I've kind of... stopped reading | an honest check in 

You’re authentic and that’s what makes you entertaining and informative. And why I watch. Thank you!

Good to see you. Just take it easy. I will watch anything you put up. :)

The AUDACITY to not prioritise reading 1,000 novels for MY entertainment… please reconsider with immediate effect 😂😂😂

I don't comment much but I love your channel and i'm glad you are not quitting. You make me laugh, and I trust your judgment on books. I'll be happy to follow your single-book-videos, and everything else you are doing :) Congrats on the play by the way! Send it to Paris next ;)

We’re here to hear you talk about anything you want 🫶🏼

I completely agree with you reading what you want and sharing with your viewers rather than reading for your viewers. Even if I would never pick up the book, I always enjoy your commentary and thoughtfulness of what you consume and how you engage with it. It's your channel. Do whatever makes you enjoy it 😉. We will keep watching.

8:40 "Posts, everyone!" 😂❤👍 Classic.

Oh Ben whether you want to upload 2min or 2hr vids, 1/mo or 1/yr, I’ll remain subbed to this channel and feel like it’s a lucky day whenever there’s an upload from you! I very much feel like you are akin to Nora Ephron in that you’re both just fabulous and that fabulousness will translate. So glad your family stress has decreased and your writing career is taking off!

The channel is YOUR hobby. Publish the content YOU want. If you are enjoying what you are doing, the viewers will come along for the ride.

Glad you’re sticking around, glad you ain’t quitting. I’m excited for what’s about to come. Follow your own pace, Ben, stay safe 💜

i don't comment often but you're one of my favourite booktubers, so glad you're sticking around! love your edits and thoughtful reviews (in whatever shape or form they come :)) hope you have a wonderful sunday!

I love your videos and am happy anytime you pop up. You have actually been the one to help me out of an 18 month reading slump. Bereavement, non-existent work life balance, nasty divorce blah blah blah. Your honesty and charm is so lovely and you should do whatever makes your heart full ❤

So happy for you, and proud, of your play success! And don't worry about us ... we'll tune in no matter. We love you for YOU!

McCarter’s Ovid is on my list. The written world sounds like one I need to add!

Happy to see you back in any capacity! Love your book reviews, long or short. You obviously have a lot to say and I personally love hearing about. You could review the dictionary and I’d likely watch. Your sincerity and almost sporadic reviews are immensely endearing! One book at a time sounds great, just happy to see you back! Best with the hecticness of personal life, hopefully you’ll find some reprieve in books! 😃

Gonna do a shot for every time you say "slaggy vest". "The channel is for the reading" is the way it should be. Glad you're still doing it for you! 👍

I'm glad you're not quitting; I hope any future changes this year in your personal life are all positive, I think a lot of us have had a bit of a rollercoaster start to the year! I enjoyed your wraps but actually prefer single book reviews.

Lovely to see you again Ben! Congratulations on the writing career. I never looked upon your vlogs as wrap ups as such because you chose such an eclectic collection of books and I enjoy your honesty in the reviews. I don't want to watch people who see quantity as the aim and who only want to read the latest 'in' books. Very happy to watch whatever wish to present to us whenever wish to present it. Just be happy 🌻

You're one of my favorite Booktubers and, therefore, I really hope that you're not giving up on your channel. I love your videos. 😊

Single book reviews would be really interesting!

i hope the lows werent too low and i wish you a lot of highs to come, i loved your play for whatever it matters sending a lot of hugs :-)

I always save your videos until I have the time to watch the whole thing, even if I haven't read any of the books 😊 that's not me going "oh, I'm sad they won't be long", just "I'm happy to listen to you ramble for as long or short as you like" Also, I'm now living in Edinburgh, so going to book a ticket for the play

Like Samson from the old testament who when his hair was cut his strength was lost. You cut your hair and your reading stopped. Hmmmm. Love your channel. You make me laugh. So glad you're not quitting booktube.

Happy to watch your videos whenever you feel like uploading them

Relatable! I recently changed my style of booktubing as well 😅 you do you!

