The Biggest Myths and Half-Truths About Me and My Channel 

Starting a BookTube channel to get clicks is like writing books to get rich . . . 😂 Thank you for keeping it real, Mike!

I really appreciate the fact that you don't put your favorite authors on a pedestal. It is one of the reasons I love your videos - it wraps a sense of trustworthiness around ALL of your reviews.

As a transgirl, I would never go searching for LGBT+ books. I read books that are highly recommended and proven to be worth my short time. Not sure why anyone would criticise you for your reading choices, seems absurd.

As one of your Patrons, I fully endorse you using my money for vacation 🎉😂 have fun

I don't quite understand why would it be a problem even if the content creator _did_ go to a vacation with Patreon money. It's their income. It's like saying: 'Hey, you're using salary to buy a nice apartment!' Umm, yeah. That's the point of salary and income.

I just got my MBA 2 months ago and finally started reading as a hobby. Your channel inspired me to read red rising and I am hooked! Don’t take any of these internet trolls personally.. I know easier said than done but I really enjoy your channel so thank you!

Honestly Mike...... people are ridiculous. They think they know you because you make videos. Me, I love everything you do. And yours is one of my favorite channels. Keep up the great work !!

You turned a non-reader into a reader. Every book I read is from your recommendations starting way back from your why you should read first law and I for one am forever grateful

You are one of my favorite booktubers, listening to the way you articulate what you like or don't like in a book is fantastic. I think the ability to dislike a character, style, writing choice or scene in a book but still like the book is rare, for so many the one little thing they don't like is enough to ruin it for them. PS, I heard you are really into Vogon poetry

Always thankful for you and your channel! I’ve been a viewer since early 2021 when I got back into reading as probably my main hobby and discovered booktube to help with recommendations. Now I’ve read a lot of great books and series and have an ever growing TBR. I don’t have as much time to watch as I used to, but I never miss a weekly update!

I love your channel! You're one of my top Book Tubers. A few years ago, I decided to start reading Science Fiction, and your channel got me interested in Fantasy as well. I started reading The Wheel of Time because of you (I've taken a break after Book 4, and I will resume soon). You introduced me to Brandon Sanderson and The Cosmere, and I'm soon going to finish Mistborn (my first Brandon book), which I absolutely love! So, keep up the good work!

I can't understand why anyone would give a shit about the race or gender of the authors someone else is reading.

Mike, you are the best! Thank you for sharing your passion of reading with all of us. I have found so many good books because of you!

It’s your channel, you do what ever the F you want to do!!! People have nothing better to do then bitch about EVERYTHING. And you know what, even if you read only white male authors, who cares. It’s your prerogative. I’m so tired of race & gender being the top priority in every facet of our lives. I’ll stop now, I’m getting to worked up. Love your channel. I never miss a video.

Anyone who watches with any regularity would know these things. You’re always open and honest with your audience. I’d like to think, as a patron, I at least help fund a souvenir coffee mug, lol.

You were the first book channel that I saw by accident years ago and still my favorite but that Viking is catching up. 😂

It must suck having to address yourself to people like this. I mean you literally started a channel to talk about your passion for reading, and people are coming at you touching on subjects they know nothing about. Keep doing what you’re doing, us real fans will stay watching your videos.

i am just thankful that you are making videos on your love of books looking forward to seeing you read all the Drizzt books

Mike, you’re one of my all time favourite book tubers and one of my all time favourite you tube channels. Love it and wait with excitement for your videos. You’re always doing something interesting that I can learn from. Yes, you’re one of the reasons I’m always broke due to your recommendations haha, but I love the books you recommend. Those that are calling you out on all these matters need to get a life. Please keep going - you’re the master!

The biggest shocking thing about Mike is that he hasn’t read Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure when he loves rock music and horror 😂

Always appreciate your down-to-earth straightforward way of talking and making videos. Keep up the great work Mike!

