Courtesy of thealphabeticalorder.blogspot.com
It is not exactly a new revelation that the YouTube community is rising to the forefront. Vloggers like Tyler Oakely, Zoe Sugg, Caspar Lee and more have taken the internet by storm, but it’s time to recognize a lesser known YouTube phenomenon – BookTube. That’s right, there’s a whole community on YouTube dedicated to books. The beauty of this is that you can watch all of your favourite BookTuber’s and Vlogger’s on the same, amazing multi-purpose website.What would the world be without YouTube?
If you are wondering what a BookTuber is they are much like your every day vlogger; BookTubers do tag related videos, collab videos, and general discussion videos. What is particularly fun about BookTuber’s is that they are extremely excited about books and reading. They expertly review books and are honest about their book-related feels. The most exciting thing that BookTuber’s do is upload epic “book haul” videos. Book hauls are videos where BookTubers share with their viewers the books they bought in a particular month and they can range from five books to 40. How do they get so many books? A lot of them get books sent to them for review purposes.The nice part about this is that no matter who sends the books to these BookTuber’s, they are always honest about the fact that they were sent the book and about how they feel about the review books they have received.
Sitting in front of a camera and just talking is not an easy thing, and getting people to watch these videos are also no easy feat. These YouTube personalities partner with publishing companies and utilize social media to maximize their amount of views. The best thing is, these people are endorsing reading, one of the most important things a person can do to expand their minds and creativity. These people encourage people to find books that they can get excited about and enjoy reading.
Check out our list below for our top 10 favourite BookTuber’s. If you have favourites that we’ve missed, give us a shout in the comments about your favourites.
1) Christine Riccio [polandbananasBOOKS]
When Christine Riccio talks about books and reading, she does it in a way that will have you rolling on the floor laughing. This is purely because she is so fun and animated that she makes just listening about books and reading feel fun. Her videos like “The Mourning Period” and “Ebooks VS Real Books” summarizes all of the feelings we have ever felt about the process of reading and finishing books. Christine’s screen presence and the way she talks about the books she loves makes viewers want to read those books and experience the same tumultuous emotions. Her reaction to everything Cassandra Clare is relatable and her love for Harry Potter just affirms the fact that she is every book lover’s spirit animal. It is impossible to watch a video by Christine that doesn’t make you both laugh out loud and think critically about reading. In everyone of Christine’s videos, viewers are also bound to become distracted by how beautiful the books on her shelf are. Hard cover is the way to go. Most importantly, Christine shows us that books cannot be judged by it’s labelled age because a good story, is a good story. Basically, every one needs to go read the Percy Jackson series. Don’t watch Christine in public because you will be laughing out loud at her hilarious antics and how she always feels all of the feels.
2) Jesse (jessethereader)
If Jesse likes a book, you know that you will enjoy it. When he does “book hauls,” viewers are always bound to find at least three new books to go pick up. He understands massive love for the dystopian genre and readers basic need for beautiful covers. Jesse is quirky and is always able to laugh at himself. He is genuine and most importantly brings the wonder that is Veronica Schwab to the attention of his viewers. Jesse has impeccable taste in reading and is generally enjoyable to watch. He is funny, honest and as a whole an incredible BookTuber. He thinks critically about books and and is able to eloquently convey his feelings about the books he loves, likes, and doesn’t enjoy all that much. Jesse’ is incredibly well spoken and that is displayed in his book reviews. His ability to discuss and critique novels is seriously impressive and he knows what makes a good story . He reads a wide variety of genres and understands the balance of character, plot and world building necessary in a story. He always looks at those three elements when discussing a book. Jesse has an incredible sense of humour which makes him engaging, and his ability to analyze and interpret stories and writing makes him credible as a book reviewer.
3) Raeleen (padfootandprongs07)
Raeleen has the unique ability to sit down and talk to her camera and keep us listening. She is open to every genre and is always truthful when it comes to book. Raeleen is always honest about what books she received from publishing companies to review and what she thinks about the books. She always shares her first thoughts whether they be excited to read a book, or if she is hesitant to dive into a review book that may not be her type. We love Raeleen because she makes us laugh and is able to eloquently interpret books. She reads a wide variety of genre’s and is very well read. Viewers can share her love for Marcus Zusack because, well, who doesn’t love The Book Thief? She has massive book hauls that are always exciting because Raeleen always picks up the most interesting books that viewers may not have heard of yet. Viewers will finish watching one of Raeleen’s book hauls wanting to run to their nearest book store and pick up at least four new reads.
