The Truth about BookTube 

I've noticed that many big booktubers no longer critique books, what amuses me most though, is booktubers who get free subscription boxes, and they open them on camera - and the box has utter crap in it, and yet they act so excited and you can see just how fake their excitement is, but obviously they want to keep getting free stuff, no matter how rubbish some of it is.

As a young black girl, I enjoy seeing young POC women on RU-vid (specifically Booktube). I planned to make a BT channel but I found the lack of diversity amongst the 'big channels' discouraging. Please keep it up! I liked and subscribed ☺😁

I think what you are saying is right on the nose. I have stopped watching some of the big Booktubers because it is advertising books and not reviewing them. I have found more interesting discussions from the midlevel and small booktubers. Great job.

This is a really interesting (and complicated!) topic...I definitely know what you mean about popular channels (although I also understand that once people get a huge number of subscribers and commenters, it becomes impossible to reply to or interact with everyone). What I've found from my very limited time on Booktube is that although it sometimes feels like you're howling into the void, what's so rewarding is making friends (like you!) who you can have more in-depth conversations with in the comments section (and across multiple videos, too). Even if you only have that relationship with a handful of people, I find that so much more rewarding than generic comments or likes (even though those are nice, too!)

I absolutely love this! I just started and I can already see it. I enjoy being small and love feeling absolutely no pressure to do particular videos. I get tired of seeing all the big channels talking about the same books and they all get sent the same books. I subscribed because I definitely want to get more into classics. You go girl!

At the end of the day it's about doing what makes you happy and finding other booktubers like you so you can enjoy your own little community. Nicely put. :)

This is the first video I've seen of yours and I instantly decided you're one of the coolest people ever. You're so well-spoken without trying, it's not fair! I totally agree with everything you said. You really put a name to my discomfort with BookTube, the huge focus on selling and advertising. There are so many people I used to watch where I loved their content but their channels eventually became so much raving about books they hadn't even read yet and constant unboxing videos that I just never click on...the materialism kind of makes me nauseous when I'm just looking for virtual friends to adore books with... Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for anyone who is able to make money doing what they love but it's like the popularity contest aspect of it goes straight to people's heads and everything gets so superficial. I don't know what should be done about it. Probably a lot more people like you would be a good start though :D Happy New Year!

I did not know what to expect when I clicked on this video but I'm so happy I did. It was not harsh or drama filled but loving and encouraging. You really put into words things I was feeling but didn't know how to say. Thanks for making videos :) -Jessica

So glad I stumbled upon your video! Best of luck with your novel 🌞

Really great discussion! I love that there is a community for everyone here on Booktube. I knew coming into booktube it was highly saturated with YA & Fantasy. I am glad that I have been able to have a small community of booktubers that I watch and they watch me because we enjoy the same things. Sometimes I will follow a channel that I have nothing in common with so I can keep my reading recommendations fresh. Before booktube, I would never pick up fantasy, but now it is one of my favorite genres. You made some awesome points & wasn't harsh at all.

This is an important discussion. I definitely have gotten discouraged myself as a smaller booktuber and you've brought up some good points. Personally, I don't necessarily see the "advertising" aspect as a negative, I find that, as a content creator and a lover of books, getting to work with people involved in different aspects of the industry is really cool. I completely agree that we're lucky enough to have organic content and I think numbers can impact that negatively at times, but from what I've experienced with bigger booktubers, they also seem genuine and organic and I think having access to this wide spectrum is important. I really liked how you phrased this in order to promoting being happy. Thank you for his.

I think this is a great conversation to have but I also think it's important to recognize that, to no offense of the bigger booktubers, their reading standards are quite low. Even before they were "big" they never critiqued books and they generally like or love everything they read. They just have mediocre taste and tend to love everything which only adds to the reason why they're so promoted and popular because most young people and some other people tend to dislike watching videos with adverse opinions. Thankfully more people are coming to like the idea of brutal honesty when it comes to reviews within the last 2 years or so but in the past (when they got the bulk of their subscribers) generally people who watched youtube loved watching because booktube was always so "positive" and the idea of a booktuber or beauty guru loving everything was somehow entertaining and never questioned. I think a lot of their subscribers would agree that it's their personalities that make them watchable and not their opinions on books which is sad because it's called booktube. I've unsubscribed to most of them at this point and the ones I haven't, I never even watch reviews/wrap-ups from anymore. I really just watch their vlogs or fun videos because those are really the videos that are the most entertaining. Plus I really just don't trust their judgement because every book is a 3+ star and that just aint right. At this point the only people I actually watch wrap-ups or hauls from are smaller channels because that's really where the, in my opinion, good taste lies.

