I’ve been jumping on a lot of bandwagons lately, most notably Bloglovin’ (which has been nothing short of a disaster) and Twitter, which is slowly but surely accepting me. And then a blogging bud of mine Laura Frey mentioned that all book bloggers are now booktubing (which I’ve gone ahead and just assumed means recording your book reviews and posting them on YouTube) so I figured I better get in on this lit-loving action ASAP. Plus, I have two cats, and people freaking love videos of cats, so how can this idea possibly not succeed? So, being the industrious little housewife that I’ve come to identify myself as, I have created my own YouTube Channel-check it out!
Below is my first video that I’ve uploaded, and it’s a sixty second book review of a hot new book for summer: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. You’ve probably seen a ton of reviews for this book by now, but I really enjoyed it, so I had to tell my loyal readers (and now viewers!) all about it.
Filming this video took a few tries, but Smokey was surprisingly fine with the whole thing. I also struggled to find a suitable location in my house, and alas, unlike many other book tubers, I couldn’t find anything in front of a bookcase to make me look more legit, so I’m just sitting in front of some paintings that a good friend made for me and my husband as a wedding gift. I’m quite proud of the fact that I designed the channel header myself on Canva, although it took me much longer than I’d care to admit. 
Being the tech newb that I am, I’m lucky that my husband pointed out the fact that the quality of this video was quite low, so I’ve since downloaded better software to record my next video (promise!). But I’m interested to know what y’all think of this new endeavor of mine; should I stick with written reviews, or do you see an interest for these 60 second vlogs? I also need advice, like, how do I make fun little screen shots or graphics appear in the shot while I’m talking? What else should I be doing differently? As always, thank you in advance for your comments and suggestions, they are extremely helpful!
I’m happy as long as you’re not driving and recording. I never watch booktubers. I tried one recently, and she was driving almost the whole time.
what?????? That’s insane. I get pissed when I see people texting and driving!
Congrats on taking the YouTube plunge! I can only speak for myself, but I quite like to watch longer ‘booktube’ videos (10 mins or so) with multiple reviews in them (for instance, monthly wrap-ups). I can make myself a cup of tea and listen to the reviewer compare what they liked and disliked about them all. That being said, the 60-second format makes a refreshing change, especially for showcasing books you particularly enjoyed. If you prefer shorter videos, stick with that format 🙂
Looking forward to seeing your other reviews!
Thanks so much for your interest! And good point re: the longer reviews, never thought about it like that!
Love it! Maybe record a video on your fancy new phone? You’re a total pro and my hero. XO
oh my gosh you are too good to me
Just been over to your channel and subscribed. I think short videos are great to start, as it’s easier to post regularly and gives newcomers a quick taste of your channel. I like longer videos too, like hauls, tags, and vlogs. As long as you’re posting regularly then your channel should grow in no time. Just start with what you’re comfortable with and expand from there. Good luck with your channel. 😊
Thanks for the advice! And you’re actually not the first person to say that longer videos are good too, which is a valid point that I need to keep in mind 🙂 Time to experiment!
I’ve actually never watched a BookTuber!” (Gasp!) It’s cool that you’re trying something new. I’ll definitely watch you later when I’m not on the desk at work – but I hope you’re going to stick around in written blog form as well!
Oh I definitely will be doing written as well as video, so don’t you worry about that! Thanks for your support 😉
Congrats on getting a channel! I’m so bad and awkward with cameras I’d just never feel good doing anything like that 😀 you’re brave!
haha well the most nerve-wracking part was posting it on you tube, the recording is the easy part 🙂
A you-tube channel! Great video! I’m pretty sure I would suck at talking about books. I’m not so good on the spot. You’re a natural!
ha you’re too kind 🙂 Although I doubt you would have any troubles with this, you’ve got lots of interesting things to say
My thoughts don’t come out of my mouth as well as they come out of my fingers. 🙂
Good luck with your YouTube channel. Wish I was brave enough to talk online about my book reviews.
It’s not as much a sense of bravery as it is “whatever let’s just do this” haha
I thought this was pretty good (very relaxed); in fact, as someone who’s experimented (less successfully with the video book review, I wanted to ask about sound (this was my major hurdle). What kind of mic are you using?
Thank you! I’m not using a mic, just my laptop which is a big problem, the sound is really inconsistent in my videos. I’m thinking of getting a whole new camera just for these videos, but we will see!
Hi Anne, Thanks for responding. The sound was really low when I tried. Did you use a particular setting?
Ummmm no, I don’t think so, but I did download a new piece of software which helped a bit. It’s called Debut Video Capture Software, it was like 20 bucks
Okay. Cool. Thanks.