Totally agree about the channel being about what you read not reading for the channel. I’ll be here for whatever you wanna share, I just love catching up with you. Also (as someone who is on an intentional one) a rest/break can be good for ya!

congratulations on the plays! Good for you! As someone else said, we enjoy any videos you do. Even the catch up ones, video games, everything. 😊😊

Have a great summer, and good luck with everything you do.

Congrats on the success of your play! Let us know how it does in Edinburgh too! Confession: you're not alone in setting reading your reading goals back. I found my yarn stash and can't resist picking up my hooks and needles! So, overall it's just balance for me right now. 😉

Good to see you Ben and glad you're staying on booktube!

I do like your videos a lot - everything will be fine, single-topic-ones will be great! Take care!

I actually love the long videos - enjoy hearing your thoughts (and humor). I just grab a cup of coffee and settle in.

Long time viewer here. Will probably watch any kind of videos from you, because I really like what you have to say about the books you read. And also - when you fell in love with Jane Eyre and made that video about it - I just knew you were my kind of person and that I would watch any video you make! 🙂

Very glad that you staying around! I totally agree about the books leading the channel and not the other way round 😊

Always nice to see a Doomantidote video drop into my list. Any literary musings are welcome to,your followers I am sure. And thoughts on plays or playwriting would also be fun.

I do quite like this type of video/catch up. Any videos you want to do, I’ll be here.

Sorry to hear you've been in a slump with the reading, but glad you've found a book that's got you excited about reading again! Congrats on the playwrighting successes of this year - that's fabulous! Hope Edinburgh shows you a good time - it's ages since I took a show up to the festival but I remember the buzz of it! I love watching your beefy wrap-ups, but whether your videos are 2 mins or 2 hours long I'll still be watching, I just like hearing your thoughts on what you've read. 🙂 Also, Beorn from The Hobbit - excellent choice for the fictional crush prompt!

As someone who mostly reads dead authors, I appreciate your reading taste and love to hear your thoughts!

I always enjoy your content and the little treats in the edits. Your video plans sound good to me. I just reread The Hobbit and I endorse your choice of Beorn. 😊

I love your videos and I am happy you continue the way you like it. I am sure you will fall in love with reading again. P.S. You helped me with Middlemarch. Haha! 🙃

Bonjour Ben, The most important is to do what you feel like doing. Whatever form your videos takes or at whatever rythm you post them, people will appreciate and enjoy them I'm sure. I know I will. Also, congratulations on your writing projects/success. Tu as une personnalité extraordinaire. Je te souhaite que du bien-être. Salutations de Montréal.

I wouldn't worry too much about the reading slump, Ben. You've been creating -- congrats on the playwriting success! -- and that takes a lot of energy similar to reading. Sorry about the acting slump. I say write yourself a big juicy part and just put that rider in the production contract: I must always play this part! By the way, I just read David Copperfield and thought of you every time Aunt Betsy freaked out about the donkeys. 🤣

It's your lovely self that we're here for, no matter what the content is. And of course, the pop culture references! 🤪

you are honestly so handsome and so beautiful ben. you made me laugh and smile alike in this video. you’ve gained a new follower for sure! have a great week ahead dude ^^

It sounds like life wants your attention, your reading will return once you adjust to everything else but there's no rush. I will be watching, regardless, (even though I didn't understand one word of your video game review). How excellent your play is going to Edinburgh!

thanks for staying on...and i'm so glad you found the written word...and congrats on the writing successes..and i'm glad you're teaching..the kids are fortunate....i always enjoy your videos..glad the family is healing too.

Always a pleasure to get a new video. Just popped in to say, well a couple of things really. There's a few channels I subscribe to that post very, very rarely. I remain a subscriber because those rare occasions are like little pearls of joy, so if you're thinking of taking a hiatus that's cool with me. Secondly, and you covered this pretty comprehensively, reading isn't a competitive sport and you're right not to let this channel become a burden for the sake of "content". Tatty bye! ❤

I'm most pleased to hear of your writing successes, even if other things haven't necessarily gone as you would have wished. Sometimes I think that (as with writing) that we need a bit of time to recalibrate. There's moments where we read tons, there's moments when we read a little, and there's moments when we don't read at all and I think that we're often the only folk that notice because we constantly share our reading lives on the internet. The everyday reader will probably not notice if they haven't read anything for twelve years because they ventured into Captain Corelli's Mandolin and were too delighted when they got out.

