TOP TEN TUESDAY | SOME BOOKTUBERS YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING

I’m planning to start a series on this very topic in the near future, because it’s just such a good one. There are some wonderful bookish online destinations – from BookTubers to Bloggers to bona fide books in the news – and I’m always looking to collect more. I don’t have as much time as I used to for reading about books (I barely have time to read the books themselves), so most of my bookish intake these days is BookTube. I’ve got a few great BookTubers here, along with some who can also be found on other outlets as well – not 10 because I don’t have time to write proper intros to that many tonight and I feel like it’s better to say more about a couple less. I’m going to save some of my all-time favourites for individual features, but a couple have squeaked in here (and will likely also get their own posts at some point). Get ready to disappear down a bookish YouTube rabbit hole. Enjoy!

*Note: If any of the info in this post is incorrect, please let me know!

BookTubers I’ve recently discovered or am watching a lot lately:

Ange (Beyond the Pages)

I really enjoy Ange’s videos. She reads a lot, uploads frequently, and generally has a lot to say about what she’s been engaging with. I have a lot of admiration for how much reading she manages to do with small children (I have one and barely manage to get in 50 pages on an average day). She’s Australian, so I like hearing about some of the books I otherwise wouldn’t come across.

Jennifer Helinek

Jen might just be the smartest person talking about books anywhere on the internet. I’m constantly amazed at how much she unpacks from any book she reads, the connections she makes and the concise critiques she provides. She’s not afraid to voice dissenting opinions – she sometimes seems to revel in doing so – and as such I find her to be a breath of fresh air. Today is a sad day because she just announced that she will be winding down her YouTube channel. So get her while you can. I will miss her very much.

Sophie (Portal In the Pages)

Sophie’s channel is possibly my favourite on BookTube. She is someone I feel like I could be friends with – and often wish I was. She talks about books with a sensitivity that is very rare, and any book she engages with she fully absorbs. She reads an incredible amount, and of all the readers I follow, I think she puts the most effort into tracking what she’s reading and paying attention to the diversity represented in her reading. When I think of a voracious reader, she’s the image that pops into my head, because I feel like she reads more widely and inclusively than anyone I’ve come across. She also shares a lot about herself and her experiences with mental health, and I want to give her so many props for doing so.

Alex (Big Al Books)

I adore Al’s channel, in no small part because she is a fellow Canadian. That in itself would make me interested, but on top of that she really does something about it. She reads more Canadian books, and books about First Nations issues in Canada in particular, than any other reviewer I’ve found. I can credit her for introducing me to a good dozen or so books I would not otherwise have discovered, and I have learned a lot from her. If you’re curious about Canadian authors and/or Canadian issues, she is a fantastic person to consult.

BookTubers who can also be found doing bookish stuff elsewhere on the internet (blog, Instagram, podcast etc.):

Simon Savidge

Simon’s BookTube channel, Savidge Reads, is a very popular one, so you’ve likely already binge-watched all of it. He started out as a blogger and though his posting has been a bit sporadic since he took to BookTube, the blog is still going on. He reads a vast amount, mostly literary fiction, and can be counted on to mention most of the big releases each month. He founded The Green Carnation Prize and was a judge for the debut category of the Costa Awards last year, as well as being one of the hosts of The Readers podcast. He’s highly entertaining and watching him feels like sitting down to have a good chat with an old friend. I, and I assume everyone else who watches him, feel like he’s someone I would love to be pals with, and he’s a great one to watch if I’m having a bad day. He always makes me feel better.

Eric Karl Anderson

Better known as The Lonesome Reader, Eric is an American bibliophile and writer living in London. Like Simon, he tends to read a lot of literary fiction and does great videos predicting which books will be up for awards (notably the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Man Booker). I love him because he is so enthusiastic about everything he reads – even the books he didn’t give high ratings – and that enthusiasm is so contagious and endearing. Blog found here.

Kayla/Lala

I have a real soft spot for Lala’s channel because she’s a fellow British Columbian, and I don’t feel like there are a huge amount of us in the online book world. She reads quite widely – everything from YA to literary fiction to thrillers. I believe she’s a graphic designer, and that aesthetic sense is clearly evident in everything she does. She comes up with some great video ideas (I particularly loved the series she did called Closet Unhauls – I’m too tired to go into explaining it here, but just go check it out) and you definitely want to check out her Instagram and Twitter, as well as her blog.

Adam Durand

Memento Mori (named after the Muriel Sparks book) is the channel run by Adam Durand. He’s a salty American who pulls no punches and is always up to poke any bear you put in his path, be it the Man Booker prize or books with flowers on the covers. He’s not picky, but he is hilarious. His channel is fantastic, but his Instagram might be even better. He also just got two kittens and keeps claiming not to be a hopeless cat person while sharing pictures of his cats. They’re very cute.

Okay, this post has taken me a very long time and I’m about ready to pass out now! I hope I’ve managed to introduce you to at least one BookTuber you haven’t yet encountered, and that you are now settling in for a bookish evening! Very much looking forward to seeing some of your faves this week! Feel free to enthuse in the comments if any I mentioned are also ones you love!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.