I honestly was not a very big reader until 2020. Instead, a great deal of my time was occupied by spending time on social media. However, once the pandemic hit, all of that changed and reading became an activity that occupied a great deal of my free time.
With that being said, my love of reading has not managed to curb my love of YouTube. Instead, I have noticed my newfound passion for reading altering my taste in YouTube creators and the content I choose to consume. This new side of Youtube I have deep-dived into is referred to as “BookTube.”
On BookTube, content creators are referred to as “BookTubers.” They post content all relating to and surrounding the topic of books. My favourite part about watching BookTubers is that it is a great outlet to receive very good book recommendations. BookTube becomes even more effective in helping discover new reads once you’ve found your niche of BookTubers, as this way you know the recommendations are going to fall within a genre or writing style you enjoy.
Additionally, BookTube is also great for those who are generally surrounded by people who do not read the same books as you do, as BookTubers will share their thoughts and opinions on books they have read. This can definitely help cure your need to dish about your current/past reads (especially when you keep telling people about things that are happening in your book, and they have absolutely no interest in what you are talking about). With all of this being said, here are my favourite three BookTubers that I always watch in between the moments that I am not reading.
1. Jack Edwards:
British YouTuber Jack Edwards originally gained popularity on YouTube for documenting his time studying English at Durham University. However, it wasn’t until the time that he graduated, also correlating with the start of the pandemic, that he began to consistently make content dedicated to books and reading.
Edwards is known for his extended reading vlogs where he will select a collection of books to binge through, often relating to some form of popular culture. Then, he gives his honest opinions on the books, sprinkled with his British sense of humour.
I was originally introduced to Edwards through his video entitled, “I read every book Connell studies in Normal People,” and as those who have read my past articles know, I am a dedicated Normal People/Sally Rooney fan. So, I was instantly fascinated and impressed by Edwards’ approach, by which he applied his English degree to meticulously analyzing the meaning behind the novels to further demonstrate how Sally Rooney’s inclusion of them further added to the plot of her story.
Edwards’ book content and preferred genre of literature tend to fall within the contemporary pop-lit category, so if this is your favourite genre, I highly recommend checking out his channel.
2. Steph Bohrer:
Steph Bohrer is an Arizona State University student, who originally found success on TikTok for her book and lifestyle content, which then translated to the growth of her YouTube channel where she posts similar content. She is known for her love of romance novels, so if romance (specifically contemporary romance novels) is your cup of tea, her channel will be right up your alley.
Bohrer’s book content generally surrounds monthly recommendations, set into different categories, such as “The Best Books I’ve Read This Month,” or “My Five Star Reads.” Additionally, those who read romance novels know that there are different novel tropes that people seek out when they select a book. Therefore, Bohrer also has book recommendations based on tropes, such as, “friends to lovers” and “I hate everyone in the world but you.”
With this being said, I think my favourite Bohrer recommendation video would have to be her video on recommending books based on one’s favourite Taylor Swift songs, simply due to its creativity (and my undying love for Taylor Swift’s music). I must say, every Steph Bohrer book rec I have read I have honestly loved, and nearly all went directly on my five stars list.
3. Uncarly:
Carly Thorne is a Toronto-based university student and comedian who goes by the name “Uncarly” on YouTube. She began posting regularly on her channel during the height of the pandemic.
Thorne’s book content in many ways is similar to Jack Edwards’ as she too will often base her videos around reading and reviewing a related collection of novels. Specifically, Thorne is best known for her “Celebrity Book Club” series, where she will read a series of books a certain celebrity has recommended and then will proceed to guess what the books say about the celebrities who recommended them. It was through “Celebrity Book Club” that I was first introduced to Thorne’s channel, where she read one of Emma Chamberlain’s favourite reads — I was immediately hooked.
Thorne generally tends to read more contemporary fiction, and definitely loves books with grey characters (Normal People is her favourite novel of all time for context). Additionally, for those who enjoy a book analysis through the use of specific lenses, Thorne will often complete her videos with an analysis of the novels she’s read using feminist, queer, and mental health lenses.
Additionally, just after I wrote this article, Uncarly and Jack Edwards actually collaborated on a celebrity reads video where they both read some of Lorde’s book recommendations in celebration of her recent release of Solar Power.
In summary, if you love reading and you also love to spend hours watching YouTube, and you have yet to join the Booktube wave, what are you waiting for?