I think it's wonderful that my video (along with baldbookgeek's one) inspired you to film this discussion - you raised many interesting points. Oh and you didn't come across as harsh at all, so don't worry on that score. You were very respectful all the way through, you just expressed your opinions without fear (and that's admirable). I feel the same about the big booktubers and their reviews haha. I think it's great for them that they're paid for their reviews, but that does make the said reviews less trustworthy. Sad but true. 😕 They can still be useful though. There's no better way of learning about all the upcoming new releases than by watching a review/haul on one of their channels. My heart goes out to you (when it comes to the whole 'feeling discouraged' thing). Rest assured that there are people out there who appreciate what you do ❤ Also, I would love to hear more about your writing. Have you made a video about it? ^^ And, out of curiosity, did you study in France at some point? I'm asking because of your hoodie (not sure if that's the correct word as there is no actual HOOD involved XD But you know what I mean!).

This is such an important video! We are lucky on booktube that anyone will watch our videos even though we are small. My brother watches Let's Players, and small channels (less than a million subscribers!) are completely ignored. I had 50 subscribers and people were commenting on my videos and allowing me to join in on read-alongs. I watch the big booktubers for entertainment but I find the most value in the content of the small booktubers. I'm fine with both sides of booktube, and I see the value in what the big booktubers do as advertisers, but I enjoy my corner the most :)

I'm only a few minutes in, and I'm already subscribing. I love your insight on this!

Great discussion! Advertising heavily influences everything! I don't watch the bigger booktubers because they feature mostly YA books. I am not a YA reader. I have been making videos for over a year and the discussions with other booktubers who are true bibliophiles has been very rewarding. Keep making videos! Your voice is needed!

This discussion was womderful! You had so many great points to talk about and such a great perspective. I love that you look at a topic from all sides instead of just one.

One thing that I am super thankful for is that booktube is pretty down to earth and transparent about advertising and marketing vs other RU-vid niches. I think it is because booktube is still a smaller niche and most viewers are generally nice people.

AMEN!! Your opinions are pretty much on point. I have been at this for over 2 years and I mainly focus on indie romance so I completely get that sometimes being a niche that isn't popular runs slower. LOVE your thoughts about sticking with the smaller channels. My channel is mainly for me and if someone finds a good book from me then that is when I feel supported.

Just stumbled across your channel and I completely agree with what you're saying. I started a booktube channel a few years ago but kind of felt like I wasn't getting anything out of it so stopped. Since then I've started this channel which is purely videos I like making, I'm hoping to get back into bookish videos and do it just for the love of it instead of to get views. Anyway this is a fab video and your voice is so calming to listen too- I've subscribed! xx

i love the way you articulate your points. i admire you so much!! subscribed with notifications

It was really a great video, I came to this video by chance and I dont subscribe too often but I ended up subscribing you and this is how these things work in booktube community, every other big booktuber is just advertising this and this , and people who promote more gets more freebies and more money and more almost everything , In starting they share there real opinion but as soon as they grow they make booktube a business and they start behaving like stars, But its really a great step by you to make booktube community better, and after watching your video I have decided that I'll also make such a video to express my views and to aware the my viewers towards these so called big booktubers , at the end keep reading , keep growing :)

This is a great video, I think you brought a very grounded, realistic view to a sensetive topic. I've noticed that with booktubers who I used to love have gotten bigger and bigger and now they don't seem to review & like you said it's more advertisement. As a viewer I have noticed that the hierarchy trickles down into the viewers and comment threads. As a viewer I found that early on in my booktube adventure I was commenting on everything but it always felt like no one wanted to discuss books in the comments or if I had a dissenting opinion from the video is get attacked by fans. And slowly I stopped commenting, I felt kind of alienated. It's actually really a huge relief knowing that I'm not alone and not the only one who felt kind of... Left behind on the booktube train

