and over… That’s boring, and not really sustainable, especially because you can only hear what the book is about so many times before you just don’t want to engage anymore. On top of that, there is a tendency for creators to jump on the bandwagon of popular and new releases, so all the content across BookTube ends up being the same monotonous content across the whole platform. More and more, I find myself gravitating towards channels that do original content or read books that aren’t necessarily trending. Elliot Brooks has been doing a fantastic “To Authors From Readers” series that invites the community to talk about things we like and dislike in our stories. Merphy Napier ignores the algorithm completely and reads what she wants. Even you, Johan, do videos that aren’t as copy, paste, repeat, which I appreciate. So circling back, when I start my channel, I intend to do my own thing, and try to avoid pressuring myself into doing what everyone else is doing. Will I grow very fast? Probably not. I’m okay with that.
I think you should start your own booktube channel. It sounds like you’ve already been considering new ways to talk about books that don’t fit into the current ecosystem and that’s awesome! Also - don’t feel pressured to read a lot of books. Do it because you love reading and want to share your ideas. There’s no race to see who can read a certain amount of books.
@@laemotica8405definitely! The only reason I am waiting is because I am having a baby soon (as in, less than a month from now). I don’t want to commit to anything new until I can adjust to that.
@@annmoore321 Good luck with your bub! Definitely keep it in the back of your mind, and another vote for BE AUTHENTIC TO YOURSELF. Don't read popular books just because they are popular, its a sure way to be miserable. I'm not even a content creator and I've been reading popular books that I really should have looked into harder. Mostly because mass produced paperbacks are cheaper so I stray over to them in my desperation to read SOMETHING, but because booktubers recommend them. Were they paid to, are they caught in the hype, does it behoove them to say something nice because otherwise they'll suffer backlash?! Who knows! I'd much rather hear about hidden indie gems I'd never otherwise find than have someone bang on again about a book I hate just because its popular.
I just subscribed to your channel. Just ignore the typical formats, ignore the pressure, do not worry about a schedule, formatting, editing, anything ... you can start by just picking up a favorite book and telling us why it is your favorite. It really can be that easy. It takes time, but you will find an audience - on your own terms.
Most BookTubers quit under a year after starting. And most of them don't record a clickbait video to announce they are quitting. Most who quit just - quit. And the main reason for that is .. .. .. this is just a hobby and life moves on.
To perhaps go against the grain, people can read for whatever reason they want, including to entertain themselves or to 'escape' the real world. How they choose to do that is entirely their choice. If someone wanted to try to hit a number goal of 100 for the year as a challenge as a way to 'escape' the world, that is entirely valid. If someone doesn't 'absorb' a book as well as another person, again that is also a valid way to be a reader. The idea that every book needs to be read slowly to be 'correctly' read is ridiculous. I have a terrible memory, regardless of the speed at which I read, or how many books I read. I just feel that everyone should read how they wish, and as long as they arn't telling other people that their way is the only way, it really doesn't matter to others. However, this is just my opinion, and I personally don't care about other people's reading choices, as long as they don't make others feel bad for theirs.
EXACTLY THIS. Some people just read really fast. I read about ten books a month, because I read quickly and it is what I love to do. I don't listen to podcasts, I don't watch tv, I rarely watch movies. In my spare time I read, and when I'm driving or doing chores, I listen to audiobooks. Some people view reading as a hobby, others as a job, and still others as a competitive sport. As long as they aren't hurting anyone and enjoying what they do, I don't see a problem here.
They are cram skimming. Similar to if you have lecture notes and speedread it the night before a test but retain nothing. You can tell from how they talk about a book if someone has actually read it. A few booktubers friends of this very channel do that. I watched one talk about the top liked books from the reddit fantasy list, and even her spot summaries of the book were way off for each book.
@@Edog1337 that explains a lot. Seems like followers and views are their goal and that’s what made me follow Library of a Viking in the first place, because he enjoys reading and talking about books and followers and views are a byproduct of it instead of his goal
audiobooks at 3x speed lol.. definitely not my preferred reading method... I read usually 10 books physically a month and 2 via audio at 1.25-1.5x .. I can read much faster with my eyeballs but since I can't do that while working or driving, that's where the audio comes in. audio helps me read more but not faster because I'm not listening at chipmunk speed. 😅
oh- I need to add that the number of books read is somewhat arbitrary because you could have a book that's 100 pages or you could have a book that's 800 pages.. my average book length is 300-500 pages but at least half of them are 500 pages or more, which do take longer to read but I'm totally fine with because I really enjoy those books
People have any number of reasons for leaving, some of which may be very personal. I totally understand that. People have jobs, families, other responsibilities. Sometimes people are going through some sort of crisis. Again, totally understandable. Booktube takes a lot of time and effort. What I hate is the, "I'm leaving forever!", dramafest, only to return a short time later. Especially when they come back ONLY because they want readers for a novel they're writing. I hate being used like that. I will and have unsubbed from people like that. I will not be used that way.
I take long breaks to manage the stress and pressure. When I first started booktubing, I fell into that competitive, consumerism trap but now I just focus on making great content. It helps that I love video editing. This is a great video.
There are too many booktubers, especially when many of them just push the same publisher recently released schlock. While many of them seemingly are sincere and nice people, they often have the personality of a wet noodle; furthermore, they often have takes, opinions, and views that are uninteresting, uninformed, and uncritical. The homogenized content from multiple accounts just waters down Booktube in general.
@@Summalogicae in other words they don’t want to ruffle and feathers by giving an views that aren’t outside of people liking certain books. It’s like they have to say they like it, or people will dislike them.
Honestly, I stopped watching booktube because of how censorship-happy so many creators are. Someone would decide a book is problematic, and then booktubers would spread the word and talk badly about the book and discourage everyone from reading it. Sometimes they would even like the book, give it positive reviews, then someone on Twitter would call it problematic and booktubers would suddenly change their minds and stop recommending the book. For people who claim to be against book bans, they sure tend to act like those who enact them. Not to mention them trashing certain dark romance tropes and acting like grown women can't tell fiction from reality. Saying dark romance is bad for us, that these authors hate women. Just awful behavior. As a grownass woman, I can tell what is real and what is not. If I can enjoy a horror movie and not kill anyone, then I sure as hell can enjoy a dark romance book and not want to marry an abusive mob boss. Now I watch you and a few others, but nowhere near as many people as I used to. Now I make sure the booktuber I watch isn't pro censorship in any way.
As a booktuber whose been here since 2016 it's been such a journey from watching people get excited about reading, buying too many books, thinking I was too slow of a reader and so on, it's been a wild ride. I noticed a lot of new booktubers pop up during the pandemic and suddenly they're reading so much faster than ever. It's hard to feel excitement about reading because without saying it out loud, booktube has gotten competitive and the number of new releases seems to have doubled. Or maybe that's just me feeling overwhelmed. haha thank you for making this video.
I have that satirical take on this, Viking guy, (I forget your name). It is comical to me that Booktubers are some of the most passionate influencers, but if you aren't going along with the hive-mind of TicToc promoted trash books or pushing political propaganda you are not going the be able to see much in monetary returns. I respect content creators like you that are obviously doing it all because they enjoy it, and are overall positive, good, people.
Sounds like you have not been in a book store in a while. Find a single masculine white guy writer! The entire publishing world is focused on promoting the University educated and politically "left", there is very little in the way of diversity of voices in mainstream publishing. At least that is what I see when I actually visit bookstores and look up the authors.@@futurestoryteller
Thank you for including a deemphasis on consumerism. When I've checked a book out from my public library, purchased it cheaply during a library "Friends" sale or found the book in a neighborhood Little Free Library, I try to consistently mention that during my own Booktube videos. Our libraries are fabulous resources and deserve the extra attention.
I'm so happy I found BookTube when I did! I always knew I loved fantasy, but I kept picking up books I was disappointed by. BookTube helped me narrow down the fantasy subgenres I really enjoy and find my favourite authors. I didn't know about the differences between epic fantasy, magical realism, grim dark, retellings, or urban fantasy; let alone the importance of tropes and how my feelings about certain tropes will determine if a book or series is for me. So I am always grateful to BookTube for that. I don't read hundreds of books per year, but I aim to read a certain number of pages every day and I find that much more manageable.
One of my problems with book tubers with fantasy recommendations is that most book tubers tend to be in their 20s and 30s (or that's what it seems like). I'm older than that -- and you tube doesn't work for me -- because I prefer older fantasy -- which a lot of book tubers aren't that familiar with. Where Book Tube works is when I find an author I like -- and then I watch you tube to get more info on that author and their books. Agatha Christie right now is what I'm reading so book tube works great for me that way -- not so much on recommendations. It's all what 20 or 30 year olds prefer on book tube -- it's just the content creator demographic. So yes -- book tube works for different people in different ways -- you just have to find how you tube works for you.
One good thing about this video, is that it made my feel less guilty of the fact that I've only read 4 books last year. And I'm not even a booktuber. (I'd love to be able to muster the energy to finish a stormlight book one day tho...)
I literally started my channel about success books and I’m barley finding about booktube and everyone’s quitting 😅 but I agree I think growing any channel is a lot of work 💯
Excellent video, and to all those that have commented. I toyed once with the idea of doing a channel, then I said to myself it would take too much away from my reading, and of course I have a demanding job, which decided it for me. I commend all of you booktubers, for such wonderful content, and all the great recommendations that you put forth. Thank you.
I thing that I think has kept booktube enjoyable for myself is my reading habits have not changed much. Its still just a hobby that I enjoy and having a channel is just a extension of that. Is it work? 100% it is. I also have zero expectation of ever getting any monetary reward from doing it.
I’m going to say something “ controversial” by today’s standards, and probably will get a bunch of negative remarks, but I’d rather speak what I consider to be the truth. The young lady you discussed, the one that said she doesn’t feel valued as a black creator, I believe that’s where the problem lies. People pigeonholed themselves into such a niche and then don’t understand why they get very few followers. Why can’t she represent herself as just a book tube creator, who cares about the color? I follow Tori Morrow and love her videos not because she’s a black RUclips creator but because she’s a wonderful RUclips creator who I find very interesting.
You're making no sense. Myonna is a booktuber just like Tori, her videos aren't "for black people" or niched down to be about a "black creator". She was just a booktuber like any other and made a comment on how it's sad that booktube isn't very diverse.
@@fern-v9s if you listen to what she says, she mentions black creators and black readers, my point is if she took the race out of it, it would open up field, and then it would be purely up to her as an interesting person to attract viewership
She actually said she didn't feel valued as a creator. She didn't say a "black" creator. She mentioned other black creators who said they felt the same way because they see other white people skyrocket past them. Her content isn't niched down which was exactly her point. It leads her to believe that her race is keeping her from growing. She's only now mentioning it in that video about her leaving but in no other videos. As far as pigeonholing, I do niche down to books specifically about people of color and I am proud to represent myself as a black booktuber. I don't agree that I deserve very few subscribers because of it. Will it take me more work to get there yes, but that's with everything that's focused on us.
@@YaFeya13"my point is if she took the race out of it" I'm sorry but you know nothing about race and the Black experience in this world, if you think a Black person can choose not to be Black anymore.
Been considering getting in to this space, but honestly the most daunting thingi is trying to figure out what I can bring that is different or useful. I don't want to try and crowd into an already crowded space, but I love booktube overall.
I think if you bring your own voice, you’ll do great. I’ve noticed a lot of booktube tries to conform around the same books and genres and it gets stale. Be yourself and talk about whatever you find interesting and people will listen. It might be a small audience, but your voice will influence someone to think about things differently.
I used to read all the time. I didn't even think much of it. Now I don't read at all. I sometimes found myself contemplating RUclips as a way to motivate myself to read again. Ultimately it's a bad idea. The idea that you can gain traction just... doing whatever you want is pretty much old RUclips, if anything. Originality is not rewarded. Even if you could bring something unique to the table - through no fault of your own - it would be in a box. That's what algorithms are for, to trace and sometimes shape trends.
That's like saying you won't exercise because too many people do it already. If you want to do it, as a hobby, to try and learn new things... Go for it!
The idea that people somehow "deserve" a successful channel because of their physical characteristics is bizarre to me. And I object to the idea that the only diversity that matters is skin color. Viking, Mike's book reviews, and Merphy Napier all have completely unique channels with unique insights, just to name a few examples.
