I feel like i don't read enough (read 28 books in 2022). This year i challenged myself to finish all the books in my tbr (44). I've already read 20 so far.
This is such a good question! I feel the pressure to read all the new hyped books so I don't miss out, and like you pointed out, having a huge reading goal only makes you feel worse if you can't complete it. Thank you for sharing your experience and motivating me to read books I want to read vs. books people read to stay relevant. Keep creating good content and good conversation starters, and I am also excited to add you to my Booktuber list. ❤ Not sure if you will read this, but what are some of the Booktubers you recommended for people who want to see a variety of books that the creator genuinely liked and are not focused on the newly hyped books??
I stopped using goodreads a year ago because I disliked this effect that you describe in this video. I write my own “Reading diary” that is just for me, I reflect shortly on each book I read after reading it. I also take notes. I might publish a little excerpt of that on my blog at the end of the year, but who knows 🤷♀️
Positive: they encourage me to share about what I read, which encourages me to think critically about what I read so that I can articulate what I did or didn't like. Negative: book hauls and Kindle unboxings that make me want to get out my credit card instead of my library card
Absolutely fucking ruined it, you have voiced my opinions perfectly. I can barely remember these cookie cutter YA novels. When i was in high school and before i read way faster (im a college graduate, for reference) and i mostly stuck to reading whatever i got interested, no specific genres, just reading whatever, classics, sci fi, history, etc. Ive noticed exactly this, i cant remember much about the YA novels because THEY ALL feel the same and have no flavor or taste, it wasnt fun
Slow reading is not celebrated enough. I'm a slow reader too. I take my time and don't rush. Reading (especially of fiction books) should be a leisurely activity, not a challenge or competition.
Agreed! I would not say that I'm a slow reader but I do START slow and the first 100pgs are a total bloodbath, so it takes me much longer to get into a book than to finish it. It doesn't mean that I won't enjoy the book, contrary to popular opinion. My brain has a certain pace that it likes
I agree - It took me almost a year to finish Bleak House by Dickens, but I savored every sentence. To be fair, I was also reading 5 or 6 other various types of books at the same time, a little each day, but that’s how I roll and it’s fine - I admire those who can read and enjoy a mind-boggling amount of books each month, but speeding through a book isn’t my thing
When I read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, I think I spent three months on it. The more I got into it, the more I slowed down, because I just didn't want it to end. I still think about that read. Slow reading definitely is worthwhile.
@@BillCoffin I have made two attempts to read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - and I’m afraid it may just never happen. The prose is so…dense. Well written, but DENSE.
Not only slow reading, but also rereading books. I can only truly feel the story and message of a game, book, movie, series, after a few retakes. The first contact to me feels like I am fast going through the content cause i want to discorver what is going on, i want answers and i want to know, but after the first time, the following contacts are about scrutinizing, paying very close attention to details, meaning and making connections, specially if something on the beginning of a story corelates with something ahead.
I'm in so much agreement here on this one! Donna Tart said in an interview, "its better to reread a book you love than constantly read new books you feel nothing for." Books are meant to be savored, thought about, and lived in. I think consuming them as products of commercialization makes the whole act of reading something akin to a hotdog eating contest. I hope more readers get out of that cycle.
Finally someone who puts it into words!! I hate watching the same books being recommended over and over in every single booktube video. I was even forcing myself to like some of the books that were realy hyped. When I discovered Dakota Warren's channel I felt like an oasis, finally someone who didn't care about the trends with such a genuine love for literature and a taste similar to mine!
well now I need to check Dakota's channel! thanks for recommending her. For me, it will be allisonpaiges who felt like an oasis on booktube. She rarely talks about the hyped books and I always discover new books I never heard of on her channel.
Yasss!!! I was just thinking today how much of a silly thing it is to follow the popular book tubers when they’re all just sharing the same crap. I like emmiereads though and Carolyn reads because those two read various genres and lesser known literature
I am beyond flabbergasted how social media affects almost every corner of hobbies in the way you described it. I'm myself from the artist community, drawing as a hobby and semi-professionally, and Social Media made me produce, produce, produce work to the point you don't enjoy doing it anymore but try to appease to the algorithms. That it also applies to reading in a way never even popped into my imagination, but here is another category of hobby that suffers from the endless curse of "content". Thanks for sharing that! I am happy you found a better way of reading for yourself again.
This is how im feeling too! The popular books are starting to feel like “fast fashion” and I’ve been losing brain cells. Now, my 2024 goal is to read all the classics and its been going so well so far! It’s been challenging but worth it. i’ve been getting so much out of it! I heard recently that “difficulty generates meaning” and its so true
I wanna read more classics but everyone I talk to on goodreads or in any reading community reads romance-which is fine but I feel out of place, like I can’t love the two
This video is wonderful. Tbh, I'm a slow reader. I like to underline things. I like to look up vocabulary I don't understand. I'm also a writer, so I like to sit there and ponder on how an author wrote their prose. I like to analyze subjects and themes. In a good month, I could probably read like 3 books. And then you have people reading seven books in a WEEK. Good on them for being able to read so fast, but I cannot enjoy books that quickly as an adult, I was able to do that when I was younger, however. I think books are magical. Stories are meant to be digested, NOT inhaled. I'm glad you made this discovery for yourself and that you are re-examing your tastes. We all started reading because we love stories. Let us never lose that love. And if we do lose that love momentarily, it is always okay to take a break. C:
i know this is old but wow i relate heavily with you. i have a notebook of words i've looked up from books and i also highlight a lot of prose i find beautiful so i can learn from them. i don't know how people are hitting 200 books a year, do they not reflect on what they're reading?
@@maneskinnedin slight defense of these BookTubers, a lot of them read series, so it’s essentially them continuing the same story. Even the popular stand alone books are very trope-dependent and overdone, so they’re not actually consuming a new story when you boil it down.
I love your hot take on “popular books”. I hated every popular book I read this year and ended up enjoying all of the “old books” I selected for myself way more!
I am not a slow reader by any means, BUT I have a family. I have little kids. I have a husband. A home. People whose wellbeing depends on my attention. I could read 10 books in 2 months easily in college and after, even with a full time job, but thats out of the question now. Thank you for addressing this. There are so many facets to why someone may take longer to finish a book we may absolutely love. I have friends in similar situations to me that read 50+ books in half a year and when I asked HOW (our kids are all similar ages) she told me “we talk for 30 minutes at dinner time”. It broke my heart. I know that it works for some kids and families but mine would be broken hearted if I ignored them all day and had a “set” time to talk with them. I will read more when they are older. I will enjoy what I can read now. The comparison game is not fun. Much love to you ❤
I couldn't agree with you more. I love reading but I love spending time with my partner and kids more. And of course there are plenty of chores that need to be done as well. But yeah I can't imagine just ignoring my kid al day just because I want to read.
Reading even one book a month is insane for most people. I've read 23 this year and when I tell my irl friends that number they loose their minds because they can't fathom reading that much, booktube etc really does skew ones view of how much reading is normal or a lot for that matter. So glad you made this video for some perspective!
This is why i only have 5 books in my goodreads goals. Last year i only read one, this year I've read almost 20! I personally like to be given a guide of what i could read thanks to booktube, but i noticed most people read fantasy, and I'm more into contemporary😅 I used to feel shame for not having popular books in my shelves, but now I'm really trying to find my personal taste.
That's great! Never force yourself to read the popular books if not your taste. Im the opposite, I feel the same guilt not reading the popular contemporary books 😅
100% agree with you. It's not about how much you read. It's about what you get out of it. We are all different people, with different life situations and preferences. So tired of cookie cutter lemming social media.
I love this video! And I love you pointing out the job factor. Some of these booktubers do this for a full or part time job so we can’t even compare our reading! Great video and good dialogue
Yes! So many booktubers are reading the same things over and over- books to me that look like garbage. There are so many good books out there that will never make it to booktube and people forget that. First time I have found your channel. And I love seeing you voicing this!
“And I used to read 10 books a year and I used to be SO proud of myself”. Girl, I read 1 book in 10 years and I’m still proud of myself😂🤣. Sometimes I’ll read more: up to 2 (not too heavy) books a day, but sometimes I don’t read for months/years on end. And that’s just fine, reading should be enjoyable and not feel like a chore. I usually go to the thrift store for my books, because it’s cheap (0,50 cents to about 3 dollars), or use the library app or borrow them from the internet. That way it doesn’t get too expensive, and if a book really tickles my fancy I’ll buy it and it won’t be a disappointment/waste if I don’t like the book. It also ensures that I’ll read books that are not entirely in my comfort zone. I’m a new subscriber, this is the first video I’m watching and I love it. Hello from The Netherlands ❤
This video just showed up on my recommended, and I'm so glad I decided to watch it. I'm someone who reads a ton of books, 200-250+ a year. I hate the way people talk about wanting to read "as much as me," when it's clearly not something they truly want to do. I hate being praised just for the act of reading, rather than for all of the meaningful conversations I get to have about the books I love. I hope that more people leave behind this gamified idea of reading and realise that we're all different, read at different speeds, and have different goals. The point is to learn and have fun!
This year, I set my Goodreads challenge to 1 book as well. I don't care anymore about how many books I read, because, like you said: it's not a competition. The worst part was that it had become a competition with myself: I read X books last year, let's try X+5 books the next, and so on... I have also learned to DNF a book...it doesn't happen often, but now and then, if you're not having fun reading it, I simply stop reading the book. It has all contributed to rekindling that original love for reading I initially had.
I totally agree- you should read what you want at your own pace. I’m a new booktuber, but I won’t be falling into these competitive traps. It’s not authentic and not healthy. I can’t imagine reading 100 books in one year and actually getting the full pleasure from them. Thanks for making this video- it’s a very important point and well said.
I agree and relate to this video so much - I always feel that I'm missing out if I'm not reading what is popular instead of actually considering if I will actually like it !
I try to stop caring about missing out 😅 it's hard but I started by reading popular books that sounds appealing to me instead of reading everything popular.
I'm actually feeling better about my reading since I stopped being so vigilant about my Goodreads. It's like I forgot at some point I wa supposed to enjoy this thing, but then I remembered.
I felt the same way... but now I try to be more intentional about everything in my life. Reading is just a hobby. I'm a musician before a reader, and I'm human before a musician. Sometimes, spending time with my family, drinking a cup of tea with my mother or my sister, are the best things I can do for myself, instead of reading 8 hours a day just to reach a NUMBER of books per year, books that I obviously won't remember. Thanks for the video. Sorry for bad English...
Completely agree! I hit my goodreads challenge goal for this year, but I ended up reading a lot of lackluster books and avoided a lot of the lengthier books I own. I'm setting a much lower goal for myself next year and focusing on quality over quantity too!
I just found your channel, and I completely agree. I hope no one compares themselves to my personal goal of 200 books. I listen to audiobooks when I'm doing boring tasks, so I get through a lot of books pretty easily. I like to occasionally push myself out of my comfort zone in reading to potentially find different and interesting reads, and sometimes, that really pays off, while other times, it doesn't. I don't chase after the most popular reads, but I do look at the ones that might interest me and seek out award winners for their potential to be a great read. Read as much as you want of the books you enjoy, but don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone occasionally.
Thank you for this video discussion. I absolutely agree with you. Book clubs have never appealed to me, whether meeting together at a place (though I enjoy meeting other people), or virtual/online. Because I don’t keep up the reading pace with everyone else in the club and like you, I don’t have any interest reading and discussing the type of books that everyone else is currently reading. So I don’t bother joining book clubs at all. Plus, I don’t read as much as I used to. When I was in school I was reading books a lot and I enjoyed hanging out at my local library. I borrowed one to two books every few weeks and finished reading them by the time I had to return them. Now between my job and spending time on social media, my reading time has dropped considerably. I’ve become aware of it and I’m trying to cut down on the time I spend on the internet and picking up a book or my Kindle. And I only read what interests me which usually isn’t the popular books that others are reading.
Sometimes I read very fast because the book is exciting and I want to see what happens, but when I do that I find that I don't remember it as well. So I prefer to reread things, and take my time. This is not conducive to reading as a community event tbh. If I try to keep up with what everyone else is talking about, I just won't enjoy it as much. So I am with you. I will take my time and head my own direction.