i just discovered your channel through this video and i'm definitely subbing. i love how authentic and well balanced your argument was and your conclusion was so simple and true and i overall really appreciate your authenticity. i've been watching booktube for almost 5 years now (with the intent on creating my own channel one day in the future) which is quite a long time and i too picked up on how mechanical and formulaic it had become. i used to be addicted and watch all the big the booktubers like reagan, jesse, natasha, christine, sasha and kat but it got to a point where they would all upload their monthly hauls, for example, and they would contain the exact same books they were sent by publishers to advertise. and it is great that these booktubers have built up a platform to get noticed by publishers but as you said, it started to feel oversaturated to me, as a consumer. mainly cos the books they were sent to talk about were already hyped and on 'most anticipated' lists and it seemed like they all had the intent to go and buy them anyways. so in my eyes it seems like publishers are just stretching themselves out trying to find a cheap way to advertise books that don't need to be advertised and taking advantage of these young booktubers and their audiences. anywhoo, it all started to feel disingenuous to me, especially when it started becoming a stack of books you would see mentioned in a haul but never actual read and gotten a real opinion about. so i started branching away from the bigger youtubers, unsubscribed to most of them except the ones who opinions i genuinely value (like peruseproject, emmmabooks and booksandlala) and i've found smaller booktubers with fresh opinions and whose content i enjoy more. i'm glad i found your channel for many reasons, one being fantasy used to be my favourite channel but now it's contemporary so i'm happy to have found another booktuber who reads similarly to me and i hope to get some more recommendations and discussions from you 👐🏽

I definitely agree with all of this. I tend to watch the big Booktubers to get recommendations for books to read, but the little Booktubers are where it's at if you want real discussions and honest critiques. I switched over from being a Booktuber to being an Authortuber because I found more joy in talking about writing than trying to fit into the Booktube community, and it's been a really great experience ever since I made that change. Anyway, you've got a new subscriber ;)

This really brought my attention to many things. I have noticed these things but because I myself don’t make videos, it didn’t really stick with me. Your video brought out many things! I really hope that many people watch this and are able to actually realize what is going on.

I completely get what you mean with the hierarchy. Like I’ve just started a couple of months ago and am still only getting a couple of views on my videos and at first I felt really sad and thought my work wasn’t good enough but then I realised something similar to what you said. This is my time to have freedom with my videos/content with minimal to no hate. I really enjoyed this video and think it was very insightful so 😄👏🏼🙏🏼 to you!

I'm scrolling down my Twitter feed and every other book topic was highlighting this video. I was wary of watching this because of the title. I am glad that I did. Your video took a spin on it that I had not heard before. It was wonderful. I wish I could say to people before you work on your video, watch this. This point of view needs to repeated often. Thank you JoJo and the other BookTubers that made this video possible.

You’re so on point here.best of luck with your novel. *subscribed

This is the first time I've come across you channel. Thanks for a really insightful video. I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but I will say there is still a section of RU-vid where you can learn stuff. I've come on hear looking for knitting tips and "how to" videos for platting my hair. I have dyslexia so I would rather have someone talk me through a recipes than go though a cook book. I still think that RU-vid works well for that kind of content, if you are looking for it. Thanks for the recommendations for booktubers that your obsessed with. I always love diving into new channels.

You are so well-spoken, great points I subbed :)

I just saw this video and that you mentioned me as one of the Booktubers that you like, so I wanted to say a HUGE thank you! I just subscribed to you as well and I can't wait to check out more of your videos :)

Thank you for posting this video. I'm new to BookTube. I didn't even know this community actually existed, and it excited me at first to know that there were people that shared my passion for books... But as I dive deeper into the community the things that you're say reign true, amongst other things. I appreciate your honesty...

i stopped making booktube videos but im still aware of exactly what you're talking about and it's crazy. i really enjoyed this video !! your last bit of advice at the end about the bigger booktubers and how they were once beginners as well was great , especially since i essentially started because of them. great video !!

YEEEESSSS I am so glad that I found your channel. Your genuineness shows! Thanks for the video

Sadly we live in a Time of bookhyping. And if someone produce an objective Critique the Hypers nuke the critical Person in the Orbit. And Literature becomes more and more trivial and anyone is ok with that. That's sad.

This popped into my recommendations, which I'm glad- and is different. YT doesn't usually recommend smaller BookTubers (in my experience). I've been posting videos for the last few years. I talk about books and I talk about writing. My audience is very small and I'm definitely not getting sponsored or any of that. Fortunately, I've found people who've been interested in chatting with me about different topics. I don't think you were harsh, I felt your points were valid and fair.