Hi! One problem that I see, at least here in Brazil, is the "polarization": there are even cases where followers just "cancel" a channel due to the political opinions of its creator. The comments sometimes are quite angry. Another problem is that the content here is more or less the same, and that is why I also need to follow foreign channels to see different topics. I have a channel for just(!) one year, and already think sometimes in quitting. Then I remember that my videos may inspire others with similar taste, but at least they are a quite nice record of my readings and thoughts. 😺
Political opinions are shaped by ethics. Some people are unfairly targeted, or misinterpreted. But it's unsurprising if people don't want to support your channel if you just casually feel like some people don't deserve rights - or to live, or whatever
@@futurestoryteller I did not say that "some people don't deserve rights". They do, and different opinions are welcome to my channel. Sometimes we all learn something new, in the discussion of a video. I'm just saying that, sometimes, there is (here) a strong 'herd movement', in which everybody reacts negatively against someone. But let me ask you, about the sentence "casually feel like some people don't deserve rights - or to live, or whatever": we are now facing a tragedy here, in south of Brazil, with an entire state flooded (more than 450 cities affected, more than 150 people dead, and countless disappeared). There are actions to support the stricken people (and abandoned animals). But the overwhelming majority of booktobers (i) ignore this tragedy, and go on with their 'book hauls', 'unboxings', and the like (the worst example is a channel that profitted *a lot* spreading hate speech against this state, and now just disregard the disaster); or, even worst, (ii) try to profit with this situation. Where are the ethics here?
I don't know about the solution how booktube community can improve other than just be yourselfs and don't try to be something you're not. However, I do agree about goodreads, when i was on goodreads it did feel like a pressure to make myself read more than 2 books and run a marathon of reading. I deleted my goodreads account and found myself enjoying books a lot more on my own pace. Not to mention there is also a fear of not catching up with books a booktuber loves and has read but you didn't. Whether it's Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan or books by Brandon Sanderson. That's pretty much all I have to say about this topic.
There aren't many people who read. No matter how much I tell people books are amazing, they NEVER even think about picking them up. The only way I can get people to experience my favorite books is if a show or movie comes out. I've only seen one person I know with a book in the past decade or so. People do not like to read.
most ppl i know use kindle or library apps on their phones. ppl not lugging around books doesnt mean they dont read. stats sho ppl actually read more than ever.
Statistically speaking the average American still reads a little over one book a month. Averages can be misleading, as this lumps the people who do read a hundred books a year in with the people who read zero, but that's still a strong suggestion that most people like to read at least some of the time
Great video. I think the point that resonated with me the most was about not feeling the urge to rush through books. For me, I love stories where I can just linger, and go through it slowly over the course of several weeks to the point where it feels like the characters are just following me around, and I've always got the story in the back of my head. Kind of like a long series of a TV show. This is one of the reasons why I love the Stormlight Archive books so much. Those books might take me 4-6 weeks to get through, but I love the journey and don't feel the need to rush things.
Booktube is certainly a grind and no doubt I think we all feel that. It can be discouraging seeing people leave or not seeing any growth, yet I feel a sort of satisfaction each time I upload. For me, Booktube is like a reading journey. I get to see how I grow and adapt as a reader and a writer. Reflection in the community is vital because it can help smaller creators grow and bigger creators to, for lack of a better term, set the tone. Change only takes one person and I look forward to the day that Booktube becomes what it’s been envisioned: Community of readers and an eternal conversation on good books.
Why does the race of the person matter? I’m a persian guy with a hifi channel, I’ve never once thought to myself why don’t more persian people have hifi channels. Seems a bit silly. One of the biggest booktubers i follow is a black gay guy, makes no difference to me if I can relate to his race or sexuality. I’m here for the books brother.
Thank you! It's acceptable for non whites to be skin tone obsessed. But if a white person did the same, they'd be labeled a racist & bullied off the platform. It's sickening. Never once has it occurred to me to care about the skin tone of anyone I'm watching.
Johan this was so interesting to me thanks for getting it out there. I have my son help me, without him there is no way I could create content. The workload would just be insurmountable. I am humbled by so many creators that do it alone.
I feel like the moment you put expectations or expect money from a passion, you're on a quick road to anger frustration and bitterness. And it can take something that was positive turn it quickly into something toxic and destructive. That's what this new era of algorithms are doing to us, turning us into competitive little content creating machines.
I read 13 books last year.. that’s normally the amount of books most booktubers read in a MONTH… but that’s the poin, bc they do this for a living but ofc none them remind their viewers of this and make everyone feel bad..
Thanks for describing some of my feelings. I’ve been almost ten years here. My channel is not in English, but in Spanish language booktube you get some of the same trends. I don’t need or want to monetize, I don’t collaborate with publishers so I don’t get review copies. I don’t have the energy to put more than a video per week or to pull content to launch a Patreon. I don’t change my reading schedule to fit hype books. I eschew clickbait and repeating videos. Oh, and I don’t read YA fantasy. The result? A negligible growth over this period of time and an intense frustration with the channel performance. But I have a supportive community that’s there to engage with my content every week.
It's kinda ironic seeing comments/responses from booktubers who are all oh i dont do this for the money... and they have channel memberships and patreons... All of the pressure is created by booktubers and then they make videos about how they will only read the books they want and not put so much pressure on themselves... like, you guys built up that pressure the past few years?! or like :hauls do good so im gonna haul haul haul..now after growing a certain number.. oh Im going to be no-buy this year yada yada...
I love your videos, even tho I don't necessarily read your preferred genres as often, I just like your vibe, the love for your books and your down to the ground opinions when it comes to everything and anything, regarding the books, or the booktube community and not only in this video. Plus, your videos are the best "companions" to have when I knit. :):):)
I just enjoy documenting my thoughts on what I've read recently. I do not want my hobby to become my job. Nor do I want to put pressure on myself with a hobby I truly enjoy. I want to spark discussions with people, or have them try an author they may have not read before. I read for the enjoyment of reading. 🙂❤📚
In thinking, prior to today, about the general need for more diversity on BookTube it is, in many ways, an algorithm-driven issue and that is so frustrating. The algorithm favors very specific behaviors. Personally, I don’t read YA so I don’t choose to watch channels. I’m thrilled they are making content but as an older reader I’m looking for creators who have lived more of life and bring that perspective to reading. My point being that a huge percentage of the really large channels are reading in the booming YA niche so channels reading in the adult niche are virtually guaranteed to be smaller because numbers of readers who are adults and watch BookTube with any regularity is impacted by jobs, children, and general adulting. In other words, by definition this is going to be a group of readers ill-served by the vicious algorithm. I feel like adding anything else to that and the numbers get even smaller so looking for 100k channels given those parameters maybe it’s actually miraculous there are any at all? All that (rambling) being said, when I thought about this several years ago I purposefully began following, watching, and engaging with not only POC creators but those from countries around the world. I can’t begin to say how amazing this has been for me in every way. For me, it is literally my favorite part of BookTube. But, is it the favorite of the algorithm - absolutely not.
It seems like everyone was upset about not making money. U can create ur own merch, work on writing ur own book, even incorporate ur books into other niches. So doesn’t seem like creativity was expanded on.
It’s interesting about the pressure on RUclipsrs to read a lot of books. I tend to lose trust and interest in RUclipsrs who read more than 8-ish books a month. Maybe I’m not being fair, but I get skeptical about whether one can give a thoughtful review past that rough point. I tend to unsubscribe more liberally from those channels.
@@libraryofaviking Yeah that number is insane to me. My older brother when we were growing up used to always have a book with him reading during any and all breaks at work or any free time at home and there is no way he read over 100 books a year. Silver lining , if I want to read an older novel I ask him first before buying because he usually has it lol.
I read between 7-12 books a month, but I also only watch TV on Sat/Sun and it's my main hobby. I don't think it's fair to say that someone who reads a certain quantity isn't reading as in depth as someone else. I have a friend with a physical disability that keeps her in bed a lot and she reads like dozens a month as she'd rather do that than watch tv and she's not a gamer. Some people just have more time than others. Commuting also let's people get through a lot of audiobooks.
Hey Johan, so maybe I've just been involved in the online SFF community for too long (albeit very new to the Booktube schtick), but none of these are new problems. 10 years ago when I ran an SFF blog it was pretty much the same challenges, and there's always an amount of churn happening - people come and people go for a variety of reasons. What I have noticed is that the creators who've lasted the longest and remain the most consistent are the ones who simply don't care about what's happening with their content. They enjoy reading however much they do, and writing a post or creating a video is just a fun thing they do after the fact with little to no expectations. They don't let whatever their medium is come in the way of what actually matters - their passion for reading. They're not going to be as big as your average 100K+ channel who's only focus is churning out content for the subscriber gains, but they sure as hell seem to be a lot happier than the folks aiming to finagle a fickle following online. All about perspective, priorities and expectations 🙂
I only started my Booktube channel back in December 2023, so it's not really a stable in the community - or even known in the community haha. Luckily, I have yet to experience the dark side of the book community. So far it has only increased my love for reading and I am reading between 4 to 6 books per month and that is a pace that I am very, very pleased with. I do hope someday to be able to make Booktube my full-time job, so I can continue reading so many gorgeous books, but.... I am not making videos to make a full-time job, I am not reading to make money. I am making videos because I love to read books, because I love to talk about books and my Booktube channel is my creative outlet. A place where I can just be myself and show different side of myself that doesn't have that much space in my private life due to other obligations such as a job, partner, the children, social life etc. Maybe the reason is that I began my Booktube journey in my 30's and at a time where I am certain of who I am and only live up to the expectations that I set up for myself. Maybe I'm just too new in the community... or maybe I'm just weird 🤣
I get how it can be mentally taxing. I love your channel and a few other booktubers. I enjoy reading, but nobody in my personal life likes reading fantasy books much. It’s nice to have an outlet to hear discussion on books I love. So I think it’s great what you do, and many people appreciate the hard work that goes into it. The ONLY minor criticism I have is there is a recency bias. I’d like a little more coverage of older fantasy books. It seems like almost everything covered on booktube is 21st century books. I also get older books might not do well in the algorithm. Enjoying 80s/90s fantasy is probably a niche within a niche. So, I get the hesitancy. But that is just a suggestion. Thanks for the channel!
As a black man brand new to booktube, I can definitely relate to the lack of representation, particularly in the sci-fi and fantasy space, which my content primarily focuses on. I’m hoping by posting content and becoming a more active part of Booktube, I’ll connect with more black booktubers, or even better, encourage others like myself to join the community. We, as a group, bring a different flavor and vibe to Booktube, just from simply living as a minority. An example, we tend to have a higher appreciation when a fantasy author makes an effort to be inclusive in their cast of characters, so everyone isn’t an anglo-saxon phenotype. I hope the community at large, myself included, does their best to support a wide-range of booktubers, so all feel welcome and appreciated, because this is an awesome community to be a part of.
A lot of the issues touched on are far from unique to booktubing. A lot of people have a hobby they love and think "if only my job was to paint miniatures" (or whatever hobby it is). And it often turns out that once that dream comes true and your hobby becomes your job - you may be killing the joy you used to get from that hobby. It is no longer a choice of wether you feel like cooking, painting or whatever your thing is - YOU HAVE TO. RUclips demands that you constantly put out content or your channel will likely flounder. Finally there are so many tubers out there, even if booktubing is a niche as you say, there are still A LOT of channels to choose from. So it can be really hard to break through. Again this goes for anything on youtube.
This is one reason why I haven’t started a channel I read 2 - 3 books a week, pretty consistently, and watching BookTube makes me feel like that isn’t a lot The average person reads one book per year I don’t really tv. But I don’t want to just constantly watch BookTube either
I think the issues raised here largely apply to RUclips content in general. It’s hard to generate enough content to grab people’s attention, especially when it’s related to an activity that few people are passionate about. Ultimately, I think a lot of RUclips creators in general quit when they don’t feel like they’re getting attention.
This is a fascinating topic and I'm grateful to the algo for presenting it. I'm a very green BookTuber (about six weeks now), so it's enlightening to hear about some of the pitfalls this early on. I guess I'll figure out my own cadence as I go, but making content has already improved the way I read in a very positive way. Of course, I could just be in the honeymoon period, but I don't think so. This feels like a long-term thing for me. You're right about the community though - it's the best I've found since the old days of the acoustic guitar community on the old newsgroups and BBSs!