I’d like to see you do an unhaul? Or a “let’s switch TBR’s” with a friend who has different tastes or your spouse “love her 😊”

Great that you're expanding your speculative reading. There are a lot of authors who are doing some interesting hybrid stories, e.g., horror sci-fi, magical realism.

Thank you so much for introducing me to Sun Eater, to John Gwynn and to convince me to continue on with Red Rising. Keep doing you, telling us what you think about the books you read. :)

I’d like to see you do an unhaul? Or a “let’s switch TBR’s” with a friend who has different tastes or your spouse (love her 😊)

I can’t believe you had to address some of these! Your a must watch for me whenever you post because your so real. Keep it going Mike! Ignore the haters

Mike is like the dude down the road who gets a cup of coffee and has a chat about nerdy things. I love watching Daniel Green and Murphy Napier along with Mike but I find with Mike it's always a cosier experience. I recommend his summary videos for everyone who reads wheel of time.

Mike's Book Reviews is legitimately my favorite channel on RU-vid and it's not close

You are entitled to use that money as you see fit, “using your patrons” sounds like someone implied you’re scamming or taking advantage of your followers, which is clearly ridiculous. I don’t understand some people Mike, I really don’t. On the plus side, love your channel, I am new to reading a lot, I hated it as a kid. Now that I’m in my 30s I’ve really come around to loving it and yourself Daniel Greene and a couple others have made the experience far more enjoyable. 🤘

I’m here for books. Enjoy your channel. Find myself having a similar taste in books as you so I keep coming back. Ignore the noise and keep on going.

Appreciate the honest takes over the years. Thanks for the content.

You just keep on keeping on, Mike! We love your channel the way it is. Haters gonna hate, some people are unfortunately just bitter and ignorant.

Great video, Mike! Sad you have to deal with this junk but glad you can be authentic and share with us!

Hi Mike, excellent video. You are a public figure and get exposed to critics and trolls. It's nice to set the record straight and know more about you. I would love to have you over for a good dinner and talk about dune and politic :-)

I appreciate you and your content. Keep it up.

Mike you always have the coolest shirts man.

Can't believe there are some people out there that would care where or what you do with your vacation time... absolutely deranged.

Can’t believe you had to make a video like that. I remember seeing the patreon$/cruise comment in one of your other videos and I felt the need to reply to that person. Hopefully ppl get the message and move on. Thanks Mike!

Another fantastic video! Thank you Mike!

Hilarious stuff, i can't believe people say these things. Keep up all the good work, Mike, the VAST majority of us greatly appreciate all the work you put in and know these points aren't true lol

Greatly enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work and let the criticism roll off your back!

Love your channel man.

Great video Mike! You keep doing you! 👍

Ugh, Mike is such a well-adjusted, even-handed, rational, down to earth guy!! Lol 😂 seriously, I love the fact that Mike can exist on the internet and not “become the internet.”

One of the things I enjoy about your channel is your authenticity. Why would anyone care what you spend your hard earned money on is beyond me.

Dude! Apolitical... Seriously related to you. Keep posting my future reads!

I think you are great Mike! One of my absolute favorite channels! You inspire my own channel and I am just small potatoes compared to you!

Mike I’m a big fan. We are a similar age tho I didn’t hold as big of a love for books as you but I do love fantasy and science fiction especially the movies. I did read the hobbit and the lion the witch and the wardrobe as a kid I just couldn’t get into the whole sitting down for a long period of time reading. I was an animal…and all I wanted to do is to be outside breaking shit or hurting myself. Lol. Anyways it wasn’t until I was an older man that I started thinking about reading again. And of course it was because of the Lord of the rings movies and Game of thrones series. Still didn’t want to sit down that long plus, I was too damn busy at this point in my life. My wife does love to read but suggested to me to try Audiobooks. I work 10 hrs a day on a production line and I usually listen to music during that time. Never crossed my mind to use Audible which she conveniently had a subscription to.🤘🏼 So I started to listened to both Lord of the rings and Game of thrones books. I was hooked!!!! Absolutely loved listening to books on Audible. The problem was I didn’t know what else to read after that. Here comes my main point and if you’re still reading this ridiculously long message you’ll understand why now. I looked up on RU-vid for recommendations for fantasy books. Your channel popped up…and I’ve been listening to your channel ever since. That was 4 years ago and I still use ur suggestions to this day. I can’t say how much I appreciate you and what you do. I could go into way more detail about all I’ve read/listened to because of what recommended. but this is way too much to type already Lol. Just keep doing what you are doing buddy. Love the channel!!!