I discovered "booktube" about 3 days ago and I have been marathoning booktube videos since then but I haven't really be subscribing to them because I'm trying to find people who have similar tastes as me. Basically I'm sampling the creators of this RU-vid community as if they were samples in a grocery store lol. This is the 1st video I've seen of yours and honestly I really like they way you talk and how you talk about things and I really want to keep watching more of your videos. You're my 1st booktube creator I'm subscribing to! Can't wait to see more of your videos!!!

This gives me hope. I’ve been thinking of doing a channel for quite sometime and I’m sincerely happy that I came across your channel. Just do it! Message received. I’m not worried about what others think or the big book tubers but I was slightly worried about connecting with others as I’m not reading YA or Sci-if all the time.

Just found your channel and I’m so glad I did! You make such great points and highlight why I also enjoy Booktube 💞 I also enjoy videos like these, because it’s important have these discussions

Very well put, thoughtful video. Agreed with your comments and perspective on booktube. I used to have a booktube channel under another name before and made a few videos highlighting points like you mentioned about booktube becoming more of an advertising space. While I got good feedback I also was being called negative. In all honesty your video is much more eloquent and articulate than how I expressed it, I tend to be at times, blunt and to the point. I stumbled across booktube vids back in 2012 and it seemed more a community of people excited about books and reading and enjoying this platform to discuss that with each other. In the last couple/few years it seems to have shifted to a more like you described "advertising" based platform. I no longer make vids and watch the few booktubers that I like who to me seem to be about the books and not the popularity or fame. Booktube is great but like most other things could be better. Great vid and excellent points. Will be subbing!

I feel encouraged by your insight. I want to start a booktube channel, but can’t see myself doing what the big channels do.

I only just started my Booktube channel a few months ago, but I already do get the feelings that you talk about at the beginning of the video. It's like if you aren't advertising the books that are popular at the moment, your videos just aren't going to get the views. And as much as people like to say views don't matter, it is a simple fact that it feels GOOD to know people are watching you because it means you're being listened to. I've been reviewing books on a blog platform for years, and I realized that maybe I could just start making videos as well, mainly because I just loved the idea of getting on here and talking about all kinds of books with other people! But this version of book reviewing and blog reviews are SO different. People just talk about the book, but don't say their feelings or even review it. Basically, it's not what I thought it was AT ALL. But I love doing it so much that I keep doing it and I know that eventually I'll find more people to discuss with and all that!

Im so happy to have discovered your channel! All the points you discussed were very well explained and I don’t think you were harsh at all. Also, thanks for all the new recs! I can’t wait to check them out and subscribe. Having just started a channel for myself, I will admit it’s a bit intimidating seeing the standard used by the most popular booktubers.

You go girl! I recently started a Booktube channel and I already want to give up on it. This video motivated me to stay positive and reminded me of what I value about Booktube. Thank you! ❤️

You're video just popped up as a recommendation by RU-vid...kudos to you. I'm glad that you were recommended. I have been watching BookTube for several years now and found a lot of good books by watching at first. Over time I started seeing more and more YA and sci-fi books being recommended and that is not my cup of tea. ( I did read The Fault in Our Stars though and loved it!) I stopped watching booktube for a while and then slowly starting finding smaller booktubers who had much better content. Diversity is also an issue for me. I love discussing books and hearing thoughts on books I've read but hard to find that nowadays. Keep creating! Thanks for shedding light on this issue. It needed to be said!

This was a really interesting video. I thought to myself recently that I notices the number of reviews posted by big booktubers has decreased and their advertisments have increased. If I have to here anything else about Disney Hyperion sponsering parts of videos I think my head might explode. I still enjoy large booktuber content and their personalities, but I have started watching them less and now watch the "smaller" booktubers more. I love Hailey in Bookland. She reads the same type of books I do and has great reviews and is never afraid to say when she dislikes a book. I also love what you had to say about smaller content creators getting silenced or pushed to the side because the content is not the same as big booktubers. I have always wanted to start a booktube channel but I don't want it to turn into a bad expierience and have put it off. I think smaller channels should support eachother and help build eachother and build a mini community within booktube!

Loved your thoughts on this topic! I love this community and agree that everybody has something different to offer. I watch people of all different levels as far as subs, but I definitely interact more with the smaller ones. I don't even bother leaving comments on bigger channels because I feel like it just gets lost and they'll never notice it, but I love leaving comments on smaller channels because the majority of the time they'll comment back and we can get to know each other.