I think chasing the algorithms is why the lack of booktube diversity is happening. Also, a lot of the creators from booktube that come up on my algos are young females who are reading what I would call "quick reads" , or if I'm feeling brutal, "trashy novels". Speed in tasks is often considered a virtue among the young, but I reread books many times, and have done a few videos about my book obsessions, and they tend to stem from other interests. Ignoring what others are doing, and being a reader, living in my own universe a lot of the time, I just post my bookish videos mixed in with my other hobbies and interests, since what I read stems from them anyway. I might be shooting myself in the algorithm foot, doing this, but I'm gonna make a foray into using the#booktube hashtag, and see if I can get a few readers over there. I'm collecting my favourite books to reread at the moment, so I may as well. Beats trying to keep up with other booktubers!
I really enjoy your channel. Thank you for your wonderful content. I am a newbie to fantasy. I have loved all your book descriptions, and I have read some fantastic books thanks to you! ❤
Plenty of content creators stop making content for a variety of reasons. It is not just Book tubers. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't. I would image that it is tough making compelling content.
As much as I love to read, I also want to remember what I read, and I want to remember it fondly. I want to remember characters, and plot lines and arcs from the books I read. I totally get the dissatisfaction some of these youtubers are expressing with reading so many books and not remembering any of them beyond a couple details. I would be so dissatisfied with that too. But being picky with reading, or savoring books slowly doesn't make the content that the algorithm demands, and that's so unfortunate. I would burn out too.
There are communities on this platform that are smaller. My plan was to start recording booktube in polish (another example of a smaller community due to the language barrier) but so far I just made one podcast style video. The reason behind it is trivial - I am writing my masters degree, I work full time and I still have a family that needs some time with me, and they need clean clothes and food on a daily basis. If I start this booktube channel project later in the year I am not expecting any kind of revenue, I want to do it because it is a fun project. Apart of reading books I have other hobbies and I also run a channel for that (it is about cross stitch, how many of you can even tell what that is 😉 and after 7 years I have almost 600 subs, only because I started recording in English before I went only recording in polish) My days are juggling between these things. It is the creators decision what he values more.
Very interesting thoughts! What helps me: I stay off booktok & bookstagram on purpose, I’m also seeking out small booktubers who have similar reading tastes as me, who intentionally try to use the library and focus on reading what they already own :) I also like to look up book reviews for BIPOC books & people who read translated authors, it helps to find diverse booktubers and people who like to read diversely!
There is absolutely no "need for diversity" in this field... there is a need for creative ideas, good content, friendly and supporting communities. From what ethnicity this comes form bears no significance. There are some borderline scenarios where the creators political views, heritage or skin color can add some additional value to that specific book, review or debate but overall, the important things are the ideas that you communicate and the way you communicate them. (DC. These are my thoughts and opinions sorry for generalizing them too much.)
Someone just commented about lack of diversity in the scifi/fantasy genre and wanting more representation. I laughed so hard, I'm sorry but none of these races exist in real life and yet you want to be represented????
@@loralubimaia2783uhm…yes. Because when you are reading a fantasy book and they are all described as fair skin, etc. then it makes it seem that people of darker complexions don’t exist in those worlds. I don’t purport to know your race/ethnicity, but I do find white/fair skin people have a blind spot when it comes to diversity. If you find yourself always represented in media, than you may not understand why it’s so important for those that are underrepresented.
I disagree. I feel there is a need for diversity in all fields. It’s important for people to see themselves in media. People’s lived experiences informs how they review books. I wonder how many folks in the comment section that agree with your take actually watch booktubers from different races/ethnicities. I would bet most of the folks they watch are from their same backgrounds. Those who don’t see a need for diversity, tend not value diversity.
@laela2000 first and most importantly, we are humans. If a human makes a video, then I am represented. I might not agree with certain ideas or ways of them being presented, but the message is what matters, not the skin color of the speaker. I accept that you and others might not feel the same, but I think that it is something that you and those people need to work on, not the rest of the world.
@@laela2000 if you are disappointed that you don't have the same shade of skin as trolls, vampires, fairies, elves, ogres, aliens or goblins maybe you'd enjoy the Parshendi in Sanderson's works. They have brown skin.
Pity more people don't value reading whether for fun or to better your career. I'm one of those dinosaurs that still have very hard time throwing a book out when I'm done with it. My library often doesn't want them; they have plenty of hand me downs. Books have always been some of my best friends . I love the feeling when you finally close your book for the last time and you know you will miss the characters you are leaving behind. That is when you know you have really enjoyed the magic a good writer can bring to your life.
Awesome video. I actually made 2 or 3 videos and quit by my own doing and nobody's fault i just realized making videos wasnt for me which is sad because i woulda loved to share my journey. I do get upset when people feel like their privleged to much. In the 3rd video it seems she thinks she is entiled to get all those followers. Pretty sad to be honest that brings a toxic enviorment on itd own . Maybe it was her personality wasnt good enough or the quality. Most of the big booktubers have insane video editing and just quality. Along with personality . Anyways thanks so much for the video again
I loved your video. I recently created my own RUclips channel and I've reviewed one book so far. I still want to do this as a hobby, but I can see how it can be intimidating and frustrating putting so much effort into creating something that gets only a few views.
I follow a booktuber who talks about her stats for the month including number of pages read. I can think of one month this person read 28 books. How?! I read 4 books a month usually and don’t understand how people are doing this. Feeling pressured to read a mass quantity of books takes the fun out of it. It makes me wonder if these people actually read the books! I appreciate good content and don’t care how many books someone reads. I enjoy your content even though I don’t read as much fantasy as other genres. :)
I know what you mean it puzzles me too how do they do it. I am admittedly a slow reader. This year I decided to do the 52 book club challenge so far I am slightly ahead but it is a commitment to read every day I have read so far 13 books to me that’s huge and that is in 2 months! Normally I average 30+ books a year.
@@TheGeekiestSecretary 13 books so far is a lot! I read 48 books last year but I’m reading some chunkers this year so I won’t hit that again but that’s fine.
This video was really interesting. As a fledging booktuber myself, I've got about 215 subs, i definitely struggle with being valued at times, putting the work in and getting a tiny viewership. I battle with self confidence all the time. But when i set up my channel I never had any expectations and all I wanted was an outlet for my love of fantasy and sci-fi books and in the end the numbers don't really matter and I don’t really care about rhe algorithm and won't waste ky energy trying to either. This is a hobby, i have no intention of having it monetised. But thank you for making this video, it certainly validates some of my anxieties that I have running a booktube channel.
This is eye-opening as a content creator. Also, I often have wondered if book tubers sometimes listen to audiobooks to log more time in while they're doing other tasks and can't sit down all day every day reading. I think algorithms are absolute garbage.
Great video. I agree with Rana. It seems like so many booktubers just want to try and read so many books so they can say theyve read them...but how well did they actually absorb the content of those books? I believe this is why so many would like to change the definition of the words read and listen. Listening to an audiobook is not reading a book....but they can listen while they do other things and are most likely distracted and this is how they can greatly increase their reading numbers...If you're not reading the book and paying attention to the details and concentrating on what you are reading, then why the hell should anyone take your opinion on the book seriously? It should be about the love of reading and the quality of the books and not the quantity. I dont care if you read or listen to your books, but if youre going to tell others about the content of the book and review it, then you better damn well pay attention. Otherwise, you should probably not have a booktube channel. Just my 2 cents. Keep up your great work. You are one of only 6 booktubers that I chose to keep around. I do miss Tall Guy Reads though.
Unfortunately, I know about a lot of this. I have been struggling to get any engagement on my channel and it's like, what's the point? I love making videos and everything that goes with it, but what's the point if no one is going to watch or engage? I don't want to leave RUclips in general, but maybe slowly giving up on the bookish content side of things is the way to go. I don't want to be a full time RUclipsr or anything, but having a small community which wants to essentially spend time with me would be absolutely amazing! I can't afford to spend hundreds of pounds on books so all my books are second hand, and I have hardly any up to date, recent released books, and I'm ok with that. This video was very informative. Just want to say thank you xoxo
I'm not a creator. Being a consumer of booktube content, I think I watch to feel a sense of community. No one around me reads. No one around me cares about fantasy or scifi. On booktube, I at least get a sense of "Hey! They're like me." So, if I watch a video, and the creator obviously doesn't care about the content, doesn't get fired up about a book I love, then the community isn't there. Quality over quantity all day.
I think I have the solution for any booktubers experiencing this: stop Keeping Up With the Joneses. I've had a booktube channel for over 2 years, and before making one I watched enough videos to know what I did and didn't want to do. I knew I couldn't handle constant output, or buying a bunch of the most trendy-looking hardcovers every week--so I didn't do that. I read a couple books a month at most (the last book I read took me two solid months to get through because it was gigantic), and I only make a video if I genuinely want to. I realized my niche could be doing full-length review videos, mostly for books that aren't super trendy or well known on here. Yeah it's frustrating working hard to 'only' get a couple dozen views on most videos or 'only' have 160 subs after 2 years, but I recognize that if I pressured myself into making this a grind, it wouldn't be fun. Make the channel you wanna make, represent what you wanna read. You might not get brand deals out of it, but every once in a while a video on some obscure book I reviewed years back will get a comment like 'I'm so glad someone's talking about this one!' or 'I was looking for someone who would give me an idea of what this weird book on my shelf was like, thanks!' And it makes me realize I'm still contributing to the space, even if only in a small way. As to the diversity, you have nearly 40k subscribers. You have the platform and the reach to be part of this change by actually going out and promoting diverse booktubers on the regular. And don't pay attention to whether they have a trillion subscribers, just put their names out there. Want to find a queer booktuber of colour? Try PerpetualPages or Jesse on RUclips. A transmasc/trans man booktuber? Ashton Daniel or The Book Stack. Others off the top of my head: BookishRealm, WithCindy, SluggishReader, etc etc... and if you need more, just use the search bar and find some more for yourself :D I honestly never watch the big booktubers anyway; most of the people I watch have just around a thousand subs. Similarly, if you feel the covered books themselves aren't diverse either (I totally agree), then pick up books that aren't trending, that are outside of the scope of what is normally covered on here, from different countries, time periods, perspectives, etc, and feature them in full videos. You have the power, haha. Anyway, tl;dr: Stop Keeping Up With the Joneses, and be the change you want to see! :D
Interesting video. I can agree with a few of the points although I approach Booktube more as an outlet for my reading hobby and my reading wouldn't change much per se if I didn't do it. I would say in another aspect of lack of diversity is overwhelmingly on the actual genres and types of books read. I primarily read and talk about science and history and nonfiction and I feel that is even more of a niche of an already niche community. The vast majority of books talked about on booktube are YA, fantasy, and similar. Of course there are those who specialize in most anything, just harder to find. Plus a lot of the reading events don't really apply to those who don't read the more mainstream genres.
I ended up stop posting cause I moved into an environment that recording is rather hard. But, I never grew yet somewhere I felt competitive. It was a weird feeling. Not growing after 2ish years is disheartening.
Great video. I agree that this can promote books like fast fashion. And number of books ready/owned for me is a discussion that has no point. Same like physical vs. digital books. I always thought that it is not important how many books, from where or is it digital copy or "real paper". Importance is about the reading. And good point about owning a book. I noticed in community that sometimes it is shown that if you don't own a lot of books you're not a "real" book lover. Which is silly. 70% of the books I read is from the library. Here in Croatia we have very good public library system where for 7€ / year you have unlimited access. And I buy only editions I like or are from the series I'm a big fan of (like LOTR, DUNE, Witcher,....).
It's so silly right! Cari Can Read gets most of her books from a library too, and she's one of the biggest booktubers around. Nothing but actually reading will give you legitimacy over time.
Thanks for the talk! I had the idea to start a channel but noticed these problems as well and it is quite demotivating. Especially regarding diversity and lack of representation. How come I've never heard about those booktubers you've mentioned... it's really sad that the algorithms do not push unique content and flooding my recommendations page with some overhyped fantasy and book hauls, which I don't even watch!!
I think people go into booktube like it’s a sprint, but it’s a marathon. Most of the people I watch have been on 5 years. That’s what comes up on my feed.