Such good points. Its not fun when its stressful so I stopped watching booktubers who read so many books. I only kept subcriptions to two channels, who review genres I enjoy and one of which that does a load of video essays too. This years, I want to read more of what i enjoy and not be bothered so much about my storygraph stats. I like reading challenges, but ive learnt to make them manageable to my circumstances, so they encourage me to read but dont stress me out! I also want to purge my TBR so I start reading books I actually like or want to read!
YES, I love your point! I still have to learn reading for quality over quantity, and reading english books as a non-native speaker takes so much longer!
I've noticed so much how booktubers seem to forget the characters names etc because they've rushed through so many books to stay ahead. It makes me sad for them because I love to savor every moment of good books and I dnf what isnt good because I have one life and i refuse to waste my time.
I agree! I'm completly baffled by people who are like "I read a 100 book this year", but if they do a yearly wrap up they often don't remember to book or say only what's in the blurb (so do they remember anything? idk) Also a big thing on booktube are hauls, with like 20 books every month. Only later to make an unhaul video. I think this just normalizes an unhealthy "buying for sake of buying" behaviour
I read whenever I'm in the mood and if a book bores me I drop it without hesitation. I do get a little kick when I can tick off a book but it doesn't control my reading habits. So far this year I've read 14 books. It's not a whole lot but for me in the last 5 or so years it is. Realistically I've picked up more than 14 books but only a few grabbed my attention. 2023 has been a fantastic year for reading and I can't wait to see what other treasures I find.
I'm new to booktube, but I've definitely noticed that new releases and classics get most of the shine. I've started digging throughout my 5 star reads from the past and doing some re-reads or finding things similar. I also left goodreads behind. I started using storygraph last year and I really enjoy the analytics. It gives me a clearer picture of what I actually enjoy. I try to watch people who enjoy different types of books so I can get a bit of diversity in the types of books I read. I'm a big fan of romance, but I don't want to burn myself out binging it constantly. Mixing in some non-fiction, literary fiction, and a bit of magic gives me much needed variety.
THANK YOU. It is such a breath of fresh air to have someone say this. I'm also a slow reader, so this is very validating. Also, as much as i enjoy content from the BookTube comminity, i have never once picked up a trending book because they are never within my preferred genre. I find more satisfaction in reading what i find for myself, like you said so perfectly.
Yes!! I totally relate to this, it's why I changed my Goodreads goals to 2 books a month (24/year) and never change it despite always surpassing it! I want to read for pleasure and I have a book club so if I read 1 book for pleasure and 1 for my book club a month I consider my goal met :)
So much this. I've stopped tracking my reading and setting an annual book reading goal. Another thing I'm doing is using the public library more vs buying books. Sometimes I have to request a book from another library and it can take me a week or more to get it. Something about that added time gives me the space to live, think about what I read, and anticipate the new book coming to me. It makes it that much sweeter and my wallet thanks me. I'm here for slow reading and time in-between books.
im so grateful i found this and ive been down the rabbit hole of trying to speed up my reading process,, when i was younger,, i used to be able to read so much but now i can barely read over ten books a year as i like to take my time to read,, to really comprehend the text,, underline it,, take notes on each chapter,, it makes me happy and it helps me analyse the book more!! booktube and goodreads puts such pressure on my reading so im not on goodreads as much as i used to be! like many, i picked up popular books and they've either stayed on my shelf or ive simply not enjoyed them and thats okay!! i think this past year ive been picking up books i ACTUALLY want to read!! i appreciate this video a lot and it really made me reflect!! new subcriber here :)
Quite agree with you, I don’t count how many books I am reading, I read when I am in the mood and I choose whatever book I feel like reading at the time. It is much more enjoyable like this, come across unexpected gems and sometimes not, but I like it like this. I never know what I am in for and that makes it exciting
I've done the 100 books challenge once and never again will I try this ever again, it really sucks the joy out of reading. I realized I love to take my time with the books I read, and it's the best way for me to remember the story, each year after that crazy goal I've been reading less but I've been enjoying every single one of the books even the shitty ones lol
I’ve done the 50 book challenge for 18 years. I don’t pressure myself with a time line if I get behind schedule. Because I know it just encourages me to read more, and that’s it’s true purpose. I just start a new 50 book list in my notepad when I hit 50 books. The list has been pretty handy over the years too. Figuring out how much I read nonfiction versus fiction for example. Or if I read that book already or not.
@@americanbookdragon good for you, I'm glad that system works for you. Personaly for me the 50 books per year doesn't work either, granted I don't read alot nor every day and I usually tend to get obsessed over one book/series before moving on to the next read.
👏🏼 Yess I totally agree! Every popular booktuber only recommends/reads the same books which other popular booktubers recommended or read too (ahem, like the notorious colleen hoover books 💀) It’s gotten to the point where it doesn’t matter which video you click on cuz it’s the same stuff over and over again😅 Like you, at some point I also started reading hyped books only to feel disappointed by them later since they weren’t what I liked… I would like to add another thing that mainly booktubers ruined for me. I used to watch spoiler-free book reviews before buying a book to see whether it would be worth it for me to read or not. Little did I know that by doing this I not only put my freedom to choose books in someone else’s hand, it also completely ruined my reading experience. I would subconsciously read and judge those books through the lens of reviews instead of my own true opinions. It was as if those books already got “labelled” in my mind without ever giving them a chance to be read without any external prejudices. I have now stopped watching and reading ANY reviews before I finish a book and that resulted in me being able to think and form opinions based on my OWN norms. I’ve been enjoying reading much more now!
I mainly listen to audiobooks bc disability but even then I treat it like I’m sitting down to read. I can’t do other activities. I want to follow along intently. I love to just lay in bed and listen. I’ve finished several 8 hour audiobooks in one day on a weekend if I’m so engrossed. Sometimes it takes days or weeks if the story is too heavy. I DNF a lot of audiobooks or the ones I feel meh I’ll use to listen to while working. I’ve read 20 books this year that way!! When I use to read physical books, I was a faster reader. Could finish a book in a sitting but if I loved a book I would try to slow down or I would read like 3 books a year and ruminate over it all year even if I read it quickly. Booktube doesn’t treat books that way! It’s just a race to show who can read the most books. I bet they forget details of 75% of the books they’ve read. I’ve totally forgotten I read a book because it was whatever. And I hate that ppl read to find a 5 star book. Just let the book take you on a journey and decide! There isn’t a science to it. I use reviews with a grain of salt. You can glen some clues if you might like it but shouldn’t deter you
I'm so glad you found a way to keep reading despite your disability making it harder to read physically. Some people just abandon reading all together. What is your favourite book you read last year and this year?
I've been away from the trends for a while now and I can say that made my reading experience so much better, because I don't feel like competing and I don't feel like I'm obligated to like some book just because is the hit of the moment. I loved your video!
I just got back into reading after years of reading no books at all. I will say that using Goodreads and booktube is making me obsessed with reading more and more as I am always researching books to add to my “list”. It’s really fun for me though. I feel like I’ve rediscovered a long lost passion. I notice that I don’t like reading hyped books, rather I like finding hidden gems that nobody is talking about (The Ember Blade, for example) 😅
Respect to you for your honesty. I have watched other booktubers who stopped filming because they said they lost their love of reading. That is sad. I have read quite a few great books that I saw on booktube but I would like to read them with my old state of mind which is to enjoy the one book I am reading without feeling like I need to hurry to get to the next one. Sometimes I give booktube a break so that my brain can feel less/get a break from FOMO. Otherwise, I really want to continue reading The Count of Monte Cristo (which I see is quite beloved on booktube and so I got a copy) without feeling the pressure to finish it fast so that I can move on to the next book. Thanks for the ideas. Subbed.
I’m new to booktube (honesty I don’t even want to dive into booktok because it seems like a hot mess over there), and I’ve been astounded by the amount of books people are reading. I’m currently trying to get out of a reading slump but I used to be an avid reader, I even started and hosted a book club for seven years and loved it and felt so accomplished to be able to say I read 12+ books a year! I think there needs to be more representation in the booktube/goodreads world of people who are more selective and slower with their reading lists and I really appreciate this perspective. It shouldn’t be a competition. I understand for those UA-camrs whose literal job it is to read that many books so they can review them and create content, but for the rest of us who have full time jobs or work from home or have children (that takes up a lot of free time) and/or other hobbies, I think having a shorter list is a realistic and reasonable goal. Besides, I’m not going to watch a channel that only reads what’s popular on goodreads because that’s just not for me. I would rather watch UA-camrs who read more diverse work and would love to see more of that.
Yes to everything here! I luckily quickly noticed that the popular books often do not appeal to me. After reading a few tiktok romance and haating them, I left those recommendations behind haha. I have always read a lot of books, even pre-booktube, but I set my yearly goal low (for me) so that I don't feel pressure to read more than I would normally. There are always phases of our lives where we read more or less and that is ok. However, I'm trying to be more intentional this year with focusing on reading longer books. I think that pressure of having a high number of monthly read books creeped up to me last year and I was reluctant to read longer books as the 'books I read this month' number would be lower. But I often adore long books, and I am so glad that this year I am working to prioritize them and work through my long books TBR. Great video!
oh how much I love big books! they hit different honestly when you spend more time with the characters and the plot you start to feel like you're one of them. truly the best thing about booktube is the friendships we make ♥
This is such an important topic to be talked about ... and hopefully, more booktubers would do that, especially for younger readers . That way, we all would have more diverse books to choose from and discover beautiful hidden gems . Thank you, Rana
Thank you so much for this video! As a kid, I used to read quite a lot, but going onto the end of middle school, I started to read less and less books. A few years later, seeing my best friend read quite a lot motivated me to read again, or rather not just pick a book, read 50 pages just to give up on it and actually finishing it. Then, fairly recently, I discovered BookTube, but more so the side of it which critizes less than stellar books. But even then, I was still watching videos of people who read A LOT. And I started feeling guilty about reading barely 10 books a year. And yet, I know most of BookTube mainly reads YA, easily digestible stories... while I prefer to read books with a quite wordy writing style (if not apompous one). I like learning about new things, new words, etc... On top of that, I got into college just after starting to read again, and now I work. Granted, not a nine-to-five, but I'm still working. And I have a lot of others hobby, including art, which I spend at least one hour a day on everyday. And yet, I still felt like the amount I read was not enough. Same with art, I'm not making enough of it. Same with exercice, I'm not doing enough of it. But reading shouldn't be about quantity, but about quality, what we can take away from it. Books, in the end, are a piece of art capitalism has now made to be yet another commodity.
Yes! I made a hard rule for myself that my reading goal will only ever be 52. One book a week is comfortable for my reading pace. I usually wind up with more, but I never wanted to lament over not reading 100 books a year.
Thank you for this video. I've always been a fast and voracious reader. I stopped in my teens or so and got back into reading regularly in Jan. 2020. From the latter through this year, I put pressure on myself to finish a certain amount of books per year. It was so stressful and completely self inflicted. It was only by watchng another UA-camr's video that said to not make a goal for yourself, that I gave myself permission to not pressure myself. It's sad that's what it took. Sometimes you don't see it for yourself. I would usually finish books I didn't like, so I wouldn't lose the time spent on them by starting another book instead. It was rare I'd stop a book I didn't like. I didn't like about a third of what I was reading. I would also wait to read thicker books at the end of the year, after I'd already reached my goal. Doing that didn’t make me happy. There were plenty of times I wanted to start off with a 500+ page book and didn’t. I didn't want to risk running behind and not reaching my goal. Thankfully I wasn't into following what was "trending." I'm sure that saved me extra heartache. For the rest of this year and going forward, my annual goal will be zero. I've already put down books I was a decent amount through, and then they took a turn or repeated turns to where they became intolerable. Your video is a bright spot in my reading journey. Thank you.
Really well said! I've been thinking a lot about this lately. I was asked to write a piece about reading poetry, and one of my main points became how "completion reading" is especially bad for poetry. It's so easy to lose track of the treasure in words when distracted by the temporary bliss of checklist completion.
