BookTube

Last updated

BookTube is a subcommunity on YouTube that focuses on books and literature. The BookTube community has, to date, reached hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide. While the majority of BookTubers focus on Young Adult literature, many address other genres. BookTube videos also generally follow a set of formats, often drawing upon the wider "bookish" culture and lexicon. There is a distinct set of recognizable faces within BookTube as well as some content created by the publishing community. BookTube is often used to advertise new publications and is cited as a source of growth for the publishing industry.

Contents

Background

Though it lacks an exact origin, the BookTube community began around 2010 and grew exponentially throughout the 2010s. [1] [2] Christine Riccio (PolandBananasBooks) is often known as a pioneer of BookTube and became one of the first BookTubers to gain a large following. Today, many channels have thousands (and sometimes hundreds of thousands) of subscribers. [3] BookTube channels exist globally in English, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Spanish, among other languages. [4]

BookTubers often create videos reviewing and discussing young adult literature, but other genres, such as classics, science fiction, fantasy, Superhero, Horror, Supernatural, Paranormal Romance, literary fiction, children's literature, comics, romance, and non-fiction, are also represented.

Currently, the most subscribed booktubers include Jack Edwards (Jack Edwards [5] ), Isabella Lubrano (Ler Antes de Morrer), Tatiana Feltrin (tatianagfeltrin), Cindy Pham (withcindy), Hannah Azerang (A Clockwork Reader), [6] Pam Gonçalves (PamGonçalves [7] ), Ariel Bissett (ArielBissett), Christine Riccio (PolandBananasBooks), Kat O'Keefe (katytastic), Clau R. (ClauReadsBooks), Dakota Warren (Dakota Warren), Carley Thorne (uncarley), Jesse George (Jesse the Reader), and Daniel Greene (Daniel Greene). [3]

BookTube and the publishing industry

The BookTube community has been noted by social media consultants as a potential source of revenue growth for publishing houses. Publishers themselves began to break into the Booktube community around the time of its inception. Since then, they have advertised using book trailers, contracts with existing BookTubers, and their own BookTube web series, such as PaperCuts or Book Studio 16. [8] Still, publishers often utilize independent Booktubers to advertise their books through word of mouth, usually by providing ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies). [9] These ARCs will often be shipped with other merchandise designed to increase the hype surrounding the release. [8] Most of these ARCs are sent from the "Big Five" publishers: Hachette, Harper-Collins, MacMillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon-Schuster. This means that one book will often be reviewed many times by the BookTube community. [10]

Types of videos

There are several different types of videos that BookTubers film. [11] [12] Some are reviews, with or without spoilers, which detail what BookTubers have liked or disliked about specific books. [13] BookTubers often review Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) that are provided by book publishers who may wish to advertise using word of mouth. BookTubers also make "haul" videos where they discuss their purchases from a trip to the bookstore or give an overview of the books that they've bought within a period of time. Conversely, "unhaul" videos are videos where BookTubers talk about any books that they are removing from their collection. [4]

BookTuber Juli Ferraro interviews Maria Kodama, wife of writer Jorge Luis Borges, in a celebration of Reader's Day. Booktuber Juli Ferraro Interviews Maria Kodama.jpg
BookTuber Juli Ferraro interviews María Kodama, wife of writer Jorge Luis Borges, in a celebration of Reader's Day.

Other common types of videos include:

Traditions and culture

BookTube, rather than a collection of disparate videos, is often considered a community of video makers and watchers with its own culture. [1] There is a shared vocabulary (largely drawn from the wider bookish community), intertextuality (whereby BookTubers react and respond to other BookTubers), common traditions, and some broadly shared values.

A classic rainbow shelfie is a staple of the bookish community, and is also a favorite BookTube backdrop. Rainbow Shelfie.jpg
A classic rainbow shelfie is a staple of the bookish community, and is also a favorite BookTube backdrop.