I'll most likely piss of some people here, but if someone's reason for leaving the booktube community is that it's too niche to be profitable, it sounds to me like they feel entitled to something. There's Patreon and there are other means to monetize your booktube brand. If you're going into anything with the mindset that you're owed anything simply because you put in the work, then it's not pleasurable, for you nor for your viewers. Don't get me wrong, the booktube community is 99.9 percent wonderful. The booktubers and viewers are really supportive and at times you get a "found family" vibe. Alongside you, some of my other favorite booktubers are Petrik Leo, Tall Guy Reads, Rekindled Reader, Mike's Book Reviews, Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews, The brothers Gwynn, The Fantasy Nuttwork, Dominish Books, Philip Chase and Brian Lee Durfee (the latter is an example of a man who does it purely out of his love for reading. There's no editing, just a man who loves to read multiple genres and is very passionate about it. Sure, he reads 20+ books a month, but still, if he read only 4 or 5, it's still be entertaining.) I wouldn't say I feel pressured to read more, however, since I began watching booktube channels, I've upped my yearly reading tally significantly and I've learned to enjoy books more by figuring out which genres work best on audio, which ones are best read on ebook and which work best on physical books. But yeah, like all viewers, book haul videos are still by far my favorite 😅 love your channel, man. As a non-native English speaker, you both make it look not that hard to get into booktube. Cheers from Croatia! :)
Thank you for your video. One issue you don't touch on is how big BookTubers who run memberships, Patreons, etc. generally won't recommend smaller channels with growth potential. Instead they only mention other paid-for content BookTubers who they hook up with to try and drive up one another's memberships. Some of these channels then add insult to injury by posting videos lamenting the lack of new creators! Do these channels ever do anything to recommend new creators or to help smaller channels grow? Basically, I feel this membership/Patreon ecosystem creates a community of haves within a larger community of have-nots. In other words, somewhat paradoxically, it's some of the biggest BookTubers who are killing BookTube (or, at the least, doing nothing to help grow the next generation of content creators). My own response has been to declare my channel will never monetize and to forge links with similarly-minded BookTubers to start bringing our subscribers into contact with one another and encourage growth that way. In these circumstances, it can hardly be a surprise that so many BookTubers quit, many of whom have created content that deserved more of an audience than it got. And it will often be (ironically) those who invested the most who quit first, because they've put everything they had into their channel, seen little for their efforts, and become understandably disillusioned.
I understand all the points made here. I took a hiatus after feeling burn out from booktube. I came back and decided to only do what's fun/ interesting to me and stop caring about reading/ doing what's popular. I Feel so much better!
My basic problem as a viewer of book tube is it just gets boring after a while. I used to be really into watching book tube -- but then it just gets boring -- and then I stop watching and move on to something else. I did get into reading Agatha Christie two years ago -- and book tube is cool right now for that reason -- learning a ton about Agatha Christie -- but I know at some point it will just get bored again -- how many top 10 ranking videos of Agatha Christies, or reading order, or opinions of Agatha Christie books will I watch before I get bored? For now -- it is interesting hearing a lot of different opinions. I like watching Agatha Christie ranking videos and all Agatha Christie book content but at some point, I'll have watched enough, and I'll stop. Maybe to start again with a different author.
I never knew or even thought that there is something as a booktube community. I just read books, I then realised that there must be some good book recomendations on youtube and I found I, Nerdius. By watching him I discovered others but it would never cross my mind you guys are trying to make money out of this. You said it best, it's an incredible niche piece of the pie.
Interesting topic. I just subscribed to your channel because of this. I have been a Book tube subscriber since 2017 and yes, I agree that these are the reasons some book tubers leave this community. Those book tubers who left must also think of the positive aspects their channel brings to people and how their content impacts readers out there. I have read and bought some books based on the hype and recommendations due to book tubers. A book tube channel must be for enjoyment and not have the creator have this platform based on the number of views and subscribers.
This was such a great video! I watch a few videos from booktube and booktok, but I'm not apart of their creator community. I make videos about hiking and gear reviews, and I find my experience super similar! I've been creating videos for a year now, and I'm still far from being monetized. It's definitely hard to grow on RUclips, especially as a small creator. Thank you so much for making this video!
I started on booktube because my family got tired of me subjecting them to my ramblings about books. So my booktube is more of a release for me. I have some niche reading interests, so just being able to opine about them out loud and feel like I’m talking to someone is awesome to me. If people subscribe and watch, that’s a bonus! I think that your mindset when getting into booktube and your reasons for staying are key factors in whether or not you stay on booktube. Once it stops being about sharing something you’re excited about, I would imagine that it would be more of a chore.
This happens to all YT communities and many YT in general get burned out. The art tube community has shrunk a lot because YT favors short content over long videos.
An interesting video. You mentioned the possibility that booktuber promotes consumerism. Let me point out one word you used. I recognize that you may not be a native speaker of English, but I hear this word used by native English speakers all the time with regard to library use (I'm a public librarian). That word is "renting". You don't "rent" a book from the library. There is no financial transaction. You borrow library books. The library lends them to you. I point this out not as a criticism, but just to note how deeply the language of consumerism in ingrained in our culture.
Fantastic video! Definitely a part of a big discussion. The one video I made that went viral was about de-influencing. I think people are moving towards reading for fun rather than reading for high numbers, which is great! And I think we can give shout outs to diverse booktokkers as well and foster more of a sense of community (rather than competition). Thanks for your thoughts!
I feel Myonna. Right now, I'm only making videos because it's still fun for me, but I have almost no following and make no money. I'd walk away the moment I quit enjoying it.
Reading should be fun. It's subjective. It's how I started finding other writers & readers online when I found it in 2018. Hopefully it will grow again but in a healthier way. A fun, non- overconsumer way.
Thank you for such thought provoking video. Now I understand better how much it goes into making videos.. I have now much more appreciation for the beginning Booktubers, and I will be more mindful when I watch their videos to ensure to leave a comment and a helpful “like”, which I often forget about 🥺
Interesting topic. BookTube can be a grind, no doubt. For me the benefit was I never wanted to treat it as a job. I knew this would never be "quit your job money" and that set my expectations from go. I wanted to create a positive community and just chat about books I love and I think I've created that. And the need some have to speed run as many books as possible was never going to be my thing. I've been reading 4-5 books per month since about 2015, eyes only, and I'll never change that pace. Again, reading is my favorite hobby and BookTube is just an extension of that. I think a more difficult part is the crappy comments BookTubers receive. It's weird since there is maybe nothing more subjective than reading. And as for growth, it took me 5 years of 3-4 videos per week to get to 100k. Unfortunately there's no magic bullet there, at least not that I know of.
This.
Agreed
That's why I love Mike.
Indeed.
I love the dedication and free love you have for booktube. Its not binding for you & that's great. And yes, RUclips can't be the only source of income for a lot of book tubers
Less is more. I’m a “slow” reader in that I usually read four or five books per month, but I do remember what I read because I often have deep dive discussions on the books. This is not a way to grow a channel fast since such discussions don’t get many views, but it’s a way to get great satisfaction from reading, in my experience. Thanks for the video, Johan!
Yes I love this comment and I have always appreciated your discussions. Thanks for all you do on your channel, Philip!
@@libraryofaviking Cheers, Johan! I’ve enjoyed the chats on books that I’ve had with you!
no offense mr Chase but 4 or 5 books a month is by no means slow. But maybe it is for a booktuber.
Most people don't read 4 books a year so that's still a lot.
@@neondemon5137 Definitely! That’s why I put quotation marks around “slow.” I read for my day job too, so it’s really a lot in the grand scheme of things. But in comparison to many other BookTubers, I’m not reading so many books. I also don’t use audiobooks, which is one way many people get to more stories.
The problem, as I see it, with a lot of booktubers is that they want to fit an easy niche in an already saturated market. Most seem to want to read whatever is easy and popular rather than doing the work to find interesting and unique books that haven’t been widely talked about. If you’re one channel amongst a thousand all doing the same thing, you probably won’t get any real traction.
I started reading at 3. I'm now almost 80. Reading is really the majority of my life. I am a loner. However, I have been comfortable reading at my own pace. I recently discovered BookTube and (basically) Goodreads. I did discover that my reading time became longer periods of time and trying to read more books and let people know how quickly I am reading. I discovered that I hated it. I want to enjoy my books at my speed. I dropped the BookTubers and am now realizing that I really am enjoying reading again. So, sorry, but real books are what I love and I'm gone.
And I'd rather have friends on Goodreads and check what they're reading and use that as a recommendation. Booktubers only share the most famous books or the NYT best selling novels which I usually don't like.
you do you! NEVER try to be someone you're not.
as an older reader i love booktube, giving me new fresh writers and books to try, 1 thing i have noticed , is that i follow , mike , leo you and like 4 other booktubers , but i have to manually lookup each week if your channels have update, eventho i follow you guys have notifications on, youtube rarely tells me that you guys/girls have new vids , which is a shame and doesn't help with the feeling of creators not getting value/respected for their work.just wanted to say i value you all and keep up your passion about the books you love!
Love this comment. Thank you for the kind words.
Same for me! Older reader, and I follow as many booktubers as I can to find more books. I'm a voracious reader, but I only read paperbacks, so I'm hindered by the cost and I am compelled to choose carefully. Book review videos, and using them to find books I'm willing to spend money on, is getting more and more sparse.
I actually have different accounts for my interests - this one is writing advice, books, history, and dinosaurs. If I look at one off-topic subject, the account gets polluted with that topic. The trouble is, all the new recommendations are very similar, and I can see why my booktuber subscriptions aren't being pushed - they don't fit the trends of bloated pointless content pumped out fast. I have to go looking for booktube content, which I already did and subscribed to them! I'm enraged when I see videos that are otherwise low-content nonsense being slipped in where I could be seeing something I actually signed up for and requested notifications for. Then I find myself spending a couple of very cranky minutes telling youtube WHY I don't like the video I am hiding, and commenting fluff on videos I DO want to see more often in the hopes they will start to pop up.
I've started following channels on other social media so I actually get told when their videos are up from the horse's mouth, and I follow reading groups instead. Booktube is definitely a sunken cost in the grand scheme of book finding, for viewers and creators. 😢
Small heads up: if a video isn't showing up on your "subscriptions" feed for some reason, switching to the "today" feed will show it.
Personally I check my sub feed and save everything interesting to my watch later during the week, and binge on the weekends 😅 Never missed a video!
Hope this helps!
thx for the awesome tip :)@@sowercookie
Same here as well. I still have series of books I reread every 5- 10 years but love to find other creators to get ideas from.
The booktube community is wonderful compared to some other communities on RUclips. Every creator that I follow seems to be supportive of other creators and actively promote each other's channels. They all love reading, and that's about all I could ask for. In other communities, there are fueds and drama going on constantly. Another positive about booktube is that when I leave a comment, other commenters are nice and friendly and just want to discuss books with you. I'm legitimately scared to leave a comment on other types of videos. People can be really mean in the comment section.
I absolutely agree with you. While booktube is not perfect it is the nicest community I know of - people are generally lovely and supportive.
Omg this is so true!! Maybe im ignorant but I’ve never seen hateful comments under a video from this community lol it’s a breathe of fresh air 🥺😭
Booktube is niche, but Fantasy-SF booktube that don't rely on "the next big tiktok phenomenon" is EVEN MORE NICHE. Not only it is hard to find diversity on booktube, it is even harder to find creators that have interesting books to talk about. People who don't to that black hole of phenomenons to find material for their videos. It's hard but thankfully not impossible. Thank you Johan, Isa, Petrik, Merphy, Throne of Pages (sorry can't remember her name), Johana, Philip, Bookborn (again, I can't remember her name), and everyone else. I hope you guys never have that lonely feeling, because even if we don't talk much, we're watching, and most importantly, we're listening
I've read 100+ books now during like 3-4 years (since I discovered booktube and joined bookstagram) and the feeling of stress and to read much is constantly there. But for 2024 and forward I feel like I'm kind of sick of that approach towards books, and now I decreased by Goodreads goal to 50 books instead of 100 and I want to focus on the thicker fantasy stories that I love instead of reading shorter books just to read a lot of books - and two months in to the year and I've been loving my experience and I pick up books that is longer and I'm so excited to read fantasy and scifi and I couldn't care less about the stress to read much. It feels so refreshing!
