and engaging as indie channels if they hope to attract BookTube fans. Even South Africa is staking a claim in BookTube territory. Local literary diva, Monique Snyman is well known in the book reviewing and blogging arena and is now making her mark in the world of book vlogging too. Monique says, “I accidentally stumbled onto a bookshelf tour when I was searching for new book releases on YouTube. Intrigued, I watched the video, and I swear it was love at first sight. For months I scoured Youtube for more BookTube-related videos, until I realised: “Hey, I can do that too.” When asked why should we care about this thing called BookTube,
Monique Snyman responded with, “BookTube is a wonderful source for finding out about new, and older titles. It’s great to see folks talking about books, and book-related stuff. BookTube makes reading fun, especially when you connect with likeminded individuals. It’s a really great community.” I believe here we have the underlying reason as to why BookTube is increasingly popular amongst the young, passionate and bookish. Let’s face it, reading is a very introverted, lonesome pastime. As much as we love reading, as much as we love our books - we’re people who also really enjoy sharing our love and opinions and ideas with others. It gives
us a chance to bond over something we have a mutual affection for. ‘Sharing’, ‘bonding’, ‘mutual affection’ this is all starting to sound a little too much like a euphemism for something else (cough, cough) but you get the idea. The bottom line is, if you love books, this is something you should know about and potentially be a part of. So click away from that dumb cat video (you’ve watched it like a hundred times now, seriously, enough already) and go and discover something new and mindaltering. These are exciting times and I won’t have it said that you missed the train, er, I mean BookTube on my account.
Some notable BookTube channels include: Benajaminoftomes: A young, bright-eyed British lad whose enthusiasm is just adorable
Yeah, we love her. One of the better produced BookTube channels with some great content.
Booksandquills: Sanne Vliegenthart (yes, that is her actual name) is also a long-time BookTuber. She is well versed in her topic, with a university degree featuring subjects like, ‘Dystopian fiction’.
JenVCampbell: Jen Campbell is a British bookseller, author and poet who also happens to run her own BookTube Channel.
Elizziebooks: A founding member of the BookTube community, Liz Vallish and her channel are the hub for all things BookTube Little Book Owl: An Australian BookTuber with magical Tonks-like hair (you really don’t read enough Harry Potter).
Monique Snyman: The South African BookTuber Monique Snyman knows her stuff. It’s always great to get a local take on books and everything bookish. The Readables: Well produced, great graphic design and a nice variety of content make this channel a winner.
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