Most of my content lacks depth, but I’m totally fine with that. I just like hopping on and taking about books, what I’m reading, buying. I prefer to be popcorn rather than Doritos 😂
I liked At Night All Blood Is Black a good bit more than you and thought the lyrical writing fit in with the lyrical writing of WWI poets like Owen, Brooke, etc. BUT I can see that the writing doesn’t fit every one’s taste and I’m always glad to hear what people think of that book. Regarding the “content” issue: I think there is room on BookTube for both shallow book content and deeper book content. If you look (as I’m sure you have) you can find discussions of bookish topics and in depth dives into books. A lot of people like hauls. I don’t watch them or understand the attraction which is why I don’t make haul videos either. But I don’t see great harm in them or in the enjoyment they give to many. Maybe they are a way for people to dip into reading again by going slowly and staying in the shallow end before they get adjusted enough to the water temp to feel comfortable going in deeper.
I agree about content. I enjoy watching booktube but I feel like some channels feel like they "have" to post certain types of vids. Love the analogy to Doritos and ultra processed food! I think it's fun to make booktube vids (I try for 3-4 a month) but I do want to settle in and make more contemplative vids and explore the books more deeply. I feel like there are so many books I want to read that I rush to try to get to the next one rather than savoring each one. So it's something I'm focusing on this year!
I agree with you about slowing down and savoring a book, rather than racing through it just to tick a box. I also agree that making a video should be satisfying, and of course what we find fun and satisfying can change over time as well. Thanks for the positive comment, really appreciate it.
A lot of your comment rang very true here. I don’t make videos but I watch way too many 😢 - which of course eats into my valuable reading time. On the other hand I have discovered many wonderful books through the channels I watch. Last year’s big discovery was Solenoid which I thought was amazing (especially the prose) and a couple of channels helped me understand what the hell was going on (especially Chris at Leaf by Leaf). And that book took me 8 weeks to read!
Like all media, we have to be mindful and use it appropriately, and that's different for everyone and changes from time to time. I find myself watching fewer and fewer channels as my interest in Booktube has changed from book reviews and recommendations (I have too many books already) to wanting to hear and discuss book related content more. I'm trying to change my channel to reflect that but it's more time to consuming to create. It's easy to just rattle off a few recent reads and a book haul, so I get why that's a larger portion of the content out there. Thoughtful reviews & discussions like @leafbyleaf are really diamonds in the rough. Hats off to you for reading Solenoid, that's a hefty book! I've thumbed through it a few times but have yet to buy it.
Fascinating thoughts on booktubing. I feel both guilty and not guilty of these things! (Also fascinated by some of your commenters.) I've been doing this for over 2 years now and I still haven't figured out what people want, so I'm just doing whatever and seeing what, if anything, works. ( Meaning...views.) But I am very genuine about it all and do absolutely just want to talk books and reading. Anyway, I totally understand the frustration and craziness of it all. Also, your channel is great and DOES NOT suck! 😊
I'm guilty of many of these things too, I think we all are to some extent. In my opinion, you don't need to figure out what people want, you just need to do things the way you want and find others that are interesting to you.
I appreciate your video with an honest opinion of what's going on here on Booktube. Most of the videos created have a two day lifespan then they are dead and useless. For example, people label their videos /Friday Reads/ and there are maybe 100 videos weekly with that title, so it will always be of no value in the TH-cam search engine. But if they make a thoughtful review of a particular book then years later people will still be looking for information on that book. I will remember your comments as I go through this year. Booktube is my hobby and I still plan to make three videos a week, but I want them to be valuable. It is a hobby of self improvement for me, which makes it a constant challenge.
I'm convinced that the Booktubers who claim to read so much are actually skimming quite a bit. They aren't reading carefully. I prefer to read slowly myself. I'm turned off by this consumerist mindset where people are competing to see how many books they can consooom. As far the ones who churn out "content," my impression is that most of them are doing it for likes/subs and to keep their audience fed. Attention and validation probably figures in, too. ... And although I agree that book discussions can be superficial, they can also be long-winded. I don't have the time/patience to listen to long discussions (e.g., anything over a few minutes) about a random book I haven't read. I like material that is meaty but also concise. It also helps when it's organized by genre or theme, rather than just assorted types/styles (so I can watch videos about books I might like). Just my preferences as a viewer, that's all.
I agree on the skimming and being turned off by the consumption mindset. I don't mind longer content if the speakers are engaging and conversational. I've lost my taste & tolerance for videos with 'engagement editing' as I think that is more jarring that a naturally paced dialogue, but that's just my own personal taste. Thanks for watching & commenting, I really appreciate it.
I really enjoyed this video and discussion. I definitely am guilty of “feeding the beast” but, I’m slowing down and refocusing because I agree that we need to stop doing things just for the likes and the view. I want to read for the enjoyment and reflection and for the good discussions I can have with people. Again, great video.
