When I was a sophomore in high school, I discovered the online book community. It may seem a little dramatic, but this community changed my life; It reignited my love for books and eventually led me to the world of book publishing. I don’t even know how I first stumbled upon “BookTube”—the community of YouTubers that make videos almost exclusively about books. I had never seen so many people in my age group speak so passionately about books, and it made me feel like I could share my love of books with these people. For me, watching BookTube is like having a conversation with a friend. It’s amazing how you can feel a connection with someone you don’t even know just by seeing what he or she likes to read. I binge-watched so many BookTube videos in the first few months, from videos discussing what that person had read that month to 30 minute long videos showing off every single book on that person’s shelf. Not long after, I joined the Goodreads, Twitter, and Instagram communities. Books had completely taken over my social media life, and I finally found a place on the internet where I belonged.
This community not only took over my social media life, but also my shelf. There were suddenly so many new books that I wanted to read, all thanks to the recommendations of the many, many people I followed. To stop myself from buying all of my books at full price, I discovered book sales around my community. Much to my dad’s dismay, new books made their way into our home weekly, until one day I had to buy a whole new shelf just to fit them all. The only downside to this is that I now own so many unread books that it is sometimes overwhelming trying to choose what to read next. Not the worst problem in the world.
Even though nearly five years have passed since I first discovered BookTube, I still watch some of my favorite BookTubers every week. Because of conventions like BookExpo and BookCon, I have met people who share my love of this community in real life. I have also gone to two BookTube panels at BookCon, where I met four of my favorite BookTube vloggers. The online book community has been integral in connecting people around the world through their love of reading. I’ve never thought about making a BookTube channel myself, but I will admit to taking artsy “Book Haul” photos for my Instagram. For me, the online book community is not only a way to find new books, but also a way to make genuine connections with people my age that share my interests.
Here’s a list of some of my favorite BookTubers:
Katytastic https://www.youtube.com/user/Katytastic
polandbananasBOOKS https://www.youtube.com/user/polandbananasBOOKS
jessethereader https://www.youtube.com/user/jessethereader
Little Book Owl https://www.youtube.com/user/LittleBookOwl
readbyzoe https://www.youtube.com/user/readbyzoe
Stacy, Intern for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press. This is a shared blog post for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press.