I remember having a bookstagram and always feeling like I wasn't reading enough. Especially when everyone was posting their monthly wrap ups and mine was 4 on a good month and others were 7+. I also found any posts I made that weren't popular books were barely interacted with. So eventually I started picking up those books less, avoiding long books, constantly checking how much I had left in a book whilst reading and calculating how long I'd read it all. It was so ridiculous! And yeah a lot of it is on my FOMO and slightly competitive nature, but I soon realized this thing that was supposed to be fun, was making me enjoy reading less. My Goodreads goal this year is 20 books and I might not even reach that, but I've read a lot of really good stuff. Some of it being fanfic or fancomics that don't could towards my goal and I've have probably not 'wasted' my time on before due to that. Which is ridiculously because it's still reading and they've been one of my favourites of the year. Anyway all that to say I totally get where you are coming from in this video and I'm glad others have similar feelings.
I randomly got a couple of your videos on my home page this week. I think that even though there are so many booktubers reading a huge variety of books, we are more likely to see the larger creators, and or books that have trickled down from the larger creators predominantly in Booktube content. You have to work harder to find the people who are reading other things.
Well said. I just joined Goodreads but have been a self-motivated avid reader my whole life. I don't read much fiction at all. Sounds like you have reached a new level of maturity where what other people think matters so much less. Congratulations!
I enjoy Goodreads and it’s fun to catalog things you read, the problem for me is that I get too deep into it that I burn myself out. Now I have a hard time finishing the books that are on my TBR. Hopefully I can get back on the grind soon but I really enjoyed your video!
I feel like I read a lot this year, but, actually, when I look it up Ive read like five books. Thing is now at the end of the year I’m actually reading because I found a couple of books I was interested in and I’ve finally admitted to myself that I only read when I read the books that I WANT to read. If I don’t do that, it’s not happening. I’ve read five books (I think?) in 2023 and except one, the rest I’ve read at the end of the year. The thing is that I have the feeling that I have read soooo much this year because I remember vividly every single one of them, because I was invested in them because I (again) WANTED to read them. I am very happy with my reading this year, not because I’ve actually read a lot or not, and not even because of the quality, but because I actually feel this beautiful tingly feeling of having the urge to read. And that for me is success in reading: that the books that you are reading make you want to keep reading more :)
I think booktube is a good for inspiring to start reading - for those who lost this desire for any reason, as well as for those who have never been into reading before at all, but at the same time I so strongly agree that it can be exhausting if you try to turn everything into competitions. So, yeah, balance and all that. Talking about apps and rereadings: I like storygraph app as it counts rereadings too Thank you for the video!🌷
This video put into words EXACTLY everything I was feeling. I was never quite able to put together the words to describe what I was feeling, but THIS. YES. There was one year where I had read 100+ books and felt exactly what you described. I barely remembered a single thing I’ve read or enjoyed. I remember being so worn out by the guilt and pressure of a hobby I originally enjoyed so much. I used to be such an avid re-reader of books I loved but then I came to feel guilty on rereading those instead of making progress on my TBR list. Eventually I was so burnt out I’ve stopped reading books altogether and deleted GoodReads. But I think I’m going to start reading again! This time, without the pressure of Booktube, Booktok (their tastes also does not align with mine). Goodreads still isn’t going back on my phone as I’ve discovered I enjoy reading SO much without it. And thank you so so much for this video! It really has given me new motivation and helped a lot!
You are so right! What a great introduction to your channel. The reason deltora quest influenced the series I wrote was because they got read over and over and loved dearlh. There was no speeding dating my reads as a child and teen.
booktubers are so worried about reading what everyone is reading but I'll tell you my case as a viewer: after one year watching the same thing over 10 channels or more, I dropped most of them. I only follow 2 now, and it is not because I read what they read. One of them I follow because he is super creative and a sweetheart, the kind of person I'd like to have as a friend. The other, because she is a very critical reader and brings good insights, what is lacking in most creators. You'd think that by now people would have learned that doing what everybody else is doing just to fit doesn't mean success in the long go...
One thing I noticed that I started doing after watching booktube is that I get a strange feeling of dread at the end of each month, if I'm still in the middle of a book. It feels like a crime not to finish books at the end of the month, so I would stay late to finish a book, or worse delay reading a book on the last day of the month even if I'm in a mood to read because I wouldn't be able to finish it at the end of the month. Am I the only one who does that 😢?
Sounds like a mild form of OCD honestly. I used to be like this until I realised it literally doesn't matter. It's like this weird compulsion that stresses out our mind for no reason at all.
I follow few booktubers because of that. And I rarely watch videos of people talking about their recent readings also because of that. The numbers are always so high, so unbelievable for us, simple mortals, it makes me incredibly anxious. I struggled a little, sometime years ago, for feeling pressured by the booktwt and booktube comms, and have since strayed away from it so I could manage my experience better. I feel much better, nowadays, reading slowly, ending the year with 15-25 books read, most of them unpopular or even unheard of; my reading quality is getting higher by the year, and I'm happy with my pacing 🤗
💯% agree with you. Also, I, too, found it difficult to read English books fast, even though I have a masters degree in English literature, especially that booktubers read 300+ pages in 5 hours or less 😮. I've always thought I was just a slow reader until this year I started reading Arabic books, and yes, I read Arabic books much faster since it's my native language 😅. So, that too affects how many books people can read in a month, most booktubers are native English speakers, so it makes sense that they are be able to read faster than unnative speakers of English. As you also said, it's their job too, so they are stressing every day to read as much as possible to make content. Thank you for the video. It always feels good when someone says what we think out loud.
I also noticed that I fly through Arabic books but English books take ×2 more time to finish. But I always prefer reading English books over Arabic ones because I enjoy the style more than Arabic novels.
It also depends on your reading technique. To read faster you don't say the words in your head, but simply let your eyes register their meaning. This way you fly over the content, but don't remember as much. I need the "talking" in my head. Otherwise reading doesn't feel as enjoyable. I hope the people reading fast and constantly still enjoy it.
i was on bookstagram for a long time, like 2013, and in 2020 i had to stop. i was just trying to keep up with new releases, i was trying to read short books so i could have a higher book count for the year, stressing when my monthly wrap ups weren't "enough" etc. i left so i could learn how to read for fun again and not for content creating, which feels crazy, but this competitive vibe in online book communities, like turning reading into a sport, is so weird and not normal. i'm so glad i stepped away, now i read longer books and take my time and don't care if i read just one book in a month. it's too bad these online book communities always turn into capitalistic hustle culture. it's so refreshing to hear criticism like this, and i'm so glad your video was recommended to me!!
the year i read the most books was 2018, and that's when i got through 50 books i think? i was in 8th and 9th grade, no job, barely did school work and it still took me on average a week to read one book, and that's just because im very slow (i think max 40 pages/hour in my native language). now in the past few years i've read maybe one book a year because i just cant bring myself to even start one because i feel like it's not going anywhere and maybe it's because i've watched so many people read like 3 full length novels a day on youtube that my brain just automatically is like nahh you're so bad dont even bother. which is a shame because i used to love reading, it was my one escapism method. seeing this video gave me the slight motivation that maybe it'll be okay and i can convince my brain that even getting 2 books read next year will be enough. thank you for this, you are amazing
Your message of reading whatever you want, whenever you want is so important. I've definitely raced through books to finish more of them. I watch a booktuber who calls short books, "A book that respects your time" and I feel like laid in that is a value that shorter books are better because they increase your number count for the end of the year. Reading a greater number of books with your time is valued. I've stopped rating books on Story Graph (a Goodreads alternative) after reading them because it was stressing me out. Booktube got me thinking anything less than a 5 star read was a waste of my time with video titles like, "Three 5 Star reads in a row!" To me the point of reading is enjoy the book or just experience reading it, rather than to evaluate how much I liked it on a numerical scale. Mia's Virtual Vanity did an amazing video called The Gamification of Makeup, where she talks about how project panning youtube (a niche I was in and made videos in for a while) values using up makeup in a way that can divorce you from the reason you bought the makeup in the first place: to enjoy wearing it. Capitalism has really got us thinking about our hobbies like they're transactions!!
You put this across in such a respectful way without shaming anyone, thank you for that! I agree with this, I read 100 books in 2021 because I wanted to fit in,, but I didn’t feel any differently/Better about myself when I reached the goal 🎉
I got VERY into readathons from about 2018-2020, and I burned out so hard. I sacrificed reading for pleasure because I was more afraid of missing out on the fun. Now, I still host my own Disability Readathon, but if I want to read books on a particular theme or topic, I do it on my own time rather than trying to cram as many as I can into a week or a month.
I also loved that you mentioned different reading speeds in different languages. I read maybe one book in Latin per year and occasionally a book in Spanish, and it takes me so much longer (English is my mother language) but is nonetheless rewarding.
I found out that readathons are not for me. The only ones I participate in every year are the Asianreadathon and Nonfiction November and I read on my own pace during them and be so chill and happy doing them.
You made great points! This year I finally got my tbr down to 0 and am starting fresh in 2024. I am now very picky in what I choose to read because I don’t want to waste time reading something just because it’s popular-just because it’s popular doesn’t mean every individual will find it to be good!
When I started making videos about books I promised myself that my hobby of reading would always come before my hobby of video making. Meaning... I wouldn't let myself get stressed by the content about books. If I read less than most youtubers, fine. If I read slower.... fine. If I need a break (slower reading month)....fine. I didnt want to fall into this trap that makes me hate reading simply to keep up with video making. I see people reading 100, even 200 books a year, and im like, wow amazing... but I know with certainty I would get so burnt out if I tried to do that. And personally, I like reading slower. I like taking my time with books and really immersing myself in the world for a longer period of time. I find I get more connected to the characters and I just care more about the story. But I know not everyone feels that way.
I really needed this video today. I am not big into booktube, but I set myself a goal of reading 50 books this year just for fun. While I had a great time with it the first two months because I was motivated to read a lot of books I really liked, as the months dragged on I had less and less fun. I preserved with a lot of books I would normally have abandoned just to add another book to my Read list, and there were no cases of "wow I'm so glad I kept reading, that was so worth it in the end!" instead I just felt like I'd forced myself to finish a meal of junk food I wasn't even enjoying. I felt increasingly pressured and miserable as the end of the year approached and I was not on track to complete my goal, and I found myself picking up short books to read just to get the numbers rather than because I was interested, and avoiding longer books I was more drawn to because I felt like they would take too long for just one more added title on my Read list. All the points you make here really resonate with how I've been feeling, and I too will be setting a 1 book reading goal for next year!
Yes!!! Reading should be done because you genuinely enjoy it and do it in a way that benefits you. Putting pressure on myself to read the “right” way made it so much less fun and fulfilling. Thank you for this lovely video
Life is too short to read bad books. I have a book channel (one of my side channels) and I tried to keep up with Booktube, but I don't like most of the popular books and I only read about 12 books a year. So, I was not enjoying it. I also stopped spending a lot of time on Goodreads now, because it was stressing me. Thanks for the video.
I'm so glad I started reading Terry Pratchett via "Thief of Time" - It introduced me to the world, the philosophy, many of the main characters, or the character genres, and so much of the humor and intelligence. I've since read many of Pratchett's discworld books - and I'm sorry I didn't look through your bookshelves with you to see if you've already discovered them, but you seem amazing and thoughtful, and in case you hadn't tried it, I would recommend starting there. 🥳
Thanks for this video! ☺️ I have children and so much in my schedule already and the idea of setting goals to read a certain number of books makes me stressed. It can take me a few weeks or so to finish a book but I read before bed and I find it a relaxing activity. 😊 I have looked at booktube channels to get some ideas of a book a might like to read. I also prefer the quality over quantity. ☺️
Lately i've been thinking a lot about how I never go to a bookstore/library/op shop anymore and just read blurbs of random books to find my next read, which I absolutely loved doing before I started watching booktube. Nowadays, I always have an endless list of books that I 'have to read' from booktube. When I get to the store I head straight to those books and don't really browse the rest of the store. Since realising this I've stopped adding to my list and I am working on finishing what's on my shelf (only 6 left!). I am SO excited to just go to the bookstore and look around for my next read without a particular book in mind.