I agree with you completely! When I first started watching BookTube and actually RU-vid if I think about it, I used to adore watching videos not only for the actual content of the video but because I genuinely liked the person however now I tend to never watch reviews as 99% of the time they are sponsored and 99% that makes me put off from actually picking up that book. Also automatically for some reason my brain switches off when I hear 'this video is sponsored' or 'this is a paid promotion with'. I really don't have anything against people who do that as I understand that some people use RU-vid as a means of making income and that is totally fine but I hope I will never do that if my channel would get 'big'. I try to stay away from advertisement and making people by things just for the sake of it and I think I am going to try to be more creative and make videos that I want to make and not fall into the trends. Great video and really you just stated the truth so no need to worry about sounding harsh as you didn't :)

I really enjoyed your honesty. It's crazy I got into booktube the same way. I didn't know it existed and found two channels and decided that I wanted to share my thoughts as well.

I love this video. You speak so much truth here that applies not only to Booktube, but life as a whole. Unfortunately, we live in a society that thrives on fame and money. My Mom taught me from a young age to find something you enjoy doing and find a way to get paid for it. I'm still working on that personally, but reading books and filming reviews is something I'll find joy in, regardless of the presence or lack of money. I see genuine passion in you throughout this video, and I am sure it's present in your other videos too. Never let that die. No one can take that from you unless you give them the power to do so. I look forward to getting to know you through your videos

You are amazing, this is so great. Keep on keepin’ on!

I agree with all what you said and just subscribed to you. First, I was also thinking about making a booktube channel but I have the same problem like you, as I like more classic books and are really picky with books in generall. I`m not much of a mainstream reader, what would make it really hard for me, but I`m a writer and kind of think you have nowaday to be in the community to be succsesful and published. Thanks for being so open about it and giving me encouragement to maybe try it someday. Kudos.

I definitely feel what you're saying about how getting just a few views and little to no comments can definitely be demoralizing and get you down. I feel that a lot. Granted, I just started my booktube/authortube channel, so it's not as though I was expecting a ton of views right away. However, like you, I feel grateful for even one comment to connect with another human being (like you said). But I also enjoy the stuff I talk about on booktube, and it's so much fun when I do get those comments because I'm meeting new people that I can jump into rabbitholes with about books! This was a great video, with a really amazing message. Thanks so much for making it!

This is such a thoughtful video. Nothing harsh about it at all! Thank you for posting. It's a complicated issue, isn't it? I've enjoyed watching your channel precisely because it often has very different books from the more 'mainstream' channels, where you can watch many different videos and see the same books popping up over and over. I'm here to find NEW things, as much as anything else, not more of the same. I generally feel like whatever space in the world people build a community in, others will look for a way to monetise it, and there's nothing at all wrong with that so long as the users/watchers know where they stand and when BookTubers are being paid or whatever, they say so. The people who are able to monetise their videos are also the people who built the community in the first place, like you said, and who have engaged audiences that enjoy watching them, so they haven't got there through luck or fluke alone - they love books too and have grafted in their own way to get there. I can't be negative about that! Thanks for opening the discussion, anyway. I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments too. Lucy

so very true and also so many good points made. as booktubers we are lucky to get views and with some of the bigger ones its very hard to get seen too lol and yes I'm the other booktuber lol

I really loved this honest discussion lovely

I can tell you I really adore your way of explaining your thoughts, I really felt the topic of smaller Booktubers and this video really got to me! I really liked that you said « do what you want » because I sometimes forget that, I subscribed, keep going with the videos!♥️

The way you described feeling like you were being silenced is such a relatable feeling. I've been uploading on and off for nearly two years and most of my videos get around ten views. It can be so discouraging but I've found that making videos that I want to watch makes it so much more worth it.

Fantastic video! So many wonderful points! I do watch some big booktubers for entertainment, but honestly, I don't put much stock in their reviews. I find it hard to believe that some have or are pursuing degrees in English and yet they give five stars to practically every YA book they read. But I'm also OK with them making money from doing something creative. I think that the most engaging content and most meaningful discussions are with other small booktubers and I love watching them. The numbers do affect me. Particularly when people unsubscribe. I know I'm not going to blow up overnight or anything, but it still hurts when I see my subscriber count has gone down. I'm also hesitant to post negative views about super popular books, particularity YA. I"m always upfront about how I feel about books, but I wish I had the confidence not to gloss over the books I did not like and post more negative reviews. Thanks for this video; this was a very important discussion!