We're all guilty of feeding beast, largely because when we're starting out we try to do what we see others succeeding with, which exactly the type of content that feeds the beast. But, if you look a little below the surface you find a lot of successful channels that don't fall into that trap and actually are more sustainable and evergreen.
Yesterday, I had some books piled on my desk, the mic and camera plugged in. While waiting for my family to stop making noise, the only reason I could think of for making more videos was to get people to buy me more books. So I never did press record, unplugged the devices, put the books back on the shelf, and went back to reading.
Almost all contemporary, only classics that are "in fashion", book hauls, library tours, book tags... Everything except actually reading and talking about the books!
Excellent video and you've encapsulated why I hate the whole "booktube" thing (including the silly name). Much of it is simply junk food content, full of the same catchwords ("haul") and acronyms ("TBR", "DNF" et al), and aside from feeding the beast, it feeds things like FOMO and leads to probably lots of people buying books they won't ever read. Almost all of them feature physical books (and the vast majority of those are bought and not from the library), and I don't think I've ever seen a book TH-camr with a "all of these books were read on Kindle (or other e-reader)" which is what I am, because that doesn't play well. Also, I gotta think, just with other niches I sometimes follow (guitarists and language learning), there's a lot of fakery around. So, to you're "I'm always struck by how many people can read 1000 of pages a week." I would add the words "say they" after "people". Anyway, it's for your honest thoughts like these that I subscribed and hope you keep it up with your honest thoughts about books and whatever else!
I was almost all ebooks on Kindle until moving to Shanghai, I'm now about half physical and half ebook. I don't think I could ever entirely give up ebooks, but I would like to try to stop buying ebboks from Amazon by default and give other ways a chance first. Agree with you on the fakery:
Watching your video during my lunch break! Completely agree with you about ‘content’, ‘lack of depth’ etc. I read 16 books in 2024 (aside from reading for my course as I’m a trainee therapist so I read for that). I aim to read a lot more this year, but I also want to enjoy, understand, reflect and critically think about the books I’m reading. Hopefully I’ll start uploading videos this month and I’ll hold myself accountable 😊
Most of my content lacks depth, but I’m totally fine with that. I just like hopping on and taking about books, what I’m reading, buying. I prefer to be popcorn rather than Doritos 😂
Nothing wrong with some popcorn -- is yours salty, sweet or mixed? lol
I liked At Night All Blood Is Black a good bit more than you and thought the lyrical writing fit in with the lyrical writing of WWI poets like Owen, Brooke, etc. BUT I can see that the writing doesn’t fit every one’s taste and I’m always glad to hear what people think of that book.
Regarding the “content” issue:
I think there is room on BookTube for both shallow book content and deeper book content. If you look (as I’m sure you have) you can find discussions of bookish topics and in depth dives into books.
A lot of people like hauls. I don’t watch them or understand the attraction which is why I don’t make haul videos either. But I don’t see great harm in them or in the enjoyment they give to many. Maybe they are a way for people to dip into reading again by going slowly and staying in the shallow end before they get adjusted enough to the water temp to feel comfortable going in deeper.
I guess I just wanted to complain for a few minutes 😂
@ No harm in that either.🙂
I agree about content. I enjoy watching booktube but I feel like some channels feel like they "have" to post certain types of vids. Love the analogy to Doritos and ultra processed food! I think it's fun to make booktube vids (I try for 3-4 a month) but I do want to settle in and make more contemplative vids and explore the books more deeply. I feel like there are so many books I want to read that I rush to try to get to the next one rather than savoring each one. So it's something I'm focusing on this year!
I agree with you about slowing down and savoring a book, rather than racing through it just to tick a box. I also agree that making a video should be satisfying, and of course what we find fun and satisfying can change over time as well. Thanks for the positive comment, really appreciate it.
A lot of your comment rang very true here. I don’t make videos but I watch way too many 😢 - which of course eats into my valuable reading time. On the other hand I have discovered many wonderful books through the channels I watch. Last year’s big discovery was Solenoid which I thought was amazing (especially the prose) and a couple of channels helped me understand what the hell was going on (especially Chris at Leaf by Leaf). And that book took me 8 weeks to read!
Like all media, we have to be mindful and use it appropriately, and that's different for everyone and changes from time to time. I find myself watching fewer and fewer channels as my interest in Booktube has changed from book reviews and recommendations (I have too many books already) to wanting to hear and discuss book related content more. I'm trying to change my channel to reflect that but it's more time to consuming to create. It's easy to just rattle off a few recent reads and a book haul, so I get why that's a larger portion of the content out there. Thoughtful reviews & discussions like @leafbyleaf are really diamonds in the rough.
Hats off to you for reading Solenoid, that's a hefty book! I've thumbed through it a few times but have yet to buy it.