I completely agree with you! This year I've also noticed that as much as I love devouring books and constantly being immersed in stories, I tend to forget what I've read. So in 2024 I want to focus on specific books that fits my reading goals (like polish classics - I didn't like them at school, but being much older now, I want to see if I'd appreciate them more now). Hence I'm also dropping readathons as I had to find filler books that fit the prompts and not reading books that I was actually interested in. I'm currently searching for new booktubers to watch, as the most popular ones read mostly YA fantasy with strong romance subplot, while I prefer adult fantasy with mythology and folklore inspired settings (e.g. slavic fantasy - I wish for more books from south-eastern Europe as I don't know their culture that much). Same thing about books in English! I know that if I read more physical/ebooks in English, I would be more proficient in it, but because listening is easier, I listen to audiobooks, which is not improving my "eye-reading" skills.
so interesting to see your perspective! i never cared about reading books, then i got into goodreads and booktube, and it actually motivated me and i was reading all the time! was just a phase tho, now i'm back to not reading books lmao. but those things definitely made me read so much more! the juicy goodreads reviews on certain books are still worth visiting the site for, tho
i feel like i really just watch booktube for motivation. like, i really want to read more so i watch people talking about books or doing book-related challenges, but when i read, i barely read what books they talk about
I relate to this video SO MUCH!!! I always feel like a failure when I only ready 90 or so books a year, because I follow people who read like well over 100 or 200 books. And I find myself reading books that I don't even really like, but I'm just reading them because they are popular or they are short so I can finish them quickly and boost my book reading count. I loved this video and you've made me really rethink my reading goals for next year :) I think i would much rather read fewer books if it was all ones I enjoyed, or mostly enjoyed, rather than focusing on getting as many books read as I possibly can
Hello Rana, I'm so glad I discovered your channel, I've been suffering with no reading enough or the books that where "trendy", thank you so much for expressing this reality, new follower from Spain.
This video and all off your opinions about booktubers all reading and pushing the same books out, I shear with you and is the sole reason for me just adding your channel as one I would like to follow. I look forward to hearing more about alle the books that you reads and what you think about them, expanding my horizon with books that other booktubers probably aren't going to be reading or talking about.
100% agree. I'm very picky about the books I read because I am a slow reader and I don't like feeling like I wasted my time. I am thankful for some of the recommendations I got from booktube and good reads but some/a lot are not my type of books and are not good. Don't ever feel bad about not reading the most popular books because sometimes they are aweful, it's always better to read something you are interested in or will like :)
I'm a fan now! Mainly because you are honest. Your honest in how you believe the "booktubers" and "goodreads" is trying to stress people out and force you to try and win a contest instead of giving advice and options on books. Your honest in deciding you want to read the books YOU want to really read and not ones that are popular or well received. I don't need to see 500 reviews on a new Brandon Sanderson book (no hate to Sanderson...LOVE his books) but giving me a author I'd never heard of, that's more interesting. This is NO hate toward other "Booktubers" or "Goodreads" influencers...I know they do good work. Being different is just more interesting! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for this video! I can relate-I started my journey on Goodreads back in 2013 and began challenging myself based on the number of books others were reading per year. However, this year, I decided to stop participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge because it was causing me stress. The main goal of reading, after all, is to relax, enjoy, and learn. Another 'negative impact' I experienced from both Goodreads and Booktube communities is related to recommendations. I often find myself wondering why I'm unable to enjoy certain books that are highly recommended by hundreds of people, like those by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Yeah Totally get what tou mean. Stops me reading larger books as will take me longer to finish. Definitely considering this next year. 90 books is impressive but you have to enjoy it too 😊
Goodreads is very important, it depends on how you use it. If u compete with other users, your reading will be useless but if you use it for tracking and getting reccomendations it will help you. Thank u
I've dyslexia so I read at approximately half the speed of someone without and overexert myself easily. My sister is the opposite she would read multiple books a day and obsessive with Booktube/Goodreads. I read for fun, she for sport it felt like and would always comment "I can't believe how slow you are" "speed up I want to talk about the book with you" etc etc. It made me hate reading and refusing to for years, recently I started again but on my Kindle or comic books as it is so much easier for me and much more fun. I realised that I don't hate reading I hate competition in reading. I might have goals like "I want to read this before the movie/show comes out" but not "I need to read 100 books a year no matter what even if I hate the book"
I love this video and relate so much! I came to the exact same understanding. I was falling out of love for reading, felt it was more of a chore than the joy it used to be - because I was going for the popular books that I ended up finding average for my taste. It really took a toll. This year I decide to stop listening to the mainstream and focus on what I know I've always loved best. As you said, I reached for those backlist titles that have been sitting on my shelves for years and a quite a few turned out to be some of the best books I've ever read. What a wonderful year this has been!
Agree also half the hyped book videos are now the book channels trashing the book. Like ffs if I enjoyed the book why am I going to watch an hour video of someone hating on it? Rage bait is real even in book content.
I think I've pretty much had the same experience/realisation as you. Since I first discovered booktube (and, consequently, goodreads) I've been trying to read a ridiculous amount of books a year and it's never done me any good at all. I've put myself in reading slumps by reading too fast all the time. The pressure to make monthly wrap-up videos was a big issue for me personally because then I felt like I had to read a certain amount of books or else I wouldn't be able to make one of those videos, you know? I haven't made any videos since early last year because of a bunch of different reasons, all sort of related to reading/not reading enough, not having anything to say about the books I read because I'm making myself read things I have no real interest in. My realisation started last year when I actually read 100 books. I read about 7 or so books in the last two weeks of December because of course I was behind on the reading goal because..... 100 books.... is a lot. One book read every two days. But as I was reading them I realised I've been speeding through these relatively short stories (I chose short books for the purpose of completing my goal quickly) and not really taking in the stories... like as I'm reading I'm obviously paying attention and it's not necessarily that I'm not going to remember these books after I'm finished, but it felt like I had no time to let the stories sink into my brain and stay there. I had no time to just enjoy them. I realised this especially because a couple of months prior to this I had been at various festivals (camping) for almost a month and I had only brought one book with me (The Goldfinch by Donna Tart, which is a fat book, I think about 800 pages). It was all I had to read all this time and I found it so much more satisfying (than rushing through books to complete a goal) spending a month reading this one book, having to slowly work my way through the book because of how big it was, really being able to think about the story and take in everything that happened. I didn't even like the book that much, in parts it was SO BORING, but I still found it a very satisfying read because I: 1. had to read it, i had no other option, no other book, no other way to get another book. 2. it was huge, i simply could not read it fast, i had to take my time. This year I set my reading goal to 75 books (which I'm absolutely not completing LOL). I snapped this year. The context is, for a few years (since i joined booktube), I've sort of had this idea in my head that I'll read bad books that everyone talks about and I'll make videos on them like other people do, etc, so I usually buy well known 'bad books' when I see them. And about two months ago I picked up The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles because I saw it on sale for 50p in a charity shop, and I was like oohh this is gonna be good, this is going to be a bad book I can laugh at (because I do enjoy laughing at bad books). So I opened the book and let me tell you, I have never been so MONUMENTALLY BORED by a first page in my god damned LIFE. You know how one of the first rules of writing is "hook your readers with your first sentence/first page" WELL Beth clearly never heard that phrase in her entire life. I don't know how anyone ever got passed her first sentence, let alone her first page or why her book was published (well... i do because it got popular on wattpad and i'm guessing they published it based on popularity rather than quality). I am bitter that my time was robbed, I am bitter that I spent 50p on this book (50p is literally nothing, I spent barely anything, to put that in perspective). And it made me realise, like it genuinely gave me an epiphany of some kind, THAT I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE. I don't wanna read books I hate, I don't want to read books I'm only mildly interested in. If I'm not enjoying a series I'm in the middle of, I'm throwing that series out. I DON'T CARE IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. If I'm struggling to pick up a book I'm in the middle of reading, if I'm finding it hard to finish, then I'm not finishing it because it clearly doesn't interest me enough to make me want to keep reading. I threw out so many of my books recently because of this. 3 series have been gotten rid of after I've read their first book and decided I don't really care about them. All the books I'd picked up because they were 'bad' are gone. I only want to read stories I actually feel invested in and where I genuinely feel something for the characters. I'm bored of putting myself through mediocre (in my opinion) stories just so I can say I've read them or so I can say I've completed my reading goal. I've read 5 books this year. None have been that great, the best was crescent city by sarah j maas--i enjoy her works, but they're not exactly.... good, so that's how my readings been going so far. However, if I was making myself finish series' I'm not interested in I would have read about 17 books and would have hated basically all of them. I don't know how to end this comment and I've forgotten if I had something else to say, so.... yeah... 😭ima go OH wait yeah i feel like I should clarify all the bad books i picked up were because of booktube videos i watched. it's mainly hinged on whats popular. i pay attention to new releases just because i follow a lot of publishing companies so i see that, plus watching booktube videos tends to tell me all about what's new and popular anyway. a lot of the time i'd find myself swayed by the covers of books and then the fact everyone was talking about them. i wanted to be included in that because of, as you said, FOMO. and it really just does end up ruining reading in general. like i didn't have the urge to read everything that was popular, but i suppose the ones that sounded interesting to me or ones that specifically were known to be bad books---those i wanted to read. but because there are SO MANY new books coming out all the time it ends up feeling like this race against time to read EVERYTHING, if that makes sense at all. and then a race against time (especially as a person who wants to make booktube videos) to make content about the books i read, etc.
You sound simultaneously burnt out and bored. I’m going to suggest something that helped me tremendously. Though bookworms rarely think of doing it… Read a book from the history section. Reality is so much more interesting and fucked up than anything novels can ever come up with. I read Endurance by Alfred Lansing and The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir and I am hooked for life. I have found so many hidden gems by paying attention to what actually sparks my interest, and sometimes I want to shake some booktubers for what they’re missing out on!
I could never be able to read bad books for fun! 😂 I totally understand what you mean about the Goldfinch, it is a huge book and it took me a long time to finish reading but somehow I really enjoyed my reading process even though it wasn't the best book I've ever read. I think that is the beauty of long books. You have more time to connect with the story and character and end up enjoying it even if you don't give it the highest ratings. I used to force myself to finish EVERY series I start, but now like you I just dnf the series if I'm not enjoying because life is too short for committing to long series that are bad. Maybe take a break from reading then pick up a book that you really wanted to read for a while? It might help.
thank you so much for your insights on this! I definitely feel the pressure from booktube/booktok as well and try to cultivate more mindful reading again. I also deleted goodreads completely and now use storygraph because it somehow stresses me out less. in regards to reading goals, I have established in the last 2 years that my only goal is reading one more book than last year.
How did booktube/ goodreads affect your reading?
I feel like i don't read enough (read 28 books in 2022). This year i challenged myself to finish all the books in my tbr (44). I've already read 20 so far.
This is such a good question! I feel the pressure to read all the new hyped books so I don't miss out, and like you pointed out, having a huge reading goal only makes you feel worse if you can't complete it. Thank you for sharing your experience and motivating me to read books I want to read vs. books people read to stay relevant. Keep creating good content and good conversation starters, and I am also excited to add you to my Booktuber list. ❤
Not sure if you will read this, but what are some of the Booktubers you recommended for people who want to see a variety of books that the creator genuinely liked and are not focused on the newly hyped books??
I stopped using goodreads a year ago because I disliked this effect that you describe in this video. I write my own “Reading diary” that is just for me, I reflect shortly on each book I read after reading it. I also take notes. I might publish a little excerpt of that on my blog at the end of the year, but who knows 🤷♀️
Positive: they encourage me to share about what I read, which encourages me to think critically about what I read so that I can articulate what I did or didn't like.
Negative: book hauls and Kindle unboxings that make me want to get out my credit card instead of my library card
Absolutely fucking ruined it, you have voiced my opinions perfectly. I can barely remember these cookie cutter YA novels.