4) Ariel Bissett (Ariel Bissett)
Ariel is so excited about reading that it’s infectious. After watching one of her blogs, viewers will feel an urge of excitement to go to their nearest book store, grab a book, bring it back home, and crack it open as soon as possible. When she talks about books, you feel her excitement and passion for stories in general. On her channel she has epic book talks, equally epic book hauls and videos that talk about important themes in books like in her video “Sex in Books.” She also has created a little mini series on her channel called “Reading in School” as well as another mini series of videos chronicling her reading of Jane Austen novels. Ariel tells it like it is and always, ALWAYS makes us excited to read. She also has incredible hair that viewers can expect to be jealous of.
5) Priscilla (TheReadables)
Priscilla’s videos are incredibly well done. The stellar filming and editing style of her videos make her that much more enjoyable to watch. She often uses split screen tactics to show viewers whatever it is she is discussing. This is most useful when she does book hauls. Priscilla has the most well done book hauls to date; she uses fun sound effects and the split screen to list all the relevant information about the books she hauls. She includes publishing companies, the book title, the book author and even how many pages the book is. The amount of information she involves in her book hauls makes it that much easier to decide if you want to pick up one of the books she has hauled. To add to her credibility, Priscilla also has incredible book reviews that are thorough and generally well done. Her book reviews also incorporate a brief plot synopsis under the book title and cover for viewers who want a summary that is short and sweet. She reads a wide variety of novels and picks a new theme every month. For example she will pick the dystopian genre as a theme and read 4 or 5 books in the genre in that particular month. To top it all off she also has themed videos like Top 5 Wednesday which means viewers can count on getting a weekly dose of her.
6) Kat O’Keeffe (Katytastic)
Kat, like all of these YouTube personalities, is very enthusiastic about books. What makes Kat stand out is how beautifully she talks about stories, authors, language, genre and the different books she has grown to love. Her way of reviewing books reels you in and almost makes you escape into the worlds of these books before you even read them . However, she is still honest when she does not like a book and provides well thought out reason. Kat also creates many videos not only about reading books, but about different tips and tricks for writing books. Kat is the perfect BookTuber to watch if you are interested in books and creative writing. She is definitely the person to watch if you are interested in trying your hand at writing a novel.
7) Regan (PeruseProject)
The perfect word to describe Regan is “lovely.” On top of being an incredible BookTuber herself, she is very supportive of her fellow BookTuber’s and never fails to give shout outs to other YouTube personalities she enjoys. In her videos it’s clear how enthralled Regan is about books and reading, and her book hauls will make you drool. She picks up the greatest books and if she recommends something, chances are you will too just because her taste is so incredible. She reads a wide variety of books but has especially good recommendations for fantasy and dystopian books. Regan is incredibly genuine, will make you giggle, and is incredibly well versed in literature. She is so well read and is especially talented at conveying her interpretation of novels. Her book reviews are both eloquent and fun. Reagan most definitely fits the BookTuber profile of being funny, quirky, charming and extremely well spoken. Go check her out. Go do it now.
8) Frankie ( FKVlogs)
Like everyone else on this list, Frankie is very enthusiastic about books. Frankie reviews everything under the sun, from books to movies to games. She uploads hilarious reaction videos to trailers, and all in all is very well versed in the topics she covers. She is more of a movie vlogger than a book vlogger, which is that much better of a reason to check her out. No matter what your interests are, she has related videos. If you are interested in books in particular, she reads a wide variety of genre’s from middle grade books to young adult to adult novels. Not to mention she has small but sweet book hauls. She’s selective, which means if she picks up a book she is very intrigued by it. Oh, and she’s from the UK so her accent is always fun.
9) Sanne (booksandquills)
Sanne is a London based YouTuber who reviews books, hauls books, does book challenges, and basically does all the wonderful things BookTuber’s do on a (mostly) weekly basis. Sanne stands out because she uploads a wide variety of videos although she is predominantly a BookTuber. Her channel also features travel videos, and a lot of collab videos with other BookTubers. To top it all off, she is a Nerdfighter (John Green fan) and proud. She has a handful of John Green/Nerdfighter videos on her channel for fellow Nerdfighters to enjoy. Her videos are also relatively short so they are perfect to watch during homework breaks.
10) Catriona Little Book Owl
This Australian BookTuber is lovely in every way. She always finds the most beautiful possible covers of all our our favourite books, and because of this has incredibly beautiful book hauls. She is selective about what she reads and her enthusiasm about books is infectious. She has incredible book taste and introduces her viewers to books that they never heard of but have to read. Catriona is funny and engaging to watch. She has a stellar selection of books and is never afraid to venture into a new genre.