Mike will NEVER let an opportunity to say the word "penultimate" pass him bye. Tbf, that is most of Booktube tho.

Never seen you as having any political agenda, and as an outisider I find the analytic part of your youtube interesting. Always appreciate that you give a genuine perspective even if it doesn’t fit the norm. Keep up the great work!

Glad you acknowledged how rage bait is a common way to farm views on here,lol. I appreciate how respectful you carry yourself and maintain positivity here

I remember I was first introduced to this channel with the summaries of the Dresden file series books. Does anyone know if there's another channel that specializes in fantasy book series summaries or Sci-Fi or other types of fiction as well? I really don't like having to reread an entire series when a new book comes out.

Thanks for being open on these things. No criticism here, just curious, any reason why you haven't read N.K. Jemisin?

Its a great channel mike😊

Always loved you and your content! Ride or die Mike

Haters gonna hate, Mike. Keep up the good work.

Mike, been watching your channel for a few years now and love your content!! That light changing colors behinds you is driving me crazy though…lol! (that’s a total me problem…btw)

I enjoy the channel analytics/channel growth stuff even though I'm just an ordinary viewer...

This was awesome 😅

Youre the only book reviewer i trust for what thats worth.

Sorry you have to deal with these kinds of things and have to explain yourself. Keep doing what makes you happy. Just found the channel recently and really enjoying the content.

Who is that collaboration comment about? I think i have heard it 2-3 times now. Is it the goblin? 😄

Mike, You are the man! The Star Wars haters are getting on my nerves. I saw Star Wars in the theater in '77 and am just so thrilled that it is still relevant today. People need to get over themselves!

These surprised, but I found your channel without having heard these beliefs about your channel. I got a comment that said I like attention supposedly like attention. I don't remember what video it was, so I don't know what I did or said that gave that impression, but I'm the opposite of that. I like that you can't see the audience and I just like discussing what I'm reading.

This man is a monster

Stay true to yourself Mike. I love the chanel. Ignore the haters, they've nothing better to do with their lives.

I hated the confrontation of the red king at the end of dark tower, until I read insomnia 2 summers ago. Then I realized it’s how it had to happen.

I wanted the Man in Black to see the Crimson King as a maniac and something wild to come out of the interaction. SK seemed out of energy and enthusiasm when it came to the death of the Man in Black.

Can you imagine being a person who has so much time on their hands that they inventory the race and sex of the authors that other people read? I mean, that says more about them than it does about you. The fixation on identity politics is so incredibly irritating. Is it good that the field has opened up and a greater diversity of people are getting to tell their stories? Sure, absolutely. But at the end of the day, it's all about: Can you tell a good story that is thematically rich and speaks to our common humanity as people? That's all I really care about. :) Keep up the great work, man! And don't worry about the haters.

Anyone dragging politics or social issues into your channel is just projecting their own issues. It's one thing to discuss them in the context of a book that features such topics in the story, but other than that, it's inappropriate.

Sorry you have to deal with the idiot critics. Great work on your channel, keep it up!

People nowadays need to find something negative in everything and everyone and it's sad. I'm glad for the community you build Mike and we will continue to laugh at the haters.

Have you read the James Bond novels? I really liked them.

If you want to do more sci fi, have you considered looking more at the Star Wars EU? I recently went through the Legacy of the Force series. I wish there were more videos of your thoughts on that arc, and the New Jedi Order with the Vong. You've said before that Fate of the Jedi was a series you never started - could be something worth visiting in the future? Love the book recommendations from your channel, appreciate you man!