Hi! Just wanted to say that you perfectly voiced a lot of my own thoughts (as someone who’s merely just a passive observer in the booktube realm) in this video, and it’s really encouraging to hear someone shares my feelings :) So thanks!

Such great advice about having a RU-vid channel. The most important thing about having a RU-vid channel is doing what you love from your heart, to make yourself happy and to express yourself. You'll find more people that will stick with you through your evolution as a RU-vidr and a person. And thank you for the brief RU-vid history lesson. I learned something new today!

This was really interesting. I actually had no idea that there were so many small booktubers on here, and I definitely feel like it would be amazing if all booktubers, big and small, could make something together. Like maybe the ones with big channels could give some shoutouts, or you all could do live shows together! I think that would make the community a lot more inclusive.

Just stumbled upon this video ✨ thank you :) thank you for your encouragement. Your words kind of remind me of this quote “make art even if no one cares” :)

omg preach, this video is amazing. Been booktubing for 5 years, this is so how i feel

I agree with what you said, and I don't think you were harsh. (Though I might not be the best judge of that.) Also, I used to watch a lot of a big booktubers, but when it got to the point where they all kept buying the same books and then not reviewing them I lost interest. A lot of them have great personalities, but their content isn't what I'm looking for. Though when I do watch their videos I usually leave a thumbs up, but I don't feel the need to watch them that much.

Really interesting discussion! I agree, it's so easy to feel lost in the midst of so many other You rivers who get more subscribers/views. I think what makes this community great over others though is you can still make great friends and have great discussions regardless of how many views you get ❤️ Personally I don't mind when big booktubers don't respond to all their comments since they're busy, and that's cool. It's easy to feel disconnected from them sometimes though. A lot of my favourite content, though, has come from smaller channels and it's what I love about this community. I agree that there's a lot of creativity with booktube! It's such a creative outlet for me and I love that about it.

love your thoughts! I never thought about the hierarchy before.

Such a great discussion video. You're so right though, I've never thought about popular youtubers in that way, but of course advertising is a massive part of the success of this platform. I mean look at that "adpocalypse" that recently happened. Creators were livid, because this has become their livelihood. But the smaller creators had no reason to care about it. Love this discussion!

Wow love this video. Your opinion is right on point. I really love how honest you are. It's so inspiring.

I just discovered you thanks to that video and i really enjoyed it, really interesting. I wish more people'd be aware of this situation and more willing to discuss that. Just wanted to say that, really like what you say and how you present it, keep being truthful we need more people like you in this community ;)

Yes! There’s so much truth in you mentioning that there will always be someone who surpasses us and someone we surpass. Essentially we are all at different stages of our experience but that doesn’t mean we should ever stop striving.

Yes, you said it all. That is why I usually tend to not read books recommended by Booktubers. In the end, I usually don't enjoy many of the books talked about in many videos, or they just don't appeal to me as nothing new. So, it tends to have the oposite effect. Other thing to add is the fact that on release all of the booktubers, specially the big ones, talk about the same book so for a while you can have a book being talked about 20 or mores times. It gets repetitive, it feels crammed down your throat and it makes me also don't want to read it because I just feel exausted by being exposed to that book for so long and so often. Only when books that are relatively unkown or talked about by only a specific booktuber, then I know they actually picked the book by themselfs so it might by interesting. Great video! I subscribed to your channel. p.s I also love Jordan, she is amazing! New favorite booktuber for sure.

I came in skeptical but then found myself nodding to every point that you said and noticing that I myself have fallen into the hype and advertisment that booktubers create around certain books. Literally just bought the first 2 books in the grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo (probably butchered the spelling) because I had seen so many large booktubers singing her praise. Even though I have not even read the synopsis for the books and that's something I normally don't do. I know look at a shelf and only look for those that I have seen mentioned on booktube and don't even consider those that I have never heard of. Kinda ashamed of myself for that now that I admit it. Fucking eye opening video you made there!

So glad I came across this channel I just did a discussion video on this same topic! It is a shame when people use it to advertise books, but it's nice that such a strong genuine community has remained while other channels have done that :)

This is the first time I see one of your videos and I'm sad I haven't found you before. Thank you very much for sharing & being brave enough to put out there your honest thoughts. I understand how intimidating it seems but at the end of the day it's not about the numbers that you get, it's about the people you meet. Keep doing what you love because you're doing it great :)

As someone who's only just started doing book videos, I'm finding your video both encouraging and sobering - but I think you're right, and the most important part of this whole booktube thing is the discussion it creates that we can all participate in.