Vocabulary

Traditions

Much of BookTube and its culture overlaps with the broader YouTube writing community. It is common for BookTubers to also be writers, and their videos can include writing advice or author logs. [3] Individual BookTubers have had an impact on the community as they write, publish, and promote their own books on their channel. [23]

Outside of YouTube, BookTubers can be found at book and YouTube conventions like YallFest, [24] BookCon, [25] and VidCon. [26]

Financial aspects

BookTubers with a large following earn revenue off of the videos they make. Through monetization, affiliate links and sponsorships, BookTubers earn money directly from their views and subscribers. [27] While there is money being brought in, it has also been cited that there is consumerism that goes alongside BookTube. Popular creators have been credited with saying that there is pressure to have full, gorgeous bookshelves with little concern regarding the number of books actually being read. [28]

Diversity on Booktube

The lack of diverse creators is a continuous problem throughout the BookTube community[ peacock prose ]. Black creators rack up less views and have fewer subscribers compared to their White counterparts. [29] As a way to call out this lack of diversity, outspoken BookTubers create videos highlighting the issue where they discuss ways to combat it. Creators also call out this lack of diversity within the publishing industry by centering videos around, or only reading books that represent marginalized groups. [30] As of January 2024, the most popular traditional Black BookTuber is Joel Rochester (fictionalfates). [31] The most subscribed Black Booktuber is Quinn’s Ideas.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Scott (YouTuber)</span> English online and television personality

Thomas Scott is an English YouTuber and web developer. His self-titled YouTube channel offers educational videos across a range of topics including history, geography, linguistics, science, and technology. As of January 2024, his five YouTube channels have collectively gained over 7.61 million subscribers and 1.82 billion views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PewDiePie</span> Swedish YouTuber (born 1989)

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, is a Swedish YouTuber known for his comedic videos. Kjellberg's popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage has made him one of the most noted online personalities and content creators. He has been portrayed in media as a figurehead for YouTube, especially in the genre of gaming.

A multi-channel network (MCN) is an organization that works with video platforms to offer assistance to channel owners in areas such as "product, programming, funding, cross-promotion, partner management, digital rights management, monetization and sales, and audience development," in exchange for a percentage of the ad revenue from the channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marques Brownlee</span> American tech YouTuber (born 1993)

Marques Keith Brownlee, also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber and professional ultimate frisbee player, best known for his technology-focused videos as well as his podcast Waveform. As of December 2023, he has more than 20 million subscribers across all channels and 3.93 billion total video views. Vic Gundotra, a former senior vice president of Google, called Brownlee "the best technology reviewer on the planet right now". At the 10th Shorty Awards in 2019, he was named "Creator of the Decade" The former name of his YouTube channel is a concatenation of MKB and HD. With New York PoNY, he is the 2022 WFDF World Champion in the Open Category for ultimate Frisbee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rikki Poynter</span> German deaf YouTuber and activist

Rikki Poynter is a deaf YouTuber and activist. She began as a beauty vlogger and is now a lifestyle vlogger with a focus on Deaf awareness, accessibility, and the importance of closed captioning.

<i>Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal</i> 2016 graphic novel by YouTuber DanTDM

Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal is the debut graphic novel by YouTuber Daniel Middleton. It is set in the sandbox video game Minecraft, and features characters that have appeared in Middleton's YouTube videos for all ages. Commercially, the book was a success, spending three weeks at the top of the list of bestselling books in the world as well as reaching the number one spot on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover graphic books in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidemen</span> British group

The Sidemen is a British YouTube group consisting of internet personalities KSI, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and W2S. The group produce videos of various challenges, sketches, and video game commentaries across their YouTube channels, which have a combined total of over 138 million subscribers as of October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodapoppin</span> American Twitch streamer and YouTuber (born 1994)

Thomas Jefferson "Chance" Morris IV, known professionally as Sodapoppin, is an American Twitch streamer and YouTuber. He has one of the largest followings on Twitch, with over 8.7 million followers and over 398.3 million views as of August 15, 2022; he also has over 1.11 million subscribers and over 444.5 million views on YouTube. According to Social Blade, Morris sits at the number 10 spot for the most followers on Twitch; he also ranks number 15 for the largest total number of views on the platform. He is a co-owner of and content creator for gaming organization One True King.