When i was in high school and before i read way faster (im a college graduate, for reference) and i mostly stuck to reading whatever i got interested, no specific genres, just reading whatever, classics, sci fi, history, etc.
Ive noticed exactly this, i cant remember much about the YA novels because THEY ALL feel the same and have no flavor or taste, it wasnt fun
Slow reading is not celebrated enough. I'm a slow reader too. I take my time and don't rush. Reading (especially of fiction books) should be a leisurely activity, not a challenge or competition.
Agreed! I would not say that I'm a slow reader but I do START slow and the first 100pgs are a total bloodbath, so it takes me much longer to get into a book than to finish it. It doesn't mean that I won't enjoy the book, contrary to popular opinion. My brain has a certain pace that it likes
I agree - It took me almost a year to finish Bleak House by Dickens, but I savored every sentence. To be fair, I was also reading 5 or 6 other various types of books at the same time, a little each day, but that’s how I roll and it’s fine - I admire those who can read and enjoy a mind-boggling amount of books each month, but speeding through a book isn’t my thing
When I read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, I think I spent three months on it. The more I got into it, the more I slowed down, because I just didn't want it to end. I still think about that read. Slow reading definitely is worthwhile.
@@BillCoffin I have made two attempts to read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - and I’m afraid it may just never happen. The prose is so…dense. Well written, but DENSE.
Not only slow reading, but also rereading books. I can only truly feel the story and message of a game, book, movie, series, after a few retakes. The first contact to me feels like I am fast going through the content cause i want to discorver what is going on, i want answers and i want to know, but after the first time, the following contacts are about scrutinizing, paying very close attention to details, meaning and making connections, specially if something on the beginning of a story corelates with something ahead.
I'm in so much agreement here on this one! Donna Tart said in an interview, "its better to reread a book you love than constantly read new books you feel nothing for." Books are meant to be savored, thought about, and lived in. I think consuming them as products of commercialization makes the whole act of reading something akin to a hotdog eating contest. I hope more readers get out of that cycle.
"It's better to know one book intimately than a hundred superficially."
the hotdog eating contest comparison is spot on!
YES. This is exactly what I feel too
Omgsh I love this ❤❤❤
Seems a lot of people don’t re-read, re-watch, re-listen and so on. I like the hotdog analogy hehe.
Finally someone said it reading is a hobby not a competitive sport
I can read 700 words per minute with my eyesclosed!
Finally someone who puts it into words!! I hate watching the same books being recommended over and over in every single booktube video. I was even forcing myself to like some of the books that were realy hyped. When I discovered Dakota Warren's channel I felt like an oasis, finally someone who didn't care about the trends with such a genuine love for literature and a taste similar to mine!
well now I need to check Dakota's channel! thanks for recommending her. For me, it will be allisonpaiges who felt like an oasis on booktube. She rarely talks about the hyped books and I always discover new books I never heard of on her channel.
that! that! that! that! was what i was searching when i searched for the best booktubers.
Oh yeah, and emmy is pretty similiar in that regard. There is also value in smaller channels that just don't get as popular
Yasss!!! I was just thinking today how much of a silly thing it is to follow the popular book tubers when they’re all just sharing the same crap. I like emmiereads though and Carolyn reads because those two read various genres and lesser known literature
I am beyond flabbergasted how social media affects almost every corner of hobbies in the way you described it. I'm myself from the artist community, drawing as a hobby and semi-professionally, and Social Media made me produce, produce, produce work to the point you don't enjoy doing it anymore but try to appease to the algorithms. That it also applies to reading in a way never even popped into my imagination, but here is another category of hobby that suffers from the endless curse of "content". Thanks for sharing that! I am happy you found a better way of reading for yourself again.
This is how im feeling too! The popular books are starting to feel like “fast fashion” and I’ve been losing brain cells. Now, my 2024 goal is to read all the classics and its been going so well so far! It’s been challenging but worth it. i’ve been getting so much out of it! I heard recently that “difficulty generates meaning” and its so true
That's great! What's your favourite classic so far?
Such a perfect analogy- it’s fast fiction
I wanna read more classics but everyone I talk to on goodreads or in any reading community reads romance-which is fine but I feel out of place, like I can’t love the two
This video is wonderful. Tbh, I'm a slow reader. I like to underline things. I like to look up vocabulary I don't understand. I'm also a writer, so I like to sit there and ponder on how an author wrote their prose. I like to analyze subjects and themes. In a good month, I could probably read like 3 books. And then you have people reading seven books in a WEEK. Good on them for being able to read so fast, but I cannot enjoy books that quickly as an adult, I was able to do that when I was younger, however.
I think books are magical. Stories are meant to be digested, NOT inhaled. I'm glad you made this discovery for yourself and that you are re-examing your tastes. We all started reading because we love stories. Let us never lose that love. And if we do lose that love momentarily, it is always okay to take a break. C:
Such a great advice. We really need to take it slow and take a break when needed.
i know this is old but wow i relate heavily with you. i have a notebook of words i've looked up from books and i also highlight a lot of prose i find beautiful so i can learn from them. i don't know how people are hitting 200 books a year, do they not reflect on what they're reading?
@@maneskinnedin slight defense of these BookTubers, a lot of them read series, so it’s essentially them continuing the same story. Even the popular stand alone books are very trope-dependent and overdone, so they’re not actually consuming a new story when you boil it down.
Yes! Exactly!!!
I love your hot take on “popular books”. I hated every popular book I read this year and ended up enjoying all of the “old books” I selected for myself way more!
I am not a slow reader by any means, BUT I have a family. I have little kids. I have a husband. A home. People whose wellbeing depends on my attention. I could read 10 books in 2 months easily in college and after, even with a full time job, but thats out of the question now. Thank you for addressing this. There are so many facets to why someone may take longer to finish a book we may absolutely love. I have friends in similar situations to me that read 50+ books in half a year and when I asked HOW (our kids are all similar ages) she told me “we talk for 30 minutes at dinner time”. It broke my heart. I know that it works for some kids and families but mine would be broken hearted if I ignored them all day and had a “set” time to talk with them. I will read more when they are older. I will enjoy what I can read now. The comparison game is not fun. Much love to you ❤
I couldn't agree with you more. I love reading but I love spending time with my partner and kids more. And of course there are plenty of chores that need to be done as well. But yeah I can't imagine just ignoring my kid al day just because I want to read.
Agree 100 percent.
Reading even one book a month is insane for most people. I've read 23 this year and when I tell my irl friends that number they loose their minds because they can't fathom reading that much, booktube etc really does skew ones view of how much reading is normal or a lot for that matter. So glad you made this video for some perspective!
This is why i only have 5 books in my goodreads goals. Last year i only read one, this year I've read almost 20! I personally like to be given a guide of what i could read thanks to booktube, but i noticed most people read fantasy, and I'm more into contemporary😅 I used to feel shame for not having popular books in my shelves, but now I'm really trying to find my personal taste.
That's great!
Never force yourself to read the popular books if not your taste. Im the opposite, I feel the same guilt not reading the popular contemporary books 😅
100% agree with you. It's not about how much you read. It's about what you get out of it. We are all different people, with different life situations and preferences. So tired of cookie cutter lemming social media.
"Who is chasing us with a broom?" LOL. Thank you for this! You put into words exactly how I feel. Congratulations on making your Goodreads goal! 🥰
Thank you 🤗
I love this video! And I love you pointing out the job factor. Some of these booktubers do this for a full or part time job so we can’t even compare our reading! Great video and good dialogue
Yes! and thank you! ♥
Yes! So many booktubers are reading the same things over and over- books to me that look like garbage. There are so many good books out there that will never make it to booktube and people forget that.
First time I have found your channel. And I love seeing you voicing this!
“And I used to read 10 books a year and I used to be SO proud of myself”. Girl, I read 1 book in 10 years and I’m still proud of myself😂🤣. Sometimes I’ll read more: up to 2 (not too heavy) books a day, but sometimes I don’t read for months/years on end. And that’s just fine, reading should be enjoyable and not feel like a chore. I usually go to the thrift store for my books, because it’s cheap (0,50 cents to about 3 dollars), or use the library app or borrow them from the internet. That way it doesn’t get too expensive, and if a book really tickles my fancy I’ll buy it and it won’t be a disappointment/waste if I don’t like the book. It also ensures that I’ll read books that are not entirely in my comfort zone. I’m a new subscriber, this is the first video I’m watching and I love it. Hello from The Netherlands ❤
This video just showed up on my recommended, and I'm so glad I decided to watch it. I'm someone who reads a ton of books, 200-250+ a year. I hate the way people talk about wanting to read "as much as me," when it's clearly not something they truly want to do. I hate being praised just for the act of reading, rather than for all of the meaningful conversations I get to have about the books I love. I hope that more people leave behind this gamified idea of reading and realise that we're all different, read at different speeds, and have different goals. The point is to learn and have fun!
This year, I set my Goodreads challenge to 1 book as well. I don't care anymore about how many books I read, because, like you said: it's not a competition. The worst part was that it had become a competition with myself: I read X books last year, let's try X+5 books the next, and so on...
I have also learned to DNF a book...it doesn't happen often, but now and then, if you're not having fun reading it, I simply stop reading the book. It has all contributed to rekindling that original love for reading I initially had.
I totally agree- you should read what you want at your own pace. I’m a new booktuber, but I won’t be falling into these competitive traps. It’s not authentic and not healthy. I can’t imagine reading 100 books in one year and actually getting the full pleasure from them. Thanks for making this video- it’s a very important point and well said.
Welcome to the community dear 🤗🌸
@@rananajjar Thank you 🙂
I agree and relate to this video so much - I always feel that I'm missing out if I'm not reading what is popular instead of actually considering if I will actually like it !
I try to stop caring about missing out 😅 it's hard but I started by reading popular books that sounds appealing to me instead of reading everything popular.
I'm actually feeling better about my reading since I stopped being so vigilant about my Goodreads. It's like I forgot at some point I wa supposed to enjoy this thing, but then I remembered.
I felt the same way... but now I try to be more intentional about everything in my life. Reading is just a hobby. I'm a musician before a reader, and I'm human before a musician. Sometimes, spending time with my family, drinking a cup of tea with my mother or my sister, are the best things I can do for myself, instead of reading 8 hours a day just to reach a NUMBER of books per year, books that I obviously won't remember.
Thanks for the video. Sorry for bad English...
Exactly!!
Your English is perfect my dear 😊
Completely agree! I hit my goodreads challenge goal for this year, but I ended up reading a lot of lackluster books and avoided a lot of the lengthier books I own. I'm setting a much lower goal for myself next year and focusing on quality over quantity too!
I just found your channel, and I completely agree. I hope no one compares themselves to my personal goal of 200 books. I listen to audiobooks when I'm doing boring tasks, so I get through a lot of books pretty easily. I like to occasionally push myself out of my comfort zone in reading to potentially find different and interesting reads, and sometimes, that really pays off, while other times, it doesn't. I don't chase after the most popular reads, but I do look at the ones that might interest me and seek out award winners for their potential to be a great read. Read as much as you want of the books you enjoy, but don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone occasionally.
Thank you for this video discussion. I absolutely agree with you. Book clubs have never appealed to me, whether meeting together at a place (though I enjoy meeting other people), or virtual/online. Because I don’t keep up the reading pace with everyone else in the club and like you, I don’t have any interest reading and discussing the type of books that everyone else is currently reading. So I don’t bother joining book clubs at all. Plus, I don’t read as much as I used to. When I was in school I was reading books a lot and I enjoyed hanging out at my local library. I borrowed one to two books every few weeks and finished reading them by the time I had to return them. Now between my job and spending time on social media, my reading time has dropped considerably. I’ve become aware of it and I’m trying to cut down on the time I spend on the internet and picking up a book or my Kindle. And I only read what interests me which usually isn’t the popular books that others are reading.
Sometimes I read very fast because the book is exciting and I want to see what happens, but when I do that I find that I don't remember it as well. So I prefer to reread things, and take my time. This is not conducive to reading as a community event tbh. If I try to keep up with what everyone else is talking about, I just won't enjoy it as much. So I am with you. I will take my time and head my own direction.
