To BookTube, or Not to BookTube

I love books. 

I've certainly made no secret of my passion for reading AND, in certain cases, collecting books. When I was growing up, my parents had a decent library in our home and thanks to that, I was introduced to classic science fiction, contemporary horror, a smattering of fantasy, and some decent non-fiction from a very young age. I was maybe 11 when I first reached down and read my father’s Science Fiction Book Club edition of Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land.

In recent years, I have started watching various so-called “BookTubers” like Stephen Andrews (@outlawbookselleroriginal), Jules Burt (@JulesBurt), Jon Jones (@SciFiScavenger), and Gary Lovisi (@garylovisi357) among many others. These individuals all offer unique takes on publishing, extensive author biographies, relatable bookselling stories (something I have also done over the years), and book collecting with inciteful videos, book reviews, step-by-step instructions on how to care for (and repair) your collection, and so much more.

Alas, there are others out there who shall go unnamed that are also creating book-related content, and often quite a LOT of it, that is usually nothing more than showing off recent book hauls with little more than ill-informed, off-the-cuff commentary. I'm not entirely convinced these contributors are actually reading their books or even spending time off-camera researching the authors, the publishers, the cover artists, or the printing histories, all things we as viewers really wish to know.

So what exactly is the point of these types of channels other than to generate clicks and revenue?

When I sit down and watch a video by Stephen Andrews, I know I'm going to get 30+ minutes of insightful commentary about the promoted topic and I will walk away from my computer more educated and often inspired to invest in books he's discussed.

When I look at some of those other videos where the presenter is merely unbagging his latest estate sale haul and mugging for the camera as he cracks wise about some lurid piece of cover art, I often find myself clicking away from the video and moving on to other things. My time is valuable.

What are your feelings? Are you fine with creators just showing off book haul after book haul with nothing else of value or do you prefer to settle in for videos that enlighten as well as entertain?

That said, I've contemplated producing the occasional Booktube video myself. I would love to share with you my love for authors like John Wyndham, John Christopher, David Gerrold, Robert Silverberg, and others and tell you stories about how I first discovered certain authors alongside updates on some of my latest acquisitions including where I found them, their condition, and what inspired me to track them down in the first place.

If/when that happens, you all will be the first to know!