I read primarily contemporary indie romance in the past. I got fed up with a lot of the authors taking advantage of readers, largely by constantly changing their covers or having special editions for only a chosen few. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I finally returned to loving reading but now it’s fantasy and finally the urge to pick up thrillers way more often. (They sound good but I rarely reached for them in the past.) I felt terrible because I’d read 100-125+ books a year and I just cannot sustain that now. It took me a while to realize there’s legitimate reasons for that and no fault to be had. Fantasy is just longer and more time consuming in a lot of cases. Now, contemporary romance sounds good but I don’t reach for those. The sad part to me is that (at least in my case) you have authors that should want everyone to read, especially their own work but because of their petty nature and outright greed, they actually turned a reader off from reading in general but moreover, a reader of theirs off from continuing to support and read them.
It sounds a little like you're kidding yourself a bit, about lightening the load. Reading half as many books that are twice as long.
I did the same with Goodreads this year, down to 50. Agreed about not having stress related to the amount of reading. For me reading should be fun and relaxing, not stressful.
I’m a brown booktuber, so I certainly understand the “low representation” and “bipocs get lesser engagement” issues - because that is true. I was on tarot-tube too, and this was one of the reasons I quit it, because bipoc tarot readers just don’t get the engagement that non-bipoc folks do. But that experience really informed my booktube journey.
So here is the thing - I totally respect all these creators’ feelings and there’s no shade here - but the reality is that what is trending keeps changing and if our goal is higher subs, likes and shares; then we should be okay with making the necessary reading-lifestyle changes that will bring about that type of growth. Why/how else are the biggest booktube accounts growing so quickly?
It took me years to make my peace with the fact that in all likelihood, I will never be a “big” booktuber. Mainly because I am a very slow reader and I don’t generally follow booktube trends. But, I have found a handful of subscribers who genuinely enjoy the type of books I read and who are as eager to engage with me, as I am with them. And for me, that’s enough - I spent years feeling so dejected at my tarot-tube failure - and nothing is worth that kind of anxiety and self-doubt.
I think booktubers need to really go back and reassess if they are willing to make that tradeoff, between - channel growth and personal freedom.
I have noticed recently that a lot of booktubers are doing massive unhaul videos… getting rid of dozens, if not hundreds, of books. I’m sure I’ve watched some before, but since I noticed that it (suddenly, to me) seems like a big thing to do, I am refusing to watch those. And following that, I don’t want to watch the videos with huge hauls, either. It does smack of consumerism. It does seem like they’re just buying books to make haul and unhaul videos with them, not to actually read them.
totally agree. I'm now 50, and i never thought in my life time, everyone would own their very own library's, but its just going to far with regards to consumption. i have been collecting and building my library for over 40 years i have my baby books still so probably longer lol, but they are getting them fully built in less that 12 months lol
I’d love to see more public library hauls.
but its good for libraries, if you donate the ones you`ve read, but dont want to read again, or the ones that dont look as interesting as you first thought they looked when you bought them.
I try not to buy more books, unless I'm out of the books I want to read or one I want to read happens to be on sale (the library in my town has a bad selection of genres I like unfortunately)
I never watch Unhaul videos do not see the point in them at all !
The reality is, RUclips for the majority of creators should really be seen as a hobby.
If you are hoping to make a living from it, just like any small business where you don’t have another main income to draw from, you have to be all in. And most people in the end can’t afford that.
People become disillusioned. That the work they have put in isn’t returning the rewards they expect they should get.
I’ve been wanting to start my own BookTube channel myself because of my love of books, but I will admit to feeling intimidated by the pressure to read tons of books, and the pressure to buy tons of books. Nothing kills the enjoyment of a hobby faster than feeling obligated to do it a specific way.
I have also noticed a great deal of repetition in the types of videos creators put out there. There’s TBR videos, then vlogs where you can watch them read their TBR and get initial thoughts, and then there are wrap up videos talking about the TBR that they finished (or didn’t). Then there’s ranking lists, or top ten videos… the list goes on. The point is, they talk about the same books over and over and over and over… That’s boring, and not really sustainable, especially because you can only hear what the book is about so many times before you just don’t want to engage anymore. On top of that, there is a tendency for creators to jump on the bandwagon of popular and new releases, so all the content across BookTube ends up being the same monotonous content across the whole platform. More and more, I find myself gravitating towards channels that do original content or read books that aren’t necessarily trending. Elliot Brooks has been doing a fantastic “To Authors From Readers” series that invites the community to talk about things we like and dislike in our stories. Merphy Napier ignores the algorithm completely and reads what she wants. Even you, Johan, do videos that aren’t as copy, paste, repeat, which I appreciate.
So circling back, when I start my channel, I intend to do my own thing, and try to avoid pressuring myself into doing what everyone else is doing. Will I grow very fast? Probably not. I’m okay with that.
I think you should start your own booktube channel. It sounds like you’ve already been considering new ways to talk about books that don’t fit into the current ecosystem and that’s awesome! Also - don’t feel pressured to read a lot of books. Do it because you love reading and want to share your ideas. There’s no race to see who can read a certain amount of books.
@@laemotica8405definitely! The only reason I am waiting is because I am having a baby soon (as in, less than a month from now). I don’t want to commit to anything new until I can adjust to that.
@@annmoore321 Good luck with your bub! Definitely keep it in the back of your mind, and another vote for BE AUTHENTIC TO YOURSELF. Don't read popular books just because they are popular, its a sure way to be miserable. I'm not even a content creator and I've been reading popular books that I really should have looked into harder. Mostly because mass produced paperbacks are cheaper so I stray over to them in my desperation to read SOMETHING, but because booktubers recommend them. Were they paid to, are they caught in the hype, does it behoove them to say something nice because otherwise they'll suffer backlash?! Who knows! I'd much rather hear about hidden indie gems I'd never otherwise find than have someone bang on again about a book I hate just because its popular.
I just subscribed to your channel. Just ignore the typical formats, ignore the pressure, do not worry about a schedule, formatting, editing, anything ... you can start by just picking up a favorite book and telling us why it is your favorite. It really can be that easy. It takes time, but you will find an audience - on your own terms.
I agree with everything you said. I'm still trying to figure out a happy medium.
Maybe they should not all read the same few bloody books....
Most BookTubers quit under a year after starting. And most of them don't record a clickbait video to announce they are quitting. Most who quit just - quit. And the main reason for that is .. .. .. this is just a hobby and life moves on.
To perhaps go against the grain, people can read for whatever reason they want, including to entertain themselves or to 'escape' the real world. How they choose to do that is entirely their choice. If someone wanted to try to hit a number goal of 100 for the year as a challenge as a way to 'escape' the world, that is entirely valid. If someone doesn't 'absorb' a book as well as another person, again that is also a valid way to be a reader. The idea that every book needs to be read slowly to be 'correctly' read is ridiculous. I have a terrible memory, regardless of the speed at which I read, or how many books I read.
I just feel that everyone should read how they wish, and as long as they arn't telling other people that their way is the only way, it really doesn't matter to others. However, this is just my opinion, and I personally don't care about other people's reading choices, as long as they don't make others feel bad for theirs.
EXACTLY THIS. Some people just read really fast. I read about ten books a month, because I read quickly and it is what I love to do. I don't listen to podcasts, I don't watch tv, I rarely watch movies. In my spare time I read, and when I'm driving or doing chores, I listen to audiobooks. Some people view reading as a hobby, others as a job, and still others as a competitive sport. As long as they aren't hurting anyone and enjoying what they do, I don't see a problem here.
How can anyone read 40 books a month?
They don't. If they knock down that many, they're definitely listening to audiobooks.
They are cram skimming. Similar to if you have lecture notes and speedread it the night before a test but retain nothing. You can tell from how they talk about a book if someone has actually read it. A few booktubers friends of this very channel do that. I watched one talk about the top liked books from the reddit fantasy list, and even her spot summaries of the book were way off for each book.
@@Edog1337 that explains a lot. Seems like followers and views are their goal and that’s what made me follow Library of a Viking in the first place, because he enjoys reading and talking about books and followers and views are a byproduct of it instead of his goal
audiobooks at 3x speed lol.. definitely not my preferred reading method... I read usually 10 books physically a month and 2 via audio at 1.25-1.5x .. I can read much faster with my eyeballs but since I can't do that while working or driving, that's where the audio comes in. audio helps me read more but not faster because I'm not listening at chipmunk speed. 😅
oh- I need to add that the number of books read is somewhat arbitrary because you could have a book that's 100 pages or you could have a book that's 800 pages.. my average book length is 300-500 pages but at least half of them are 500 pages or more, which do take longer to read but I'm totally fine with because I really enjoy those books
People have any number of reasons for leaving, some of which may be very personal. I totally understand that. People have jobs, families, other responsibilities. Sometimes people are going through some sort of crisis. Again, totally understandable. Booktube takes a lot of time and effort.
What I hate is the, "I'm leaving forever!", dramafest, only to return a short time later. Especially when they come back ONLY because they want readers for a novel they're writing. I hate being used like that. I will and have unsubbed from people like that. I will not be used that way.
I take long breaks to manage the stress and pressure. When I first started booktubing, I fell into that competitive, consumerism trap but now I just focus on making great content. It helps that I love video editing.
This is a great video.
There are too many booktubers, especially when many of them just push the same publisher recently released schlock. While many of them seemingly are sincere and nice people, they often have the personality of a wet noodle; furthermore, they often have takes, opinions, and views that are uninteresting, uninformed, and uncritical.
The homogenized content from multiple accounts just waters down Booktube in general.
This right here. It’s like they all want to be politically correct and views just seem to go with the masses.
@@ll2323 I don’t know what “politically correct”
@@Summalogicae in other words they don’t want to ruffle and feathers by giving an views that aren’t outside of people liking certain books. It’s like they have to say they like it, or people will dislike them.
Honestly, I stopped watching booktube because of how censorship-happy so many creators are. Someone would decide a book is problematic, and then booktubers would spread the word and talk badly about the book and discourage everyone from reading it. Sometimes they would even like the book, give it positive reviews, then someone on Twitter would call it problematic and booktubers would suddenly change their minds and stop recommending the book. For people who claim to be against book bans, they sure tend to act like those who enact them.
Not to mention them trashing certain dark romance tropes and acting like grown women can't tell fiction from reality. Saying dark romance is bad for us, that these authors hate women. Just awful behavior. As a grownass woman, I can tell what is real and what is not. If I can enjoy a horror movie and not kill anyone, then I sure as hell can enjoy a dark romance book and not want to marry an abusive mob boss.
Now I watch you and a few others, but nowhere near as many people as I used to. Now I make sure the booktuber I watch isn't pro censorship in any way.
As a booktuber whose been here since 2016 it's been such a journey from watching people get excited about reading, buying too many books, thinking I was too slow of a reader and so on, it's been a wild ride. I noticed a lot of new booktubers pop up during the pandemic and suddenly they're reading so much faster than ever. It's hard to feel excitement about reading because without saying it out loud, booktube has gotten competitive and the number of new releases seems to have doubled. Or maybe that's just me feeling overwhelmed. haha thank you for making this video.
I have that satirical take on this, Viking guy, (I forget your name). It is comical to me that Booktubers are some of the most passionate influencers, but if you aren't going along with the hive-mind of TicToc promoted trash books or pushing political propaganda you are not going the be able to see much in monetary returns. I respect content creators like you that are obviously doing it all because they enjoy it, and are overall positive, good, people.
I do not even attempt to get mainstream published because I don't fit the demographics or political alignment of who gets book awards.
@@djcybercorgi And Ben Shapiro doesn't have an Oscar for the same reason 🙄
I think you're a bit clueless as to who has the power in the west, you might be confused.@@futurestoryteller
@@djcybercorgi Very cryptic, not at all coping
Sounds like you have not been in a book store in a while. Find a single masculine white guy writer! The entire publishing world is focused on promoting the University educated and politically "left", there is very little in the way of diversity of voices in mainstream publishing. At least that is what I see when I actually visit bookstores and look up the authors.@@futurestoryteller
Thank you for including a deemphasis on consumerism. When I've checked a book out from my public library, purchased it cheaply during a library "Friends" sale or found the book in a neighborhood Little Free Library, I try to consistently mention that during my own Booktube videos. Our libraries are fabulous resources and deserve the extra attention.
I'm so happy I found BookTube when I did! I always knew I loved fantasy, but I kept picking up books I was disappointed by. BookTube helped me narrow down the fantasy subgenres I really enjoy and find my favourite authors. I didn't know about the differences between epic fantasy, magical realism, grim dark, retellings, or urban fantasy; let alone the importance of tropes and how my feelings about certain tropes will determine if a book or series is for me. So I am always grateful to BookTube for that. I don't read hundreds of books per year, but I aim to read a certain number of pages every day and I find that much more manageable.