It is a shame you have viewers that make you feel the need to make content like this. Just be you Mike. That is why I watch your videos.

Damn, I just started my booktube channel last week as a get-rich-quick scheme. Bummer.

People bringing race and politics into every aspect of life nowadays… it’s so exhausting. You’re doing great Mike, don’t let these people bring you down

Mike. Don't let the haters get you down. You have an awesome channel that means a lot to many of us constant readers. Keep up the great work and keep on being you!

Very entertaining videos Mike, made me have a few good laugh 🙂. Some of those myths were absurd and funny (must have been done by some sort of troll, maybe if you can manage to keep them talking until sunrise they will turn to stone ;-)). Keep up the good works I always enjoys and find your videos very interesting.

❤

Morning Mike from Jrnyman in UK, Love the channel, all great content, and your a Gentleman, don't let the nomarks get to you.... They'll disapear eventually. I have been a subscriber for over 2 years, and never thought you've been one sided or any of that stuff...... Well Mike have a good day My Friend to you and your family!🥃

Ignore the weirdos who care too much about things they shouldnt. Love your channel Mike.

that metallica shirt is so cool!

I feel really sad that this is a video you felt you had to do. Book tube for me is about the books and the reviews, I don’t understand the need for people to dissect someone life, who makes book content that helps me smile. X

I dont think you ever need to justify getting patron money. They pay you for the time and effort and content you give us. Take that money and run! 😂

Setting the record straight. Love it! Another reason why this remains 1 of my fav channels!

I just found you and i love you're chanal if you like manga and fantasy i highly recommend inuyasha its a old school classic you can get in these beautiful three in one editions and though ive only just discovered you would love for you to try it. Its by rumiko takahashi. And if you're open to more feminine fantasy kanoko sakurakoji black bird is 10/10 the best. There is atually a massive reader base of 40 somthing office men in Japan who love it. Even though its a josai which means its demographic is 20 _30 women. I know im rambling but i hope you try them both as admittedly there some of my favourites i would love more people to give a chance

The thing I learned from this video is that people are kinda insane. 🤪

I feel like you kind of apologize when you make a top ten video or something you think will be a super popular video and make sure we know you are making the content you want to make. Those of us who are fans of yours appreciate that you are you. You are NEVER going to BS us and say you like or don’t like something if those aren’t your feelings. Lol @ anyone being butthurt about your politics. This is a book and media channel. It’s lovely not to deal with that crap here. You are a dad in your 40’s, you go on an annual family trip and occasional couples trips. That is so normal for people our age. I am laughing that anyone thinks you’re getting rich off of this or Patreon.

I like how you read out the channel analytics and stuff, i always wonder about that and its just interesting to hear because other channels never do. Plus i cannot do arithmetic so its appreciated!

My brother recommended your channel few weeks ago and I’ve been watching multiple videos a day while trapped under my sleeping newborn 😂 I think you’re awesome and people need to get a life

My favorite was seeing someone say you were a Trump Supporter just because you said you dint like Stephen King having to much real world politics in some of his books God forbid you are just a normal person that wants to escape from real life BS 🤦‍♂️

I hated the ending of the dark tower 🤷🏼‍♀️

I just like documenting my thoughts on what I've read; to spark a discussion about a book I'm reading. I just enjoy documenting my thoughts.

I came here expecting you to address the rumour you're a huge T Swizzle fan. I like that you diverted attention from that by addressing everything else. Well played, good sir.

Haters gonna hate bro don’t worry

I heard you are a werewolf. I see you don’t deny it! Ha! The truth revealed!

You're a good guy Mike, you can’t manufacture this type of authenticity. Also can I just say, I love it when you mention channel growth and analytics, it's fascinating and always hope they are in your favor :)

I have one, Mike: You almost exclusively read American and English authors. Do you ever read European authors? A man who loves books such as you should not miss Europeans.

Great video Mike, would love to see more content like this :)