I just stumbled upon your RU-vid channel with your Jane Eyre review (which I loved. The book AND your review which was brilliant). I understand the sentiment to do your own thing and not be at the whim of YT that’s why your videos are refreshing. All the best with the plays and sharing whatever you want, when you want.

Ben, I love you as a content creator, and I’d happily queue up to watch anything you want to put out into the universe, whenever you felt like doing it. But re books - after successfully avoiding Hobbits for decades, I’ve just started reading Fellowship of the Ring, and it’s great fun. Send your play down here to Australia - I’d love to see it!

I felt very similarly about monthly wrap-ups. Everyone seems to love watching them but I just really dread making them so I think I've done maybe 2 or 3? 😂 Looking forward to all your new content!

Don’t make it a chore, upload when you want to. It’ll be fun to see you when you do! Ps everything you said is why I stopped uploading to my Booktube. I maybe upload 2 videos a year now 😅

Hello Ben. To quote another playwright, "This above all; to thine own self be true", not as much fun as "Get thee to a nunnery!" (OR 'Celery') but certainly far wiser. I'm impressed with your reflections, I had a two-month-long reading slump last year and I'm still clueless as to reasons why. Can't blame "In search of lost flippin' time" either as I had been reading far easier books. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, do what you love and we'll love it too.

You're one of my favorite booktubers and I love the rambling :) I personally don't get the wrap-ups that devote like 2 minutes per book, it's like, I don't know, they say nothing about the book. So I'm very looking forward to topic videos and single book videos - I look forward to you talking about one book for 20 minutes :) I also haven't been reading as much this year, aside from audiobooks on my commute to work, but I randomly picked up this book from the library about the history of Existentialism philosophy and that made me read more philosophy, so we'll see how that goes lol

I only just found you with this video but it’s an immediate sub from me, love your energy and reading taste. I’ve just started with booktube again and I’ve all these amazing video ideas and then I fell ill and now I’m barely reading anything. Life, eh? 😄 I really want to pick up this new translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses though. It’s been on my radar since it got announced. Looking forward to whatever you’re going to post next, thankfully there’s quite the backlist to watch now 😄

I look forward to your next video when you start again.

I'll watch anything you put out. Book review, game review or anything. Single book review is a great idea. I especially love your Jane Eyre book review. Fantasy books might be a good idea to come out of slum 😁

I remember starting teaching in 1988 and by the end of the first term I went home to my parents for Christmas and basically collapsed into bed. I couldn't read a book and it took two years to get on top of it and back to reading.

I was hit by a big slump in my life as well. Both books and crafts. My two loves. I’m slowly trying to get back.

Firstly , congratulations on your writing success. I'm sure your acting will pick up too. secondly , it sounds like you've put yourself under a lot of pressure which is the quickest way to a slump. I was in a slump a couple of years ago for WHOLE YEAR ! I have a sneaking suspicion that reading Proust would put anyone in a slump. 😂😂 Anyway you're my favourite book tuber and will continue to be whatever you do . Just make sure you're having fun. I have not yet started a book tube channel but intend to before the year ends . Like you, a just want to talk about books

I've hardly read this year either. I've been burnt out emotionally but also had the growing overwhelm from an ever-growing tbr, and Stardew Valley has a lot to answer for! It took me two months to read my last book, and yesterday I picked up Vanity Fair on a bit of a whim and started that. I think it's natural to have some breaks from reading, especially when there is a lot going on. The joy is that when you are drawn to it again you get to fall in love all over again. I look forward to any videos you decide to put out, regardless of length. Sometimes single-book videos are really nice, and doing themed/topic videos can create a lot of scope that isn't there in normal wrap ups. I love ancient classics and have a similar interest to you in the idea of reading through time and finding the connectjng threads so l'm all ears for anything you have to say on that subject. I haven't watched your TOTK video yet, I'm kind of a gaming noob and have been languishing on The Great Plateau in BOTW for quite some time! But when I saw you'd posted a gaming video I did a pleasantly suprised oooh. Will you please tell us the names of your plays? Thank you in advance for reading this whole thing!