One of my problems with book tubers with fantasy recommendations is that most book tubers tend to be in their 20s and 30s (or that's what it seems like). I'm older than that -- and you tube doesn't work for me -- because I prefer older fantasy -- which a lot of book tubers aren't that familiar with. Where Book Tube works is when I find an author I like -- and then I watch you tube to get more info on that author and their books. Agatha Christie right now is what I'm reading so book tube works great for me that way -- not so much on recommendations. It's all what 20 or 30 year olds prefer on book tube -- it's just the content creator demographic. So yes -- book tube works for different people in different ways -- you just have to find how you tube works for you.
One good thing about this video, is that it made my feel less guilty of the fact that I've only read 4 books last year. And I'm not even a booktuber.
(I'd love to be able to muster the energy to finish a stormlight book one day tho...)
So "booktube" isn't much different than any other part of RUclips? Life is full of chance.
I literally started my channel about success books and I’m barley finding about booktube and everyone’s quitting 😅 but I agree I think growing any channel is a lot of work 💯
Excellent video, and to all those that have commented. I toyed once with the idea of doing a channel, then I said to myself it would take too much away from my reading, and of course I have a demanding job, which decided it for me.
I commend all of you booktubers, for such wonderful content, and all the great recommendations that you put forth. Thank you.
I thing that I think has kept booktube enjoyable for myself is my reading habits have not changed much. Its still just a hobby that I enjoy and having a channel is just a extension of that. Is it work? 100% it is. I also have zero expectation of ever getting any monetary reward from doing it.
I think that this is key for keeping booktube fun.
I’m going to say something “ controversial” by today’s standards, and probably will get a bunch of negative remarks, but I’d rather speak what I consider to be the truth. The young lady you discussed, the one that said she doesn’t feel valued as a black creator, I believe that’s where the problem lies. People pigeonholed themselves into such a niche and then don’t understand why they get very few followers. Why can’t she represent herself as just a book tube creator, who cares about the color? I follow Tori Morrow and love her videos not because she’s a black RUclips creator but because she’s a wonderful RUclips creator who I find very interesting.
You're making no sense. Myonna is a booktuber just like Tori, her videos aren't "for black people" or niched down to be about a "black creator". She was just a booktuber like any other and made a comment on how it's sad that booktube isn't very diverse.
@@fern-v9s if you listen to what she says, she mentions black creators and black readers, my point is if she took the race out of it, it would open up field, and then it would be purely up to her as an interesting person to attract viewership
@@YaFeya13I agree with you
She actually said she didn't feel valued as a creator. She didn't say a "black" creator. She mentioned other black creators who said they felt the same way because they see other white people skyrocket past them. Her content isn't niched down which was exactly her point. It leads her to believe that her race is keeping her from growing. She's only now mentioning it in that video about her leaving but in no other videos. As far as pigeonholing, I do niche down to books specifically about people of color and I am proud to represent myself as a black booktuber. I don't agree that I deserve very few subscribers because of it. Will it take me more work to get there yes, but that's with everything that's focused on us.
@@YaFeya13"my point is if she took the race out of it"
I'm sorry but you know nothing about race and the Black experience in this world, if you think a Black person can choose not to be Black anymore.
Been considering getting in to this space, but honestly the most daunting thingi is trying to figure out what I can bring that is different or useful. I don't want to try and crowd into an already crowded space, but I love booktube overall.
I think if you bring your own voice, you’ll do great. I’ve noticed a lot of booktube tries to conform around the same books and genres and it gets stale. Be yourself and talk about whatever you find interesting and people will listen. It might be a small audience, but your voice will influence someone to think about things differently.
What, were you planning an info desk tube?
I used to read all the time. I didn't even think much of it. Now I don't read at all. I sometimes found myself contemplating RUclips as a way to motivate myself to read again. Ultimately it's a bad idea. The idea that you can gain traction just... doing whatever you want is pretty much old RUclips, if anything. Originality is not rewarded. Even if you could bring something unique to the table - through no fault of your own - it would be in a box. That's what algorithms are for, to trace and sometimes shape trends.
That's like saying you won't exercise because too many people do it already. If you want to do it, as a hobby, to try and learn new things... Go for it!
The idea that people somehow "deserve" a successful channel because of their physical characteristics is bizarre to me. And I object to the idea that the only diversity that matters is skin color. Viking, Mike's book reviews, and Merphy Napier all have completely unique channels with unique insights, just to name a few examples.
It wasn’t said out loud but it did came out that way didn’t it?
Couldn't agree more
@@EarhirX No it didn't. Are you sure you people can even read? These are very ignorant responses...
@@futurestorytellerit absolutely did. There was no “reading” to be had, all you had to do was listen to what was said and actually comprehend it.
@@ajmatt574 It's so validating for me that you apparently can't even comprehend what I said.
Hi! One problem that I see, at least here in Brazil, is the "polarization": there are even cases where followers just "cancel" a channel due to the political opinions of its creator. The comments sometimes are quite angry.
Another problem is that the content here is more or less the same, and that is why I also need to follow foreign channels to see different topics.
I have a channel for just(!) one year, and already think sometimes in quitting. Then I remember that my videos may inspire others with similar taste, but at least they are a quite nice record of my readings and thoughts. 😺
Political opinions are shaped by ethics. Some people are unfairly targeted, or misinterpreted. But it's unsurprising if people don't want to support your channel if you just casually feel like some people don't deserve rights - or to live, or whatever
@@futurestoryteller I did not say that "some people don't deserve rights". They do, and different opinions are welcome to my channel. Sometimes we all learn something new, in the discussion of a video. I'm just saying that, sometimes, there is (here) a strong 'herd movement', in which everybody reacts negatively against someone.
But let me ask you, about the sentence "casually feel like some people don't deserve rights - or to live, or whatever": we are now facing a tragedy here, in south of Brazil, with an entire state flooded (more than 450 cities affected, more than 150 people dead, and countless disappeared). There are actions to support the stricken people (and abandoned animals). But the overwhelming majority of booktobers (i) ignore this tragedy, and go on with their 'book hauls', 'unboxings', and the like (the worst example is a channel that profitted *a lot* spreading hate speech against this state, and now just disregard the disaster); or, even worst, (ii) try to profit with this situation. Where are the ethics here?
@@MimiseLivros Sounds like a misdirect
I don't know about the solution how booktube community can improve other than just be yourselfs and don't try to be something you're not. However, I do agree about goodreads, when i was on goodreads it did feel like a pressure to make myself read more than 2 books and run a marathon of reading. I deleted my goodreads account and found myself enjoying books a lot more on my own pace. Not to mention there is also a fear of not catching up with books a booktuber loves and has read but you didn't. Whether it's Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan or books by Brandon Sanderson. That's pretty much all I have to say about this topic.
I gave up on Goodreads for a similar reason.
There aren't many people who read. No matter how much I tell people books are amazing, they NEVER even think about picking them up. The only way I can get people to experience my favorite books is if a show or movie comes out. I've only seen one person I know with a book in the past decade or so. People do not like to read.
most ppl i know use kindle or library apps on their phones. ppl not lugging around books doesnt mean they dont read. stats sho ppl actually read more than ever.
A RUclips book reviewer is almost fighting against the current. If you watch a lot of streaming content you won't have the time or patience to read.
Statistically speaking the average American still reads a little over one book a month. Averages can be misleading, as this lumps the people who do read a hundred books a year in with the people who read zero, but that's still a strong suggestion that most people like to read at least some of the time
Great video. I think the point that resonated with me the most was about not feeling the urge to rush through books. For me, I love stories where I can just linger, and go through it slowly over the course of several weeks to the point where it feels like the characters are just following me around, and I've always got the story in the back of my head. Kind of like a long series of a TV show. This is one of the reasons why I love the Stormlight Archive books so much. Those books might take me 4-6 weeks to get through, but I love the journey and don't feel the need to rush things.
Absolutely this 👆
Booktube is certainly a grind and no doubt I think we all feel that. It can be discouraging seeing people leave or not seeing any growth, yet I feel a sort of satisfaction each time I upload. For me, Booktube is like a reading journey. I get to see how I grow and adapt as a reader and a writer. Reflection in the community is vital because it can help smaller creators grow and bigger creators to, for lack of a better term, set the tone. Change only takes one person and I look forward to the day that Booktube becomes what it’s been envisioned: Community of readers and an eternal conversation on good books.
Why does the race of the person matter? I’m a persian guy with a hifi channel, I’ve never once thought to myself why don’t more persian people have hifi channels. Seems a bit silly. One of the biggest booktubers i follow is a black gay guy, makes no difference to me if I can relate to his race or sexuality. I’m here for the books brother.
Thank you! It's acceptable for non whites to be skin tone obsessed. But if a white person did the same, they'd be labeled a racist & bullied off the platform. It's sickening. Never once has it occurred to me to care about the skin tone of anyone I'm watching.
Johan this was so interesting to me thanks for getting it out there. I have my son help me, without him there is no way I could create content. The workload would just be insurmountable. I am humbled by so many creators that do it alone.
I feel like the moment you put expectations or expect money from a passion, you're on a quick road to anger frustration and bitterness. And it can take something that was positive turn it quickly into something toxic and destructive.
That's what this new era of algorithms are doing to us, turning us into competitive little content creating machines.
I read 13 books last year.. that’s normally the amount of books most booktubers read in a MONTH… but that’s the poin, bc they do this for a living but ofc none them remind their viewers of this and make everyone feel bad..
feeling compelled to read as many books as fast as possible, ya I felt that lol
Thanks for describing some of my feelings. I’ve been almost ten years here. My channel is not in English, but in Spanish language booktube you get some of the same trends. I don’t need or want to monetize, I don’t collaborate with publishers so I don’t get review copies. I don’t have the energy to put more than a video per week or to pull content to launch a Patreon. I don’t change my reading schedule to fit hype books. I eschew clickbait and repeating videos. Oh, and I don’t read YA fantasy. The result? A negligible growth over this period of time and an intense frustration with the channel performance. But I have a supportive community that’s there to engage with my content every week.
It's kinda ironic seeing comments/responses from booktubers who are all oh i dont do this for the money... and they have channel memberships and patreons...
All of the pressure is created by booktubers and then they make videos about how they will only read the books they want and not put so much pressure on themselves... like, you guys built up that pressure the past few years?! or like :hauls do good so im gonna haul haul haul..now after growing a certain number.. oh Im going to be no-buy this year yada yada...
I love your videos, even tho I don't necessarily read your preferred genres as often, I just like your vibe, the love for your books and your down to the ground opinions when it comes to everything and anything, regarding the books, or the booktube community and not only in this video. Plus, your videos are the best "companions" to have when I knit. :):):)
Thank you so much!! Comments like these literally make my day so I appreciate it. All the best!
I just enjoy documenting my thoughts on what I've read recently. I do not want my hobby to become my job. Nor do I want to put pressure on myself with a hobby I truly enjoy. I want to spark discussions with people, or have them try an author they may have not read before. I read for the enjoyment of reading. 🙂❤📚
This video perfectly illustrates some of the problems and struggles with being on Booktube. Really great video!
Thank you! I appreciate the video you made and can totally relate to you in a lot of ways!
In thinking, prior to today, about the general need for more diversity on BookTube it is, in many ways, an algorithm-driven issue and that is so frustrating. The algorithm favors very specific behaviors. Personally, I don’t read YA so I don’t choose to watch channels. I’m thrilled they are making content but as an older reader I’m looking for creators who have lived more of life and bring that perspective to reading. My point being that a huge percentage of the really large channels are reading in the booming YA niche so channels reading in the adult niche are virtually guaranteed to be smaller because numbers of readers who are adults and watch BookTube with any regularity is impacted by jobs, children, and general adulting. In other words, by definition this is going to be a group of readers ill-served by the vicious algorithm. I feel like adding anything else to that and the numbers get even smaller so looking for 100k channels given those parameters maybe it’s actually miraculous there are any at all? All that (rambling) being said, when I thought about this several years ago I purposefully began following, watching, and engaging with not only POC creators but those from countries around the world. I can’t begin to say how amazing this has been for me in every way. For me, it is literally my favorite part of BookTube. But, is it the favorite of the algorithm - absolutely not.
When did "I'm old enough to know better, but young enough to do it again" become such an unpopular age group?! 😅
It seems like everyone was upset about not making money. U can create ur own merch, work on writing ur own book, even incorporate ur books into other niches. So doesn’t seem like creativity was expanded on.