Such good points. Its not fun when its stressful so I stopped watching booktubers who read so many books. I only kept subcriptions to two channels, who review genres I enjoy and one of which that does a load of video essays too.
This years, I want to read more of what i enjoy and not be bothered so much about my storygraph stats. I like reading challenges, but ive learnt to make them manageable to my circumstances, so they encourage me to read but dont stress me out! I also want to purge my TBR so I start reading books I actually like or want to read!
YES, I love your point! I still have to learn reading for quality over quantity, and reading english books as a non-native speaker takes so much longer!
I've noticed so much how booktubers seem to forget the characters names etc because they've rushed through so many books to stay ahead. It makes me sad for them because I love to savor every moment of good books and I dnf what isnt good because I have one life and i refuse to waste my time.
I agree! I'm completly baffled by people who are like "I read a 100 book this year", but if they do a yearly wrap up they often don't remember to book or say only what's in the blurb (so do they remember anything? idk)
Also a big thing on booktube are hauls, with like 20 books every month. Only later to make an unhaul video. I think this just normalizes an unhealthy "buying for sake of buying" behaviour
Yes! And they always unhaul the books without reading them because they lost interest
So far this year ive read 35 books. Im a slow reader but i remember the books i have read. 😊
I read whenever I'm in the mood and if a book bores me I drop it without hesitation. I do get a little kick when I can tick off a book but it doesn't control my reading habits. So far this year I've read 14 books. It's not a whole lot but for me in the last 5 or so years it is. Realistically I've picked up more than 14 books but only a few grabbed my attention. 2023 has been a fantastic year for reading and I can't wait to see what other treasures I find.
I'm new to booktube, but I've definitely noticed that new releases and classics get most of the shine. I've started digging throughout my 5 star reads from the past and doing some re-reads or finding things similar. I also left goodreads behind. I started using storygraph last year and I really enjoy the analytics. It gives me a clearer picture of what I actually enjoy. I try to watch people who enjoy different types of books so I can get a bit of diversity in the types of books I read. I'm a big fan of romance, but I don't want to burn myself out binging it constantly. Mixing in some non-fiction, literary fiction, and a bit of magic gives me much needed variety.
THANK YOU. It is such a breath of fresh air to have someone say this. I'm also a slow reader, so this is very validating. Also, as much as i enjoy content from the BookTube comminity, i have never once picked up a trending book because they are never within my preferred genre. I find more satisfaction in reading what i find for myself, like you said so perfectly.
Yes!! I totally relate to this, it's why I changed my Goodreads goals to 2 books a month (24/year) and never change it despite always surpassing it! I want to read for pleasure and I have a book club so if I read 1 book for pleasure and 1 for my book club a month I consider my goal met :)
Exactly!!
So much this. I've stopped tracking my reading and setting an annual book reading goal. Another thing I'm doing is using the public library more vs buying books. Sometimes I have to request a book from another library and it can take me a week or more to get it. Something about that added time gives me the space to live, think about what I read, and anticipate the new book coming to me. It makes it that much sweeter and my wallet thanks me. I'm here for slow reading and time in-between books.
im so grateful i found this and ive been down the rabbit hole of trying to speed up my reading process,, when i was younger,, i used to be able to read so much but now i can barely read over ten books a year as i like to take my time to read,, to really comprehend the text,, underline it,, take notes on each chapter,, it makes me happy and it helps me analyse the book more!! booktube and goodreads puts such pressure on my reading so im not on goodreads as much as i used to be! like many, i picked up popular books and they've either stayed on my shelf or ive simply not enjoyed them and thats okay!! i think this past year ive been picking up books i ACTUALLY want to read!! i appreciate this video a lot and it really made me reflect!! new subcriber here :)
Quite agree with you, I don’t count how many books I am reading, I read when I am in the mood and I choose whatever book I feel like reading at the time. It is much more enjoyable like this, come across unexpected gems and sometimes not, but I like it like this. I never know what I am in for and that makes it exciting
I've done the 100 books challenge once and never again will I try this ever again, it really sucks the joy out of reading.
I realized I love to take my time with the books I read, and it's the best way for me to remember the story, each year after that crazy goal I've been reading less but I've been enjoying every single one of the books even the shitty ones lol
I’ve done the 50 book challenge for 18 years. I don’t pressure myself with a time line if I get behind schedule. Because I know it just encourages me to read more, and that’s it’s true purpose. I just start a new 50 book list in my notepad when I hit 50 books. The list has been pretty handy over the years too. Figuring out how much I read nonfiction versus fiction for example. Or if I read that book already or not.
@@americanbookdragon good for you, I'm glad that system works for you.
Personaly for me the 50 books per year doesn't work either, granted I don't read alot nor every day and I usually tend to get obsessed over one book/series before moving on to the next read.
👏🏼 Yess I totally agree! Every popular booktuber only recommends/reads the same books which other popular booktubers recommended or read too (ahem, like the notorious colleen hoover books 💀) It’s gotten to the point where it doesn’t matter which video you click on cuz it’s the same stuff over and over again😅 Like you, at some point I also started reading hyped books only to feel disappointed by them later since they weren’t what I liked…
I would like to add another thing that mainly booktubers ruined for me. I used to watch spoiler-free book reviews before buying a book to see whether it would be worth it for me to read or not. Little did I know that by doing this I not only put my freedom to choose books in someone else’s hand, it also completely ruined my reading experience. I would subconsciously read and judge those books through the lens of reviews instead of my own true opinions. It was as if those books already got “labelled” in my mind without ever giving them a chance to be read without any external prejudices. I have now stopped watching and reading ANY reviews before I finish a book and that resulted in me being able to think and form opinions based on my OWN norms. I’ve been enjoying reading much more now!
I mainly listen to audiobooks bc disability but even then I treat it like I’m sitting down to read. I can’t do other activities. I want to follow along intently. I love to just lay in bed and listen. I’ve finished several 8 hour audiobooks in one day on a weekend if I’m so engrossed. Sometimes it takes days or weeks if the story is too heavy. I DNF a lot of audiobooks or the ones I feel meh I’ll use to listen to while working. I’ve read 20 books this year that way!! When I use to read physical books, I was a faster reader. Could finish a book in a sitting but if I loved a book I would try to slow down or I would read like 3 books a year and ruminate over it all year even if I read it quickly. Booktube doesn’t treat books that way! It’s just a race to show who can read the most books. I bet they forget details of 75% of the books they’ve read. I’ve totally forgotten I read a book because it was whatever. And I hate that ppl read to find a 5 star book. Just let the book take you on a journey and decide! There isn’t a science to it. I use reviews with a grain of salt. You can glen some clues if you might like it but shouldn’t deter you
I'm so glad you found a way to keep reading despite your disability making it harder to read physically. Some people just abandon reading all together. What is your favourite book you read last year and this year?
I've been away from the trends for a while now and I can say that made my reading experience so much better, because I don't feel like competing and I don't feel like I'm obligated to like some book just because is the hit of the moment. I loved your video!
I just got back into reading after years of reading no books at all. I will say that using Goodreads and booktube is making me obsessed with reading more and more as I am always researching books to add to my “list”. It’s really fun for me though. I feel like I’ve rediscovered a long lost passion.
I notice that I don’t like reading hyped books, rather I like finding hidden gems that nobody is talking about (The Ember Blade, for example) 😅
I picked up the Ember Blade because Merphy Napier raved about it....
Goodreads and Booktube surely have some bad and some good aspects to them. But lately they're affecting me negatively.
Respect to you for your honesty. I have watched other booktubers who stopped filming because they said they lost their love of reading. That is sad. I have read quite a few great books that I saw on booktube but I would like to read them with my old state of mind which is to enjoy the one book I am reading without feeling like I need to hurry to get to the next one. Sometimes I give booktube a break so that my brain can feel less/get a break from FOMO. Otherwise, I really want to continue reading The Count of Monte Cristo (which I see is quite beloved on booktube and so I got a copy) without feeling the pressure to finish it fast so that I can move on to the next book. Thanks for the ideas. Subbed.
I’m new to booktube (honesty I don’t even want to dive into booktok because it seems like a hot mess over there), and I’ve been astounded by the amount of books people are reading. I’m currently trying to get out of a reading slump but I used to be an avid reader, I even started and hosted a book club for seven years and loved it and felt so accomplished to be able to say I read 12+ books a year! I think there needs to be more representation in the booktube/goodreads world of people who are more selective and slower with their reading lists and I really appreciate this perspective. It shouldn’t be a competition. I understand for those UA-camrs whose literal job it is to read that many books so they can review them and create content, but for the rest of us who have full time jobs or work from home or have children (that takes up a lot of free time) and/or other hobbies, I think having a shorter list is a realistic and reasonable goal. Besides, I’m not going to watch a channel that only reads what’s popular on goodreads because that’s just not for me. I would rather watch UA-camrs who read more diverse work and would love to see more of that.
Yes to everything here! I luckily quickly noticed that the popular books often do not appeal to me. After reading a few tiktok romance and haating them, I left those recommendations behind haha. I have always read a lot of books, even pre-booktube, but I set my yearly goal low (for me) so that I don't feel pressure to read more than I would normally. There are always phases of our lives where we read more or less and that is ok. However, I'm trying to be more intentional this year with focusing on reading longer books. I think that pressure of having a high number of monthly read books creeped up to me last year and I was reluctant to read longer books as the 'books I read this month' number would be lower. But I often adore long books, and I am so glad that this year I am working to prioritize them and work through my long books TBR. Great video!
oh how much I love big books! they hit different honestly when you spend more time with the characters and the plot you start to feel like you're one of them.
truly the best thing about booktube is the friendships we make ♥
This is such an important topic to be talked about ... and hopefully, more booktubers would do that, especially for younger readers .
That way, we all would have more diverse books to choose from and discover beautiful hidden gems . Thank you, Rana
I understand that, there is a very thin line between your hobby becoming a job and a chore and no longer bringing you happiness.
Thank you so much for this video!
As a kid, I used to read quite a lot, but going onto the end of middle school, I started to read less and less books. A few years later, seeing my best friend read quite a lot motivated me to read again, or rather not just pick a book, read 50 pages just to give up on it and actually finishing it.
Then, fairly recently, I discovered BookTube, but more so the side of it which critizes less than stellar books. But even then, I was still watching videos of people who read A LOT. And I started feeling guilty about reading barely 10 books a year. And yet, I know most of BookTube mainly reads YA, easily digestible stories... while I prefer to read books with a quite wordy writing style (if not apompous one). I like learning about new things, new words, etc... On top of that, I got into college just after starting to read again, and now I work. Granted, not a nine-to-five, but I'm still working. And I have a lot of others hobby, including art, which I spend at least one hour a day on everyday. And yet, I still felt like the amount I read was not enough. Same with art, I'm not making enough of it. Same with exercice, I'm not doing enough of it.
But reading shouldn't be about quantity, but about quality, what we can take away from it. Books, in the end, are a piece of art capitalism has now made to be yet another commodity.
Yes! I made a hard rule for myself that my reading goal will only ever be 52. One book a week is comfortable for my reading pace. I usually wind up with more, but I never wanted to lament over not reading 100 books a year.
Thank you for this video. I've always been a fast and voracious reader. I stopped in my teens or so and got back into reading regularly in Jan. 2020. From the latter through this year, I put pressure on myself to finish a certain amount of books per year. It was so stressful and completely self inflicted. It was only by watchng another UA-camr's video that said to not make a goal for yourself, that I gave myself permission to not pressure myself. It's sad that's what it took. Sometimes you don't see it for yourself.
I would usually finish books I didn't like, so I wouldn't lose the time spent on them by starting another book instead. It was rare I'd stop a book I didn't like. I didn't like about a third of what I was reading. I would also wait to read thicker books at the end of the year, after I'd already reached my goal. Doing that didn’t make me happy. There were plenty of times I wanted to start off with a 500+ page book and didn’t. I didn't want to risk running behind and not reaching my goal.
Thankfully I wasn't into following what was "trending." I'm sure that saved me extra heartache. For the rest of this year and going forward, my annual goal will be zero. I've already put down books I was a decent amount through, and then they took a turn or repeated turns to where they became intolerable.