This video is very encouraging, thank you! I did have the same „problems“ on bookstagram (the Instagram version of BookTube) to the point that reading and taking photos and reviewing became nothing but a burden to me and I finally decided to delete my account... Keep up doing you! 👍🏼

I am getting to a point where i prefer small booktubers because I enjoy watching actual reviews. I’m so tired of haul videos, especially when they haul a ton of books while they have giant libraries of unread books. I definitely subscribed and definitely am going to make a point of subscribing to more small youtubers. I feel you and other small booktubers have content that feels more real and personal! 😊

I initially clicked on this video thinking, "oh man", thinking it was going to be rather harsh, and didn't really think I was going to comment but honestly I agree with so much of what you said. I find that there are many geared creators that you either follow because you like their content or you follow because you like THEM and in becoming a creator you have to decide if you are okay with that or if you're willing to work for both feelings from your viewers. I think the best BookTube advice (any blog advice really) that I've heard is: don't JUST focus on books. There is so much more to us as creators than one hobby or one interest. It eventually just becomes a kind of stream of commercials when that's the ONLY content being put out. You worded your thoughts very well here and it was very uplifting to hear this kind of stuff in an organic atmosphere.

I love Booktube. I am purely a follower and not a booktuber. I don't have any major issues. Sometimes people respond to my comments and sometimes they don't. Sometimes I can find my favorite genres and sometimes I can't find a single person who likes what I like at the moment, so I see a need for growth. But overall I have grown as a reader and a book purchaser because of Booktube, so I keep watching. I can most definitely see your points, a couple of which I never knew, so thanks for the video.

This is such an inspiring video for small creators. It really makes me want to work on my videos more- and you weren't harsh at all, you legit spoke the truth in a very respectful way.

Great video. You have so many valid points girl!

What a great topic. As someone who has recently gained interest in joining BookTube, you really touched on my reservations. But as long as there are people like you willing to have real discussions about books that aren't just YA, I'm so down to join the community.

I need to follow your channel! I like your ideas! ❤

I love what you are saying. I started watching booktube videos back when I was 13 and then started making videos when I was 14. I have been on here for 5 years and realized most of my videos get only 10-20 views. I have been doing youtube for the pure joy I get from reading and sharing with my little audience. I have been wanting to expand, but as you talked about with the advertisement platform, I personally do not like that at all. Most of the people who got "big" started out by just reviewing books, but now they all just do sponsored videos, which is great, but at the same time I don't trust their opinion now when they do talk about a book. Even with the small audience I have now I do not want them to start not trusting what I have to say on books just because I was sponsored by a publishing agency.

This video was so motivating. I appreciate you for posting this.

This was so inspiring as a small booktuber! I really agreed with the entire "big booktubers advertise, not review"-thing too.

You presented your opinions eloquently and intelligently. Great video! Can’t wait to see more from you, especially since you said you like classics!

Love the video. You had some good points about booktube and you didn’t sound harsh and kept it honest.

i definitely notice the hierarchy in booktube. for me, i really enjoy doing booktube videos and i’ve only been doing this for a year. of course it’s hard to gain a lot of views and subscribers sometimes but the comments i receive always make my day. i’m still doing booktube of course because i want to use this platform to express my creativity. but yeah i really love this video thank you for sharing 💕

Keep doing review there are people out there that want this and actually this is how I pick what I read but you do make a good point

Love the discussion. I personally haven't been making videos over the last few months but I have in the last week or so come back to to speak.

I thought this was done really well. You didn't bash anyone and you had some great points. As a small booktuber, yes it is great to have some comments even 1 or 2 just to talk to someone! Yes they all started from the bottom and that's what people have to remind themselves about. This was great!

So inspiring and exactly what I needed to hear!

Thanks for this video. You nailed it!

This was very helpful- thank you 🙏🏾

Great video! I really like how straight to the point you are. Definitely subbing :)

Hey my name is Carla and I'm new to RU-vid. I just started my channel and subscribed because I thought this video was awesome for explaining what's going on in the book community. Everything you said is true!

You should watch lilyCreads her channel is awesome I feel like you will love her