It’s interesting about the pressure on RUclipsrs to read a lot of books. I tend to lose trust and interest in RUclipsrs who read more than 8-ish books a month. Maybe I’m not being fair, but I get skeptical about whether one can give a thoughtful review past that rough point. I tend to unsubscribe more liberally from those channels.
That is a very interesting point! I occasionally see some content creators reading more than 100 books a year and it baffles me!
Me too. Wait no. I actually won’t subscribe to them. lol. But I’ll watch them if they’re discussing a specific book. 🥰
@@libraryofaviking Yeah that number is insane to me. My older brother when we were growing up used to always have a book with him reading during any and all breaks at work or any free time at home and there is no way he read over 100 books a year. Silver lining , if I want to read an older novel I ask him first before buying because he usually has it lol.
Read about 20 books a month since I was 12 years old. It's all in how i prioritize my time. Plus i read faster than most
I read between 7-12 books a month, but I also only watch TV on Sat/Sun and it's my main hobby. I don't think it's fair to say that someone who reads a certain quantity isn't reading as in depth as someone else. I have a friend with a physical disability that keeps her in bed a lot and she reads like dozens a month as she'd rather do that than watch tv and she's not a gamer. Some people just have more time than others. Commuting also let's people get through a lot of audiobooks.
Hey Johan, so maybe I've just been involved in the online SFF community for too long (albeit very new to the Booktube schtick), but none of these are new problems. 10 years ago when I ran an SFF blog it was pretty much the same challenges, and there's always an amount of churn happening - people come and people go for a variety of reasons. What I have noticed is that the creators who've lasted the longest and remain the most consistent are the ones who simply don't care about what's happening with their content. They enjoy reading however much they do, and writing a post or creating a video is just a fun thing they do after the fact with little to no expectations. They don't let whatever their medium is come in the way of what actually matters - their passion for reading. They're not going to be as big as your average 100K+ channel who's only focus is churning out content for the subscriber gains, but they sure as hell seem to be a lot happier than the folks aiming to finagle a fickle following online. All about perspective, priorities and expectations 🙂
I only started my Booktube channel back in December 2023, so it's not really a stable in the community - or even known in the community haha. Luckily, I have yet to experience the dark side of the book community. So far it has only increased my love for reading and I am reading between 4 to 6 books per month and that is a pace that I am very, very pleased with. I do hope someday to be able to make Booktube my full-time job, so I can continue reading so many gorgeous books, but.... I am not making videos to make a full-time job, I am not reading to make money. I am making videos because I love to read books, because I love to talk about books and my Booktube channel is my creative outlet. A place where I can just be myself and show different side of myself that doesn't have that much space in my private life due to other obligations such as a job, partner, the children, social life etc.
Maybe the reason is that I began my Booktube journey in my 30's and at a time where I am certain of who I am and only live up to the expectations that I set up for myself. Maybe I'm just too new in the community... or maybe I'm just weird 🤣
I get how it can be mentally taxing. I love your channel and a few other booktubers. I enjoy reading, but nobody in my personal life likes reading fantasy books much. It’s nice to have an outlet to hear discussion on books I love.
So I think it’s great what you do, and many people appreciate the hard work that goes into it. The ONLY minor criticism I have is there is a recency bias. I’d like a little more coverage of older fantasy books. It seems like almost everything covered on booktube is 21st century books. I also get older books might not do well in the algorithm. Enjoying 80s/90s fantasy is probably a niche within a niche. So, I get the hesitancy. But that is just a suggestion. Thanks for the channel!
As a black man brand new to booktube, I can definitely relate to the lack of representation, particularly in the sci-fi and fantasy space, which my content primarily focuses on. I’m hoping by posting content and becoming a more active part of Booktube, I’ll connect with more black booktubers, or even better, encourage others like myself to join the community. We, as a group, bring a different flavor and vibe to Booktube, just from simply living as a minority. An example, we tend to have a higher appreciation when a fantasy author makes an effort to be inclusive in their cast of characters, so everyone isn’t an anglo-saxon phenotype. I hope the community at large, myself included, does their best to support a wide-range of booktubers, so all feel welcome and appreciated, because this is an awesome community to be a part of.
Great to hear that. Go for it!
@@quantus5875 thank you!
A lot of the issues touched on are far from unique to booktubing.
A lot of people have a hobby they love and think "if only my job was to paint miniatures" (or whatever hobby it is). And it often turns out that once that dream comes true and your hobby becomes your job - you may be killing the joy you used to get from that hobby.
It is no longer a choice of wether you feel like cooking, painting or whatever your thing is - YOU HAVE TO.
RUclips demands that you constantly put out content or your channel will likely flounder.
Finally there are so many tubers out there, even if booktubing is a niche as you say, there are still A LOT of channels to choose from. So it can be really hard to break through. Again this goes for anything on youtube.
This is one reason why I haven’t started a channel
I read 2 - 3 books a week, pretty consistently, and watching BookTube makes me feel like that isn’t a lot
The average person reads one book per year
I don’t really tv. But I don’t want to just constantly watch BookTube either
I think the issues raised here largely apply to RUclips content in general. It’s hard to generate enough content to grab people’s attention, especially when it’s related to an activity that few people are passionate about. Ultimately, I think a lot of RUclips creators in general quit when they don’t feel like they’re getting attention.
This is a fascinating topic and I'm grateful to the algo for presenting it. I'm a very green BookTuber (about six weeks now), so it's enlightening to hear about some of the pitfalls this early on. I guess I'll figure out my own cadence as I go, but making content has already improved the way I read in a very positive way. Of course, I could just be in the honeymoon period, but I don't think so. This feels like a long-term thing for me. You're right about the community though - it's the best I've found since the old days of the acoustic guitar community on the old newsgroups and BBSs!
Best of luck with your channel!
I think chasing the algorithms is why the lack of booktube diversity is happening. Also, a lot of the creators from booktube that come up on my algos are young females who are reading what I would call "quick reads" , or if I'm feeling brutal, "trashy novels". Speed in tasks is often considered a virtue among the young, but I reread books many times, and have done a few videos about my book obsessions, and they tend to stem from other interests. Ignoring what others are doing, and being a reader, living in my own universe a lot of the time, I just post my bookish videos mixed in with my other hobbies and interests, since what I read stems from them anyway. I might be shooting myself in the algorithm foot, doing this, but I'm gonna make a foray into using the#booktube hashtag, and see if I can get a few readers over there. I'm collecting my favourite books to reread at the moment, so I may as well. Beats trying to keep up with other booktubers!
I really enjoy your channel. Thank you for your wonderful content. I am a newbie to fantasy. I have loved all your book descriptions, and I have read some fantastic books thanks to you! ❤
Plenty of content creators stop making content for a variety of reasons. It is not just Book tubers. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't. I would image that it is tough making compelling content.
As much as I love to read, I also want to remember what I read, and I want to remember it fondly. I want to remember characters, and plot lines and arcs from the books I read. I totally get the dissatisfaction some of these youtubers are expressing with reading so many books and not remembering any of them beyond a couple details. I would be so dissatisfied with that too. But being picky with reading, or savoring books slowly doesn't make the content that the algorithm demands, and that's so unfortunate. I would burn out too.
There are communities on this platform that are smaller. My plan was to start recording booktube in polish (another example of a smaller community due to the language barrier) but so far I just made one podcast style video. The reason behind it is trivial - I am writing my masters degree, I work full time and I still have a family that needs some time with me, and they need clean clothes and food on a daily basis. If I start this booktube channel project later in the year I am not expecting any kind of revenue, I want to do it because it is a fun project.
Apart of reading books I have other hobbies and I also run a channel for that (it is about cross stitch, how many of you can even tell what that is 😉 and after 7 years I have almost 600 subs, only because I started recording in English before I went only recording in polish) My days are juggling between these things. It is the creators decision what he values more.
Very interesting thoughts! What helps me:
I stay off booktok & bookstagram on purpose, I’m also seeking out small booktubers who have similar reading tastes as me, who intentionally try to use the library and focus on reading what they already own :) I also like to look up book reviews for BIPOC books & people who read translated authors, it helps to find diverse booktubers and people who like to read diversely!
There is absolutely no "need for diversity" in this field... there is a need for creative ideas, good content, friendly and supporting communities. From what ethnicity this comes form bears no significance. There are some borderline scenarios where the creators political views, heritage or skin color can add some additional value to that specific book, review or debate but overall, the important things are the ideas that you communicate and the way you communicate them. (DC. These are my thoughts and opinions sorry for generalizing them too much.)
Someone just commented about lack of diversity in the scifi/fantasy genre and wanting more representation. I laughed so hard, I'm sorry but none of these races exist in real life and yet you want to be represented????
@@loralubimaia2783uhm…yes. Because when you are reading a fantasy book and they are all described as fair skin, etc. then it makes it seem that people of darker complexions don’t exist in those worlds. I don’t purport to know your race/ethnicity, but I do find white/fair skin people have a blind spot when it comes to diversity. If you find yourself always represented in media, than you may not understand why it’s so important for those that are underrepresented.
I disagree. I feel there is a need for diversity in all fields. It’s important for people to see themselves in media. People’s lived experiences informs how they review books. I wonder how many folks in the comment section that agree with your take actually watch booktubers from different races/ethnicities. I would bet most of the folks they watch are from their same backgrounds. Those who don’t see a need for diversity, tend not value diversity.
@laela2000 first and most importantly, we are humans. If a human makes a video, then I am represented. I might not agree with certain ideas or ways of them being presented, but the message is what matters, not the skin color of the speaker. I accept that you and others might not feel the same, but I think that it is something that you and those people need to work on, not the rest of the world.
@@laela2000 if you are disappointed that you don't have the same shade of skin as trolls, vampires, fairies, elves, ogres, aliens or goblins maybe you'd enjoy the Parshendi in Sanderson's works. They have brown skin.
Pity more people don't value reading whether for fun or to better your career. I'm one of those dinosaurs that still have very hard time throwing a book out when I'm done with it. My library often doesn't want them; they have plenty of hand me downs. Books have always been some of my best friends . I love the feeling when you finally close your book for the last time and you know you will miss the characters you are leaving behind. That is when you know you have really enjoyed the magic a good writer can bring to your life.
Awesome video. I actually made 2 or 3 videos and quit by my own doing and nobody's fault i just realized making videos wasnt for me which is sad because i woulda loved to share my journey. I do get upset when people feel like their privleged to much. In the 3rd video it seems she thinks she is entiled to get all those followers. Pretty sad to be honest that brings a toxic enviorment on itd own . Maybe it was her personality wasnt good enough or the quality. Most of the big booktubers have insane video editing and just quality. Along with personality . Anyways thanks so much for the video again
I loved your video. I recently created my own RUclips channel and I've reviewed one book so far. I still want to do this as a hobby, but I can see how it can be intimidating and frustrating putting so much effort into creating something that gets only a few views.
I follow a booktuber who talks about her stats for the month including number of pages read. I can think of one month this person read 28 books. How?! I read 4 books a month usually and don’t understand how people are doing this. Feeling pressured to read a mass quantity of books takes the fun out of it. It makes me wonder if these people actually read the books! I appreciate good content and don’t care how many books someone reads. I enjoy your content even though I don’t read as much fantasy as other genres. :)
I know what you mean it puzzles me too how do they do it. I am admittedly a slow reader. This year I decided to do the 52 book club challenge so far I am slightly ahead but it is a commitment to read every day I have read so far 13 books to me that’s huge and that is in 2 months! Normally I average 30+ books a year.
@@TheGeekiestSecretary 13 books so far is a lot! I read 48 books last year but I’m reading some chunkers this year so I won’t hit that again but that’s fine.
This video was really interesting. As a fledging booktuber myself, I've got about 215 subs, i definitely struggle with being valued at times, putting the work in and getting a tiny viewership. I battle with self confidence all the time.
But when i set up my channel I never had any expectations and all I wanted was an outlet for my love of fantasy and sci-fi books and in the end the numbers don't really matter and I don’t really care about rhe algorithm and won't waste ky energy trying to either. This is a hobby, i have no intention of having it monetised. But thank you for making this video, it certainly validates some of my anxieties that I have running a booktube channel.
I also do SFF - subbed you! I'll check out some of your videos. 🙂
@@SoundFuryBookReviews thank you man, I hope you enjoy my content! Happy reading dude!