The title of this video made me sooo nervous, but I'm really happy you're sticking to Booktube 🥰

Ben, so many of the people I follow regularly are having the same need for a 'break'. Good heavens, my friend don't give it another thought....I am down to reading only 3 books a month (promise you won't tell on me!) !! I always liked your EOM wrap because our reading tastes are so much the same, esp within the classics. (BTW, I will order that Metamorphosis now on the strength of your review). Now don't feel any pressure LOL ... the last time we talked I had the Penguin version on my night stand about three-fourths completed and guess there it still is? I have been interrupted with I Claudius !!! Wow, excellent but slow going I am sorry to say and WOW as a character Livia is one of the serious baddies of the world. Many congratulations on all of your plays! I am glad that you are able to spread your wings and do the writing as well as reading! I have found my imagination for writing has completely dried up and now I don't even bother to write notes/ideas for some other time! Take care my far away friend, relax and be good to yourself and ......... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for putting Janet back where she belongs.....!!! What is there about that card that I love so much?? Right up there with 'don't eat the figs" by Livia !!

I got involved in Historathon 2023 and that framework has helped my reading. I reread a lot of material about writing focusing on cuneiform and discovered Ebla - a city that we ad forgotten about but was uncovered with its library and it added to our understanding of the ancient world. The medieval period has been looking at abandoned settlements, Haithabu, the Viking city. Wharam Percy a Yorkshire village that has been exhaustively excavated The Hindu-Buddhist city states of Java and Cahokia in North America. Weirdly I was reading some Chinese Tang poetry and there was a reference to a change in poetic form in Chinese between the fall of the Han dynasty and the rise of the Tang then Song dynasties. So I have been reading about that.

Hi 👋 Ben . Audiobooks are the answer . I would not read as much as I do without audio. I’m stressed/ insomniac/ depressed & anxious. My go to genre when I’m down is romance /crime fiction. You need something uplifting. 🍀👋☘️☕️📖📚📕💐

Congratulations on your play going to Edinburgh! This is the first video of yours that I've seen, recommended in my feed (probably because I follow Jen Campbell and recently started following Lauren and the Books). (Edit: I love videos that dive into a particular topic, listening to the insights of other people, and I think it's cool that you're thinking of trying that format for a while.) I was an avid reader from a young age, but have struggled with it the last few years. I have read some so far in 2023, though - My two favorite fiction so far are cute and inclusive graphic novels: Garlic & the Vampire by Bree Paulsen Garlic & the Witch by Bree Paulsen My two favorite non-fiction so far: Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture, by Sherronda J. Brown (Author), North Atlantic Books, 2022 A gardener's guide to botany: the biology behind the plants you love, how they grow, and what they need, by Scott Zona, PH.D., Cool Springs Press, 2023 Break a leg! Wishing you a great summer.

This year has been really low energy for me, not much motivation to read.

I'm glad you're still doing videos. Are you a fan of Vladimir Nobokov?

Why is this video only twenty minutes long? 😜 I definitely always watch the whole thing and I will keep doing so in the future and I don't expect you to be talking about a certain amount of books. I came for the books and stayed for the personality. 😘

I prefer channels where people discuss books because they enjoy doing it, not to work the algorithm anyway. The Booktube schedule has gotten quite tedious.

The hot new thing is frequently highly overrated. I’ve recently determined that contemporary literary fiction isn’t what I want to be reading, so I’m leaning into classics (even more than usual) and early to mid-twentieth century fiction, generally by women. I’ve also been doing a fair bit of rereading, which has been nice. I reread David Copperfield-actually listened to the audiobook narrated by Richard Armitage, which is fantastic-in anticipation of Demon Copperhead. I made it about halfway through that and couldn’t continue because it just wasn’t as good as Dickens. This came as a shock to me because I’ve never been a huge Dickens fan, but I guess now I am? 😊Anyway, I said all of that to say that reading what brings *you* joy is the important thing. Everyone has their niche on booktube and I’m always up for watching people who aren’t talking about the hot new thing, the latest book prize, or monthly theme reading. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those things, but I tend to reach a saturation point, Jane Austen July and Victober excepted, of course!

Sounds as if you've been having enough life going on yourself without reading about other people's lives. The Written World looks fascinating, but also abstract enough to use a different part of your brain - hope it does the trick