Lauren Kobayashi Riihimaki is a Canadian YouTuber known for her video content on the LaurDIY YouTube channel as well as her vlog and podcast content on the LaurDIY Vlogs and WILD 'TIL 9 channels, respectively. As of January 2022, LaurDIY has over 8.5 million subscribers, and LaurDIY Vlogs and WILD 'TIL 9 have a combined 535,000 subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TheOdd1sOut</span> American YouTuber and animator (born 1996)

Robert James Rallison, known online as TheOdd1sOut, is an American YouTuber, cartoonist, animator, author, and voice actor. He is known for producing storytime animations on his YouTube channel and co-creating, starring in, and executive producing the Netflix animated series Oddballs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etika</span> American YouTuber and live streamer (1990–2019)

Desmond Daniel Amofah, better known as Etika, was an American YouTuber and live streamer. He became known online for his enthusiastic reactions to Super Smash Bros. character trailers and Nintendo Direct presentations, and for playing and reacting to various games. The son of Ghanaian politician Owuraku Amofah, he resided in Brooklyn, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Behzinga</span> English YouTuber (born 1995)

Ethan Leigh Payne, better known as Behzinga, is an English YouTuber, streamer, and Internet personality. He produces videos on gaming, football, comedy, and fitness and is a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group Sidemen. In 2019, Payne was listed as the 31st most influential online creator in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times. As of September 2021, his main YouTube channel had over 4 million subscribers and 500 million video views. He is the co-owner of XIX Vodka, Sidemen Clothing, restaurant chain Sides, and cereal brand Best Breakfasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asmongold</span> American Twitch streamer and YouTuber (born 1990)

Asmongold, also known as ZackRawrr, is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and content creator. His content primarily focuses on World of Warcraft, but he has covered other video games and topics related to gaming culture. Asmongold is a co-founder and co-owner of the streaming, gaming, and content creation organization One True King (OTK), based in Austin, Texas. He is also a co-owner of Starforge Systems, a computer company specialized in selling prebuilt gaming PCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cr1TiKaL</span> American YouTuber and livestreamer (born 1994)

Charles Christopher White Jr., better known as Cr1TiKaL, MoistCr1TiKaL, or penguinz0 is an American YouTuber and streamer. He is best known for his commentary videos and live streams covering internet culture and video games. White's content is characterized by his monotone voice and deadpan comedic style. In addition, White is the co-founder and co-owner of the esports organization Moist Esports and co-founder and member of the musical duo, the Gentle Men. Charles also runs a professional wrestling show that is mostly comedy based called the Moist Wrestling League (MWL)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TommyInnit</span> British YouTuber and Twitch streamer (born 2004)

Thomas Simons, better known as TommyInnit, is an English YouTuber and Twitch streamer. He produces Minecraft-related videos and live streams, including collaborations with fellow YouTubers and streamers in the Dream SMP. Joining the Dream SMP caused his YouTube and Twitch channels to increase in popularity. As of 24 April 2023, his eleven YouTube channels have collectively reached over 27.74 million subscribers and over 2.82 billion views; his two Twitch channels have reached over 9.02 million followers, making him the most-followed Minecraft channel on Twitch, as well as the 16th most-followed overall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GeorgeNotFound</span> English internet personality (born 1996)

George Davidson, better known online as GeorgeNotFound, is an English internet personality, YouTuber, and Twitch streamer. He gained substantial popularity in 2020 and 2021 through uploading Minecraft content. Alongside content creator and frequent collaborator Dream, Davidson founded the Dream SMP, a Minecraft role-playing server consisting of multiple storylines and characters. As of July 2023, Davidson's five YouTube channels have all collectively reached over 15.2 million subscribers and over 742.1 million views.

BookTok is a subcommunity on the app TikTok that focuses on books and literature. Creators make videos reviewing, discussing, and joking about the books they read. These books range in genre, but many creators tend to focus on young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, and romance. The community is cited with impacting the publishing industry and book sales. The creators in this community are also known as BookTokers.

StudyTube, sometimes referred to as EduTube, is an informal group of content creators on YouTube whose content focuses on studying, test and exam preparation, and school. These types of YouTubers are known as StudyTubers. The term can also refer to the genre of YouTube video characterized by its focus on the same topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technoblade</span> American internet personality (1999–2022)

Alexander, known online as Technoblade, was an American YouTuber known for his Minecraft videos, livestreams, and involvement in the Dream SMP. Technoblade registered his main channel on YouTube in 2013. His videos consisted primarily of Minecraft gameplay, particularly on the minigame server Hypixel. After rising to popularity in 2019 for his performances in player versus player (PvP) events, Technoblade was invited to the Dream SMP Minecraft server in 2020, further increasing his following.