This is eye-opening as a content creator. Also, I often have wondered if book tubers sometimes listen to audiobooks to log more time in while they're doing other tasks and can't sit down all day every day reading. I think algorithms are absolute garbage.
Great video. I agree with Rana. It seems like so many booktubers just want to try and read so many books so they can say theyve read them...but how well did they actually absorb the content of those books? I believe this is why so many would like to change the definition of the words read and listen. Listening to an audiobook is not reading a book....but they can listen while they do other things and are most likely distracted and this is how they can greatly increase their reading numbers...If you're not reading the book and paying attention to the details and concentrating on what you are reading, then why the hell should anyone take your opinion on the book seriously? It should be about the love of reading and the quality of the books and not the quantity. I dont care if you read or listen to your books, but if youre going to tell others about the content of the book and review it, then you better damn well pay attention. Otherwise, you should probably not have a booktube channel. Just my 2 cents. Keep up your great work. You are one of only 6 booktubers that I chose to keep around. I do miss Tall Guy Reads though.
Unfortunately, I know about a lot of this. I have been struggling to get any engagement on my channel and it's like, what's the point? I love making videos and everything that goes with it, but what's the point if no one is going to watch or engage? I don't want to leave RUclips in general, but maybe slowly giving up on the bookish content side of things is the way to go. I don't want to be a full time RUclipsr or anything, but having a small community which wants to essentially spend time with me would be absolutely amazing! I can't afford to spend hundreds of pounds on books so all my books are second hand, and I have hardly any up to date, recent released books, and I'm ok with that. This video was very informative. Just want to say thank you xoxo
I'm not a creator. Being a consumer of booktube content, I think I watch to feel a sense of community. No one around me reads. No one around me cares about fantasy or scifi. On booktube, I at least get a sense of "Hey! They're like me." So, if I watch a video, and the creator obviously doesn't care about the content, doesn't get fired up about a book I love, then the community isn't there. Quality over quantity all day.
I have no idea about this topic but thanks for expanding my TBR over the weeks Viking man.
I think I have the solution for any booktubers experiencing this: stop Keeping Up With the Joneses. I've had a booktube channel for over 2 years, and before making one I watched enough videos to know what I did and didn't want to do. I knew I couldn't handle constant output, or buying a bunch of the most trendy-looking hardcovers every week--so I didn't do that. I read a couple books a month at most (the last book I read took me two solid months to get through because it was gigantic), and I only make a video if I genuinely want to. I realized my niche could be doing full-length review videos, mostly for books that aren't super trendy or well known on here.
Yeah it's frustrating working hard to 'only' get a couple dozen views on most videos or 'only' have 160 subs after 2 years, but I recognize that if I pressured myself into making this a grind, it wouldn't be fun. Make the channel you wanna make, represent what you wanna read. You might not get brand deals out of it, but every once in a while a video on some obscure book I reviewed years back will get a comment like 'I'm so glad someone's talking about this one!' or 'I was looking for someone who would give me an idea of what this weird book on my shelf was like, thanks!' And it makes me realize I'm still contributing to the space, even if only in a small way.
As to the diversity, you have nearly 40k subscribers. You have the platform and the reach to be part of this change by actually going out and promoting diverse booktubers on the regular. And don't pay attention to whether they have a trillion subscribers, just put their names out there. Want to find a queer booktuber of colour? Try PerpetualPages or Jesse on RUclips. A transmasc/trans man booktuber? Ashton Daniel or The Book Stack. Others off the top of my head: BookishRealm, WithCindy, SluggishReader, etc etc... and if you need more, just use the search bar and find some more for yourself :D I honestly never watch the big booktubers anyway; most of the people I watch have just around a thousand subs. Similarly, if you feel the covered books themselves aren't diverse either (I totally agree), then pick up books that aren't trending, that are outside of the scope of what is normally covered on here, from different countries, time periods, perspectives, etc, and feature them in full videos. You have the power, haha.
Anyway, tl;dr: Stop Keeping Up With the Joneses, and be the change you want to see! :D
I sometimes think of starting a book tube channel but I worry that it would take up so much of my time that I would have no time left for reading
Interesting video. I can agree with a few of the points although I approach Booktube more as an outlet for my reading hobby and my reading wouldn't change much per se if I didn't do it. I would say in another aspect of lack of diversity is overwhelmingly on the actual genres and types of books read. I primarily read and talk about science and history and nonfiction and I feel that is even more of a niche of an already niche community. The vast majority of books talked about on booktube are YA, fantasy, and similar. Of course there are those who specialize in most anything, just harder to find. Plus a lot of the reading events don't really apply to those who don't read the more mainstream genres.
I ended up stop posting cause I moved into an environment that recording is rather hard. But, I never grew yet somewhere I felt competitive. It was a weird feeling. Not growing after 2ish years is disheartening.
Very few people read books in the first place.
Great video. I agree that this can promote books like fast fashion. And number of books ready/owned for me is a discussion that has no point. Same like physical vs. digital books. I always thought that it is not important how many books, from where or is it digital copy or "real paper". Importance is about the reading.
And good point about owning a book. I noticed in community that sometimes it is shown that if you don't own a lot of books you're not a "real" book lover. Which is silly. 70% of the books I read is from the library. Here in Croatia we have very good public library system where for 7€ / year you have unlimited access. And I buy only editions I like or are from the series I'm a big fan of (like LOTR, DUNE, Witcher,....).
It's so silly right! Cari Can Read gets most of her books from a library too, and she's one of the biggest booktubers around. Nothing but actually reading will give you legitimacy over time.
Thanks for the talk! I had the idea to start a channel but noticed these problems as well and it is quite demotivating. Especially regarding diversity and lack of representation. How come I've never heard about those booktubers you've mentioned... it's really sad that the algorithms do not push unique content and flooding my recommendations page with some overhyped fantasy and book hauls, which I don't even watch!!
I think people go into booktube like it’s a sprint, but it’s a marathon. Most of the people I watch have been on 5 years. That’s what comes up on my feed.
I'll most likely piss of some people here, but if someone's reason for leaving the booktube community is that it's too niche to be profitable, it sounds to me like they feel entitled to something. There's Patreon and there are other means to monetize your booktube brand. If you're going into anything with the mindset that you're owed anything simply because you put in the work, then it's not pleasurable, for you nor for your viewers. Don't get me wrong, the booktube community is 99.9 percent wonderful. The booktubers and viewers are really supportive and at times you get a "found family" vibe. Alongside you, some of my other favorite booktubers are Petrik Leo, Tall Guy Reads, Rekindled Reader, Mike's Book Reviews, Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews, The brothers Gwynn, The Fantasy Nuttwork, Dominish Books, Philip Chase and Brian Lee Durfee (the latter is an example of a man who does it purely out of his love for reading. There's no editing, just a man who loves to read multiple genres and is very passionate about it. Sure, he reads 20+ books a month, but still, if he read only 4 or 5, it's still be entertaining.) I wouldn't say I feel pressured to read more, however, since I began watching booktube channels, I've upped my yearly reading tally significantly and I've learned to enjoy books more by figuring out which genres work best on audio, which ones are best read on ebook and which work best on physical books. But yeah, like all viewers, book haul videos are still by far my favorite 😅 love your channel, man. As a non-native English speaker, you both make it look not that hard to get into booktube. Cheers from Croatia! :)
You named so many of my faves too. They actually know what they’re talking about.
Pozdrav iz Hrvatske 🙂
Thank you for your video. One issue you don't touch on is how big BookTubers who run memberships, Patreons, etc. generally won't recommend smaller channels with growth potential. Instead they only mention other paid-for content BookTubers who they hook up with to try and drive up one another's memberships. Some of these channels then add insult to injury by posting videos lamenting the lack of new creators! Do these channels ever do anything to recommend new creators or to help smaller channels grow?
Basically, I feel this membership/Patreon ecosystem creates a community of haves within a larger community of have-nots. In other words, somewhat paradoxically, it's some of the biggest BookTubers who are killing BookTube (or, at the least, doing nothing to help grow the next generation of content creators). My own response has been to declare my channel will never monetize and to forge links with similarly-minded BookTubers to start bringing our subscribers into contact with one another and encourage growth that way.
In these circumstances, it can hardly be a surprise that so many BookTubers quit, many of whom have created content that deserved more of an audience than it got. And it will often be (ironically) those who invested the most who quit first, because they've put everything they had into their channel, seen little for their efforts, and become understandably disillusioned.
I understand all the points made here. I took a hiatus after feeling burn out from booktube. I came back and decided to only do what's fun/ interesting to me and stop caring about reading/ doing what's popular. I Feel so much better!
Thanks for the video, you bring up many things Ive wondered about as a newbie. Hope our community gets better
My basic problem as a viewer of book tube is it just gets boring after a while. I used to be really into watching book tube -- but then it just gets boring -- and then I stop watching and move on to something else. I did get into reading Agatha Christie two years ago -- and book tube is cool right now for that reason -- learning a ton about Agatha Christie -- but I know at some point it will just get bored again -- how many top 10 ranking videos of Agatha Christies, or reading order, or opinions of Agatha Christie books will I watch before I get bored? For now -- it is interesting hearing a lot of different opinions. I like watching Agatha Christie ranking videos and all Agatha Christie book content but at some point, I'll have watched enough, and I'll stop. Maybe to start again with a different author.
I never knew or even thought that there is something as a booktube community. I just read books, I then realised that there must be some good book recomendations on youtube and I found I, Nerdius. By watching him I discovered others but it would never cross my mind you guys are trying to make money out of this. You said it best, it's an incredible niche piece of the pie.
Interesting topic. I just subscribed to your channel because of this. I have been a Book tube subscriber since 2017 and yes, I agree that these are the reasons some book tubers leave this community. Those book tubers who left must also think of the positive aspects their channel brings to people and how their content impacts readers out there. I have read and bought some books based on the hype and recommendations due to book tubers. A book tube channel must be for enjoyment and not have the creator have this platform based on the number of views and subscribers.
This was such a great video! I watch a few videos from booktube and booktok, but I'm not apart of their creator community. I make videos about hiking and gear reviews, and I find my experience super similar! I've been creating videos for a year now, and I'm still far from being monetized. It's definitely hard to grow on RUclips, especially as a small creator. Thank you so much for making this video!
I started on booktube because my family got tired of me subjecting them to my ramblings about books. So my booktube is more of a release for me. I have some niche reading interests, so just being able to opine about them out loud and feel like I’m talking to someone is awesome to me. If people subscribe and watch, that’s a bonus!
I think that your mindset when getting into booktube and your reasons for staying are key factors in whether or not you stay on booktube. Once it stops being about sharing something you’re excited about, I would imagine that it would be more of a chore.
This happens to all YT communities and many YT in general get burned out. The art tube community has shrunk a lot because YT favors short content over long videos.
It's a niche market that is already pretty saturated. If you don't bring anything new to the table it can be tough to penetrate.
An interesting video. You mentioned the possibility that booktuber promotes consumerism. Let me point out one word you used. I recognize that you may not be a native speaker of English, but I hear this word used by native English speakers all the time with regard to library use (I'm a public librarian). That word is "renting". You don't "rent" a book from the library. There is no financial transaction. You borrow library books. The library lends them to you. I point this out not as a criticism, but just to note how deeply the language of consumerism in ingrained in our culture.
Fantastic video! Definitely a part of a big discussion. The one video I made that went viral was about de-influencing. I think people are moving towards reading for fun rather than reading for high numbers, which is great! And I think we can give shout outs to diverse booktokkers as well and foster more of a sense of community (rather than competition).
Thanks for your thoughts!
I feel Myonna. Right now, I'm only making videos because it's still fun for me, but I have almost no following and make no money. I'd walk away the moment I quit enjoying it.
Thank you for covering such an important topic!
I love seeing the Licanus Trilogy on your shelf! 😍
Reading should be fun.
It's subjective.
It's how I started finding other writers & readers online when I found it in 2018.
Hopefully it will grow again but in a healthier way. A fun, non- overconsumer way.
Thank you for such thought provoking video. Now I understand better how much it goes into making videos.. I have now much more appreciation for the beginning Booktubers, and I will be more mindful when I watch their videos to ensure to leave a comment and a helpful “like”, which I often forget about 🥺
Steve Donoghue has made a response video to this, which is worth watching 'Video Response The Dark Side of BookTube!'
I second this.