Your video is a bright spot in my reading journey. Thank you.
Really well said! I've been thinking a lot about this lately. I was asked to write a piece about reading poetry, and one of my main points became how "completion reading" is especially bad for poetry. It's so easy to lose track of the treasure in words when distracted by the temporary bliss of checklist completion.
I remember having a bookstagram and always feeling like I wasn't reading enough. Especially when everyone was posting their monthly wrap ups and mine was 4 on a good month and others were 7+.
I also found any posts I made that weren't popular books were barely interacted with. So eventually I started picking up those books less, avoiding long books, constantly checking how much I had left in a book whilst reading and calculating how long I'd read it all. It was so ridiculous! And yeah a lot of it is on my FOMO and slightly competitive nature, but I soon realized this thing that was supposed to be fun, was making me enjoy reading less.
My Goodreads goal this year is 20 books and I might not even reach that, but I've read a lot of really good stuff. Some of it being fanfic or fancomics that don't could towards my goal and I've have probably not 'wasted' my time on before due to that. Which is ridiculously because it's still reading and they've been one of my favourites of the year.
Anyway all that to say I totally get where you are coming from in this video and I'm glad others have similar feelings.
I randomly got a couple of your videos on my home page this week. I think that even though there are so many booktubers reading a huge variety of books, we are more likely to see the larger creators, and or books that have trickled down from the larger creators predominantly in Booktube content. You have to work harder to find the people who are reading other things.
Well said. I just joined Goodreads but have been a self-motivated avid reader my whole life. I don't read much fiction at all. Sounds like you have reached a new level of maturity where what other people think matters so much less. Congratulations!
I enjoy Goodreads and it’s fun to catalog things you read, the problem for me is that I get too deep into it that I burn myself out. Now I have a hard time finishing the books that are on my TBR. Hopefully I can get back on the grind soon but I really enjoyed your video!
I feel like I read a lot this year, but, actually, when I look it up Ive read like five books. Thing is now at the end of the year I’m actually reading because I found a couple of books I was interested in and I’ve finally admitted to myself that I only read when I read the books that I WANT to read. If I don’t do that, it’s not happening.
I’ve read five books (I think?) in 2023 and except one, the rest I’ve read at the end of the year. The thing is that I have the feeling that I have read soooo much this year because I remember vividly every single one of them, because I was invested in them because I (again) WANTED to read them. I am very happy with my reading this year, not because I’ve actually read a lot or not, and not even because of the quality, but because I actually feel this beautiful tingly feeling of having the urge to read. And that for me is success in reading: that the books that you are reading make you want to keep reading more :)
I think booktube is a good for inspiring to start reading - for those who lost this desire for any reason, as well as for those who have never been into reading before at all, but at the same time I so strongly agree that it can be exhausting if you try to turn everything into competitions. So, yeah, balance and all that.
Talking about apps and rereadings: I like storygraph app as it counts rereadings too
Thank you for the video!🌷
This video put into words EXACTLY everything I was feeling. I was never quite able to put together the words to describe what I was feeling, but THIS. YES.
There was one year where I had read 100+ books and felt exactly what you described. I barely remembered a single thing I’ve read or enjoyed. I remember being so worn out by the guilt and pressure of a hobby I originally enjoyed so much. I used to be such an avid re-reader of books I loved but then I came to feel guilty on rereading those instead of making progress on my TBR list. Eventually I was so burnt out I’ve stopped reading books altogether and deleted GoodReads.
But I think I’m going to start reading again! This time, without the pressure of Booktube, Booktok (their tastes also does not align with mine). Goodreads still isn’t going back on my phone as I’ve discovered I enjoy reading SO much without it. And thank you so so much for this video! It really has given me new motivation and helped a lot!
So glad I found you 😊 yrs ! Enjoyment not competition x
You are so right! What a great introduction to your channel. The reason deltora quest influenced the series I wrote was because they got read over and over and loved dearlh. There was no speeding dating my reads as a child and teen.
booktubers are so worried about reading what everyone is reading but I'll tell you my case as a viewer: after one year watching the same thing over 10 channels or more, I dropped most of them. I only follow 2 now, and it is not because I read what they read. One of them I follow because he is super creative and a sweetheart, the kind of person I'd like to have as a friend. The other, because she is a very critical reader and brings good insights, what is lacking in most creators. You'd think that by now people would have learned that doing what everybody else is doing just to fit doesn't mean success in the long go...
One thing I noticed that I started doing after watching booktube is that I get a strange feeling of dread at the end of each month, if I'm still in the middle of a book. It feels like a crime not to finish books at the end of the month, so I would stay late to finish a book, or worse delay reading a book on the last day of the month even if I'm in a mood to read because I wouldn't be able to finish it at the end of the month. Am I the only one who does that 😢?
No you're not alone!! I also suffer from this and it's very annoying.
Sounds like a mild form of OCD honestly. I used to be like this until I realised it literally doesn't matter. It's like this weird compulsion that stresses out our mind for no reason at all.
I would rather read 40 books and love 90% of them instead of reading 100 books is something that really spoke to my soul. Thank you for this.
I follow few booktubers because of that. And I rarely watch videos of people talking about their recent readings also because of that.
The numbers are always so high, so unbelievable for us, simple mortals, it makes me incredibly anxious. I struggled a little, sometime years ago, for feeling pressured by the booktwt and booktube comms, and have since strayed away from it so I could manage my experience better.
I feel much better, nowadays, reading slowly, ending the year with 15-25 books read, most of them unpopular or even unheard of; my reading quality is getting higher by the year, and I'm happy with my pacing 🤗
💯% agree with you. Also, I, too, found it difficult to read English books fast, even though I have a masters degree in English literature, especially that booktubers read 300+ pages in 5 hours or less 😮. I've always thought I was just a slow reader until this year I started reading Arabic books, and yes, I read Arabic books much faster since it's my native language 😅. So, that too affects how many books people can read in a month, most booktubers are native English speakers, so it makes sense that they are be able to read faster than unnative speakers of English. As you also said, it's their job too, so they are stressing every day to read as much as possible to make content. Thank you for the video. It always feels good when someone says what we think out loud.
I also noticed that I fly through Arabic books but English books take ×2 more time to finish. But I always prefer reading English books over Arabic ones because I enjoy the style more than Arabic novels.
@@rananajjar Totally agree with you.
It also depends on your reading technique. To read faster you don't say the words in your head, but simply let your eyes register their meaning. This way you fly over the content, but don't remember as much. I need the "talking" in my head. Otherwise reading doesn't feel as enjoyable. I hope the people reading fast and constantly still enjoy it.
i was on bookstagram for a long time, like 2013, and in 2020 i had to stop. i was just trying to keep up with new releases, i was trying to read short books so i could have a higher book count for the year, stressing when my monthly wrap ups weren't "enough" etc. i left so i could learn how to read for fun again and not for content creating, which feels crazy, but this competitive vibe in online book communities, like turning reading into a sport, is so weird and not normal. i'm so glad i stepped away, now i read longer books and take my time and don't care if i read just one book in a month. it's too bad these online book communities always turn into capitalistic hustle culture. it's so refreshing to hear criticism like this, and i'm so glad your video was recommended to me!!
the year i read the most books was 2018, and that's when i got through 50 books i think? i was in 8th and 9th grade, no job, barely did school work and it still took me on average a week to read one book, and that's just because im very slow (i think max 40 pages/hour in my native language). now in the past few years i've read maybe one book a year because i just cant bring myself to even start one because i feel like it's not going anywhere and maybe it's because i've watched so many people read like 3 full length novels a day on youtube that my brain just automatically is like nahh you're so bad dont even bother. which is a shame because i used to love reading, it was my one escapism method.
seeing this video gave me the slight motivation that maybe it'll be okay and i can convince my brain that even getting 2 books read next year will be enough. thank you for this, you are amazing
Your message of reading whatever you want, whenever you want is so important.
I've definitely raced through books to finish more of them. I watch a booktuber who calls short books, "A book that respects your time" and I feel like laid in that is a value that shorter books are better because they increase your number count for the end of the year. Reading a greater number of books with your time is valued.
I've stopped rating books on Story Graph (a Goodreads alternative) after reading them because it was stressing me out. Booktube got me thinking anything less than a 5 star read was a waste of my time with video titles like, "Three 5 Star reads in a row!" To me the point of reading is enjoy the book or just experience reading it, rather than to evaluate how much I liked it on a numerical scale.
Mia's Virtual Vanity did an amazing video called The Gamification of Makeup, where she talks about how project panning youtube (a niche I was in and made videos in for a while) values using up makeup in a way that can divorce you from the reason you bought the makeup in the first place: to enjoy wearing it.
Capitalism has really got us thinking about our hobbies like they're transactions!!
Thank you for your honesty. As an Author myself, I don't read other author's books. because I don't want 'Recycled ideas'
You put this across in such a respectful way without shaming anyone, thank you for that! I agree with this, I read 100 books in 2021 because I wanted to fit in,, but I didn’t feel any differently/Better about myself when I reached the goal 🎉
I got VERY into readathons from about 2018-2020, and I burned out so hard. I sacrificed reading for pleasure because I was more afraid of missing out on the fun. Now, I still host my own Disability Readathon, but if I want to read books on a particular theme or topic, I do it on my own time rather than trying to cram as many as I can into a week or a month.
I also loved that you mentioned different reading speeds in different languages. I read maybe one book in Latin per year and occasionally a book in Spanish, and it takes me so much longer (English is my mother language) but is nonetheless rewarding.
I found out that readathons are not for me. The only ones I participate in every year are the Asianreadathon and Nonfiction November and I read on my own pace during them and be so chill and happy doing them.
You made great points! This year I finally got my tbr down to 0 and am starting fresh in 2024. I am now very picky in what I choose to read because I don’t want to waste time reading something just because it’s popular-just because it’s popular doesn’t mean every individual will find it to be good!
When I started making videos about books I promised myself that my hobby of reading would always come before my hobby of video making. Meaning... I wouldn't let myself get stressed by the content about books. If I read less than most youtubers, fine. If I read slower.... fine. If I need a break (slower reading month)....fine. I didnt want to fall into this trap that makes me hate reading simply to keep up with video making. I see people reading 100, even 200 books a year, and im like, wow amazing... but I know with certainty I would get so burnt out if I tried to do that. And personally, I like reading slower. I like taking my time with books and really immersing myself in the world for a longer period of time. I find I get more connected to the characters and I just care more about the story. But I know not everyone feels that way.
I really needed this video today. I am not big into booktube, but I set myself a goal of reading 50 books this year just for fun. While I had a great time with it the first two months because I was motivated to read a lot of books I really liked, as the months dragged on I had less and less fun. I preserved with a lot of books I would normally have abandoned just to add another book to my Read list, and there were no cases of "wow I'm so glad I kept reading, that was so worth it in the end!" instead I just felt like I'd forced myself to finish a meal of junk food I wasn't even enjoying. I felt increasingly pressured and miserable as the end of the year approached and I was not on track to complete my goal, and I found myself picking up short books to read just to get the numbers rather than because I was interested, and avoiding longer books I was more drawn to because I felt like they would take too long for just one more added title on my Read list. All the points you make here really resonate with how I've been feeling, and I too will be setting a 1 book reading goal for next year!
Yes!!! Reading should be done because you genuinely enjoy it and do it in a way that benefits you. Putting pressure on myself to read the “right” way made it so much less fun and fulfilling. Thank you for this lovely video
Life is too short to read bad books. I have a book channel (one of my side channels) and I tried to keep up with Booktube, but I don't like most of the popular books and I only read about 12 books a year. So, I was not enjoying it. I also stopped spending a lot of time on Goodreads now, because it was stressing me. Thanks for the video.