References

  1. 1 2 "A new digital phenomenon: the rise of the Booktubers". Cafebabel. Archived from the original on 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  2. ↑ Perkins, Kathryn (2017-11-15). "The Boundaries of BookTube". The Serials Librarian. 73 (3–4): 352–356. doi:10.1080/0361526x.2017.1364317. ISSN   0361-526X. S2CID   67331084.
  3. 1 2 3 4 León, Concepción de (2018-07-31). "Meet the YouTube Stars Turning Viewers Into Readers". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Techavanich, Kristine (4 September 2015). "BookTube–YouTube's Bookish Community". Public Libraries Online. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  5. ↑ "Jack Edwards's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". socialblade.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  6. ↑ "A Clockwork Reader's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". Social Blade. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Pam Gonçalves's Social Blade" . Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  8. 1 2 Daspin, Eileen (23 June 2016). "Shelfies, BookTube videos court readers: Publishers take a page out of social media playbook". USA Today. ProQuest   1799072364.
  9. ↑ Kalpaxis, Vicky (2020-02-09). "How the Publishing Industry Is Cashing in on Influencer Culture". Observer. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  10. ↑ Brekelmans, Ashley (7 November 2017). "The Reality of BookTube: An Analysis of how BookTube Affects Marketing Within the Publishing Industry". Thinkubator. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  11. ↑ "6 Types of Videos Unique to BookTube". ZEFR Insights. 2014-08-19. Archived from the original on 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  12. ↑ "15 BookTubers To Suit Your Reading Personality". The Huffington Post. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  13. ↑ "Great Sci-Fi & Fantasy BookTubers to Follow". Tor.com. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  14. ↑ Wright, Kelly. "The 16 Best Book Subscription Boxes – 2022 Readers' Choice Awards". My Subscription Addiction. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  15. ↑ Inc, Scribendi. "The 17 Best Book Blogs to Read in 2017 | Scribendi.com" . Retrieved 2017-05-20.{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. ↑ Lowe, Simon (2016-11-07). "Words in your ears: the 10 best books podcasts". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  17. ↑ "How To Fabulously Get Started On #Bookstagram". Paper Fury. 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  18. ↑ "Reblog Book Club". Reblog Book Club. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  19. ↑ p-themes (7 March 2022). "Interview with the Bookfluencer: @tessandherbooks". Book Grocer. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  20. 1 2 Shunarrah, Mandy. "A Short Glossary of Book Nerds' Commonly Used Terms". Off the Beaten Shelf. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  21. ↑ Fallon, Claire (2014-07-24). "What's Your Book Shelfie Style?". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  22. 1 2 WhispersOfTheSilentWind (2016-01-23), Bookish Internet Terms | A Bibliophile's Guide , retrieved 2017-05-20
  23. ↑ Calpaxis, Vicky (2020-02-09). "How the Publishing Industry Is Cashing in on Influencer Culture". Observer. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  24. ↑ "YALLFest BookTuber Booksplosion". YALLFest. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  25. ↑ "Where Storytelling and Pop Culture Collide - BookCon 2020". www.bookcon.com. 2015-05-31. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  26. ↑ "VidCon 2020 | June 17–20 @ Anaheim, California". VidCon. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  27. ↑ Stelter, Brian (11 December 2008). "YouTube Videos Pull In Real Money". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  28. ↑ Ehret, Christian; Manuel-Nekouei, Roya; Boegel, Jacy (14 June 2018). "The Role of Affect in Adolescents' Online Literacies: Participatory Pressures in BookTube Culture". Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 62 (2): 151–161. doi:10.1002/jaal.881. S2CID   149638744 . Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  29. ↑ Taylor, Arianna (26 December 2020). "Black BookTubers Need More Visibility On YouTube". Study Break. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  30. ↑ Martinez, Alex (29 March 2021). "Demanding Diversity with BookTube". Ooligan Press. Portland State University. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  31. ↑ "fictionalfates's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". Social Blade. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.