Fascinating thoughts on booktubing. I feel both guilty and not guilty of these things! (Also fascinated by some of your commenters.) I've been doing this for over 2 years now and I still haven't figured out what people want, so I'm just doing whatever and seeing what, if anything, works. ( Meaning...views.) But I am very genuine about it all and do absolutely just want to talk books and reading. Anyway, I totally understand the frustration and craziness of it all. Also, your channel is great and DOES NOT suck! 😊
I'm guilty of many of these things too, I think we all are to some extent. In my opinion, you don't need to figure out what people want, you just need to do things the way you want and find others that are interesting to you.
I appreciate your video with an honest opinion of what's going on here on Booktube. Most of the videos created have a two day lifespan then they are dead and useless. For example, people label their videos /Friday Reads/ and there are maybe 100 videos weekly with that title, so it will always be of no value in the TH-cam search engine. But if they make a thoughtful review of a particular book then years later people will still be looking for information on that book. I will remember your comments as I go through this year. Booktube is my hobby and I still plan to make three videos a week, but I want them to be valuable. It is a hobby of self improvement for me, which makes it a constant challenge.
I'm glad you found something useful in my video.
I'm convinced that the Booktubers who claim to read so much are actually skimming quite a bit. They aren't reading carefully. I prefer to read slowly myself. I'm turned off by this consumerist mindset where people are competing to see how many books they can consooom. As far the ones who churn out "content," my impression is that most of them are doing it for likes/subs and to keep their audience fed. Attention and validation probably figures in, too. ... And although I agree that book discussions can be superficial, they can also be long-winded. I don't have the time/patience to listen to long discussions (e.g., anything over a few minutes) about a random book I haven't read. I like material that is meaty but also concise. It also helps when it's organized by genre or theme, rather than just assorted types/styles (so I can watch videos about books I might like). Just my preferences as a viewer, that's all.
I agree on the skimming and being turned off by the consumption mindset. I don't mind longer content if the speakers are engaging and conversational. I've lost my taste & tolerance for videos with 'engagement editing' as I think that is more jarring that a naturally paced dialogue, but that's just my own personal taste. Thanks for watching & commenting, I really appreciate it.
I really enjoyed this video and discussion. I definitely am guilty of “feeding the beast” but, I’m slowing down and refocusing because I agree that we need to stop doing things just for the likes and the view. I want to read for the enjoyment and reflection and for the good discussions I can have with people.
Again, great video.
We're all guilty of feeding beast, largely because when we're starting out we try to do what we see others succeeding with, which exactly the type of content that feeds the beast. But, if you look a little below the surface you find a lot of successful channels that don't fall into that trap and actually are more sustainable and evergreen.
@ I agree completely!
Yesterday, I had some books piled on my desk, the mic and camera plugged in. While waiting for my family to stop making noise, the only reason I could think of for making more videos was to get people to buy me more books. So I never did press record, unplugged the devices, put the books back on the shelf, and went back to reading.
I hear ya. Sometimes you just gotta read.
Happy New Year Carl! I hope everything is going ok with you in Shanghai. Stay warm.
Thanks, I'm hanging in there. Hope you are well!
Damn it, one of my new year resolutions was to feed the Booktube beast even more. Now I don't know what I'm going to do.
🤷♂️
@pleasereadyourbook 😉
Almost all contemporary, only classics that are "in fashion", book hauls, library tours, book tags... Everything except actually reading and talking about the books!
Those are all red flags for me.
Excellent video and you've encapsulated why I hate the whole "booktube" thing (including the silly name). Much of it is simply junk food content, full of the same catchwords ("haul") and acronyms ("TBR", "DNF" et al), and aside from feeding the beast, it feeds things like FOMO and leads to probably lots of people buying books they won't ever read. Almost all of them feature physical books (and the vast majority of those are bought and not from the library), and I don't think I've ever seen a book TH-camr with a "all of these books were read on Kindle (or other e-reader)" which is what I am, because that doesn't play well. Also, I gotta think, just with other niches I sometimes follow (guitarists and language learning), there's a lot of fakery around. So, to you're "I'm always struck by how many people can read 1000 of pages a week." I would add the words "say they" after "people". Anyway, it's for your honest thoughts like these that I subscribed and hope you keep it up with your honest thoughts about books and whatever else!
I was almost all ebooks on Kindle until moving to Shanghai, I'm now about half physical and half ebook. I don't think I could ever entirely give up ebooks, but I would like to try to stop buying ebboks from Amazon by default and give other ways a chance first. Agree with you on the fakery:
Happy New Year from UK.
All best
Jrnyman🥃
Thanks, you too.
Watching your video during my lunch break! Completely agree with you about ‘content’, ‘lack of depth’ etc. I read 16 books in 2024 (aside from reading for my course as I’m a trainee therapist so I read for that). I aim to read a lot more this year, but I also want to enjoy, understand, reflect and critically think about the books I’m reading. Hopefully I’ll start uploading videos this month and I’ll hold myself accountable 😊
Looking forward to seeing your videos.