I'm so glad I started reading Terry Pratchett via "Thief of Time" - It introduced me to the world, the philosophy, many of the main characters, or the character genres, and so much of the humor and intelligence. I've since read many of Pratchett's discworld books - and I'm sorry I didn't look through your bookshelves with you to see if you've already discovered them, but you seem amazing and thoughtful, and in case you hadn't tried it, I would recommend starting there. 🥳
Thanks for this video! ☺️ I have children and so much in my schedule already and the idea of setting goals to read a certain number of books makes me stressed. It can take me a few weeks or so to finish a book but I read before bed and I find it a relaxing activity. 😊 I have looked at booktube channels to get some ideas of a book a might like to read. I also prefer the quality over quantity. ☺️
Lately i've been thinking a lot about how I never go to a bookstore/library/op shop anymore and just read blurbs of random books to find my next read, which I absolutely loved doing before I started watching booktube. Nowadays, I always have an endless list of books that I 'have to read' from booktube. When I get to the store I head straight to those books and don't really browse the rest of the store. Since realising this I've stopped adding to my list and I am working on finishing what's on my shelf (only 6 left!). I am SO excited to just go to the bookstore and look around for my next read without a particular book in mind.
I completely agree with you! This year I've also noticed that as much as I love devouring books and constantly being immersed in stories, I tend to forget what I've read. So in 2024 I want to focus on specific books that fits my reading goals (like polish classics - I didn't like them at school, but being much older now, I want to see if I'd appreciate them more now). Hence I'm also dropping readathons as I had to find filler books that fit the prompts and not reading books that I was actually interested in.
I'm currently searching for new booktubers to watch, as the most popular ones read mostly YA fantasy with strong romance subplot, while I prefer adult fantasy with mythology and folklore inspired settings (e.g. slavic fantasy - I wish for more books from south-eastern Europe as I don't know their culture that much).
Same thing about books in English! I know that if I read more physical/ebooks in English, I would be more proficient in it, but because listening is easier, I listen to audiobooks, which is not improving my "eye-reading" skills.
so interesting to see your perspective! i never cared about reading books, then i got into goodreads and booktube, and it actually motivated me and i was reading all the time! was just a phase tho, now i'm back to not reading books lmao. but those things definitely made me read so much more!
the juicy goodreads reviews on certain books are still worth visiting the site for, tho
i feel like i really just watch booktube for motivation. like, i really want to read more so i watch people talking about books or doing book-related challenges, but when i read, i barely read what books they talk about
That's a great way to get motivation to read books
I relate to this video SO MUCH!!! I always feel like a failure when I only ready 90 or so books a year, because I follow people who read like well over 100 or 200 books. And I find myself reading books that I don't even really like, but I'm just reading them because they are popular or they are short so I can finish them quickly and boost my book reading count. I loved this video and you've made me really rethink my reading goals for next year :) I think i would much rather read fewer books if it was all ones I enjoyed, or mostly enjoyed, rather than focusing on getting as many books read as I possibly can
Hello Rana, I'm so glad I discovered your channel, I've been suffering with no reading enough or the books that where "trendy", thank you so much for expressing this reality, new follower from Spain.
Thanks so much for posting this. I've almost lost my love of reading due to burn out by reading too many in a year.
This video and all off your opinions about booktubers all reading and pushing the same books out, I shear with you and is the sole reason for me just adding your channel as one I would like to follow. I look forward to hearing more about alle the books that you reads and what you think about them, expanding my horizon with books that other booktubers probably aren't going to be reading or talking about.
100% agree. I'm very picky about the books I read because I am a slow reader and I don't like feeling like I wasted my time. I am thankful for some of the recommendations I got from booktube and good reads but some/a lot are not my type of books and are not good. Don't ever feel bad about not reading the most popular books because sometimes they are aweful, it's always better to read something you are interested in or will like :)
I'm a fan now! Mainly because you are honest. Your honest in how you believe the "booktubers" and "goodreads" is trying to stress people out and force you to try and win a contest instead of giving advice and options on books. Your honest in deciding you want to read the books YOU want to really read and not ones that are popular or well received. I don't need to see 500 reviews on a new Brandon Sanderson book (no hate to Sanderson...LOVE his books) but giving me a author I'd never heard of, that's more interesting. This is NO hate toward other "Booktubers" or "Goodreads" influencers...I know they do good work. Being different is just more interesting! Keep up the good work!
I loved this, Rana! I too set my Goodreads goal to 1 this year for the same reason!
Well said. Read at yourn own speed and what brings you joy. Cheers and Happy New Year!
Thanks for this video! I can relate-I started my journey on Goodreads back in 2013 and began challenging myself based on the number of books others were reading per year. However, this year, I decided to stop participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge because it was causing me stress. The main goal of reading, after all, is to relax, enjoy, and learn.
Another 'negative impact' I experienced from both Goodreads and Booktube communities is related to recommendations. I often find myself wondering why I'm unable to enjoy certain books that are highly recommended by hundreds of people, like those by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Please don't get me ranting about Taylor Jenkins Reid! It's crazy how popular her books are when they're not even good.
Yeah Totally get what tou mean. Stops me reading larger books as will take me longer to finish. Definitely considering this next year. 90 books is impressive but you have to enjoy it too 😊
Goodreads is very important, it depends on how you use it. If u compete with other users, your reading will be useless but if you use it for tracking and getting reccomendations it will help you. Thank u
It's important and helpful but you can't just not get influenced by other readers. It's an unconscious thing we all do without realizing.
I've dyslexia so I read at approximately half the speed of someone without and overexert myself easily. My sister is the opposite she would read multiple books a day and obsessive with Booktube/Goodreads. I read for fun, she for sport it felt like and would always comment "I can't believe how slow you are" "speed up I want to talk about the book with you" etc etc. It made me hate reading and refusing to for years, recently I started again but on my Kindle or comic books as it is so much easier for me and much more fun. I realised that I don't hate reading I hate competition in reading. I might have goals like "I want to read this before the movie/show comes out" but not "I need to read 100 books a year no matter what even if I hate the book"
I love this video and relate so much! I came to the exact same understanding. I was falling out of love for reading, felt it was more of a chore than the joy it used to be - because I was going for the popular books that I ended up finding average for my taste. It really took a toll. This year I decide to stop listening to the mainstream and focus on what I know I've always loved best. As you said, I reached for those backlist titles that have been sitting on my shelves for years and a quite a few turned out to be some of the best books I've ever read. What a wonderful year this has been!
Agree also half the hyped book videos are now the book channels trashing the book. Like ffs if I enjoyed the book why am I going to watch an hour video of someone hating on it? Rage bait is real even in book content.
I think I've pretty much had the same experience/realisation as you.
Since I first discovered booktube (and, consequently, goodreads) I've been trying to read a ridiculous amount of books a year and it's never done me any good at all. I've put myself in reading slumps by reading too fast all the time. The pressure to make monthly wrap-up videos was a big issue for me personally because then I felt like I had to read a certain amount of books or else I wouldn't be able to make one of those videos, you know? I haven't made any videos since early last year because of a bunch of different reasons, all sort of related to reading/not reading enough, not having anything to say about the books I read because I'm making myself read things I have no real interest in.
My realisation started last year when I actually read 100 books. I read about 7 or so books in the last two weeks of December because of course I was behind on the reading goal because..... 100 books.... is a lot. One book read every two days. But as I was reading them I realised I've been speeding through these relatively short stories (I chose short books for the purpose of completing my goal quickly) and not really taking in the stories... like as I'm reading I'm obviously paying attention and it's not necessarily that I'm not going to remember these books after I'm finished, but it felt like I had no time to let the stories sink into my brain and stay there. I had no time to just enjoy them. I realised this especially because a couple of months prior to this I had been at various festivals (camping) for almost a month and I had only brought one book with me (The Goldfinch by Donna Tart, which is a fat book, I think about 800 pages). It was all I had to read all this time and I found it so much more satisfying (than rushing through books to complete a goal) spending a month reading this one book, having to slowly work my way through the book because of how big it was, really being able to think about the story and take in everything that happened.
I didn't even like the book that much, in parts it was SO BORING, but I still found it a very satisfying read because I:
1. had to read it, i had no other option, no other book, no other way to get another book.
2. it was huge, i simply could not read it fast, i had to take my time.
This year I set my reading goal to 75 books (which I'm absolutely not completing LOL).
I snapped this year. The context is, for a few years (since i joined booktube), I've sort of had this idea in my head that I'll read bad books that everyone talks about and I'll make videos on them like other people do, etc, so I usually buy well known 'bad books' when I see them. And about two months ago I picked up The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles because I saw it on sale for 50p in a charity shop, and I was like oohh this is gonna be good, this is going to be a bad book I can laugh at (because I do enjoy laughing at bad books). So I opened the book and let me tell you, I have never been so MONUMENTALLY BORED by a first page in my god damned LIFE. You know how one of the first rules of writing is "hook your readers with your first sentence/first page" WELL Beth clearly never heard that phrase in her entire life. I don't know how anyone ever got passed her first sentence, let alone her first page or why her book was published (well... i do because it got popular on wattpad and i'm guessing they published it based on popularity rather than quality). I am bitter that my time was robbed, I am bitter that I spent 50p on this book (50p is literally nothing, I spent barely anything, to put that in perspective). And it made me realise, like it genuinely gave me an epiphany of some kind, THAT I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE. I don't wanna read books I hate, I don't want to read books I'm only mildly interested in. If I'm not enjoying a series I'm in the middle of, I'm throwing that series out. I DON'T CARE IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. If I'm struggling to pick up a book I'm in the middle of reading, if I'm finding it hard to finish, then I'm not finishing it because it clearly doesn't interest me enough to make me want to keep reading.
I threw out so many of my books recently because of this. 3 series have been gotten rid of after I've read their first book and decided I don't really care about them. All the books I'd picked up because they were 'bad' are gone. I only want to read stories I actually feel invested in and where I genuinely feel something for the characters. I'm bored of putting myself through mediocre (in my opinion) stories just so I can say I've read them or so I can say I've completed my reading goal.
I've read 5 books this year. None have been that great, the best was crescent city by sarah j maas--i enjoy her works, but they're not exactly.... good, so that's how my readings been going so far. However, if I was making myself finish series' I'm not interested in I would have read about 17 books and would have hated basically all of them.
I don't know how to end this comment and I've forgotten if I had something else to say, so.... yeah... 😭ima go
OH wait yeah i feel like I should clarify all the bad books i picked up were because of booktube videos i watched. it's mainly hinged on whats popular. i pay attention to new releases just because i follow a lot of publishing companies so i see that, plus watching booktube videos tends to tell me all about what's new and popular anyway. a lot of the time i'd find myself swayed by the covers of books and then the fact everyone was talking about them. i wanted to be included in that because of, as you said, FOMO. and it really just does end up ruining reading in general. like i didn't have the urge to read everything that was popular, but i suppose the ones that sounded interesting to me or ones that specifically were known to be bad books---those i wanted to read. but because there are SO MANY new books coming out all the time it ends up feeling like this race against time to read EVERYTHING, if that makes sense at all. and then a race against time (especially as a person who wants to make booktube videos) to make content about the books i read, etc.
You sound simultaneously burnt out and bored. I’m going to suggest something that helped me tremendously. Though bookworms rarely think of doing it…
Read a book from the history section. Reality is so much more interesting and fucked up than anything novels can ever come up with. I read Endurance by Alfred Lansing and The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir and I am hooked for life. I have found so many hidden gems by paying attention to what actually sparks my interest, and sometimes I want to shake some booktubers for what they’re missing out on!
I could never be able to read bad books for fun! 😂
I totally understand what you mean about the Goldfinch, it is a huge book and it took me a long time to finish reading but somehow I really enjoyed my reading process even though it wasn't the best book I've ever read. I think that is the beauty of long books. You have more time to connect with the story and character and end up enjoying it even if you don't give it the highest ratings.
I used to force myself to finish EVERY series I start, but now like you I just dnf the series if I'm not enjoying because life is too short for committing to long series that are bad.
Maybe take a break from reading then pick up a book that you really wanted to read for a while? It might help.
thank you so much for your insights on this! I definitely feel the pressure from booktube/booktok as well and try to cultivate more mindful reading again. I also deleted goodreads completely and now use storygraph because it somehow stresses me out less. in regards to reading goals, I have established in the last 2 years that my only goal is reading one more book than last year.