Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Ocnos Revista de estudios sobre lectura Open Access http://ocnos.revista.uclm.es/ Full Text Article Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces Videoreseñas de booktubers como espacios de mediación literaria Lenin Paladines-Paredes https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9514-3028 Universidad Nacional de Loja (Ecuador) Cristina Aliagas https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6424-095X Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Spain) Received: 31/07/2020 Abstract Resumen Accepted: As part of the research field on the read- En el marco de una investigación más 19/12/2020 ing practices of booktubers, this study pro- extensa sobre booktubers, describimos y ca- poses to characterize the communicative racterizamos la función comunicativa y el function and the discursive genre of video género discursivo de la videoreseña teniendo ISSN: 1885-446 X reviews taking into account the commu- en cuenta sus dimensiones comunicativa, li- ISSNe: 2254-9099 nicative, literary and discursive dimension. teraria y discursiva. Seleccionamos 17 video- 17 video reviews posted on YouTube are se- reseñas de YouTube, de 17 canales diferentes lected from 17 different booktuber channels de booktubers, de varios países de América Keywords: from various countries in Latin America and Latina y España. Los resultados muestran la Book reviews; literary review: discourse analysis; reading Spain. The results show the organization of organización del contenido de la videorese- promotion; reading motivation; the content of the video reviews in a textual ña en una superestructura textual similar a Web 2.0 Technologies. superstructure similar to that of the tradi- la de la reseña tradicional: introducción-de- tional literary review: introduction-devel- sarrollo-cierre. Los booktubers reinterpretan Palabras clave: opment-closure. The booktubers reinterpret esta estructura en un contexto comunicati- Reseñas de libros; reseñas this textual structure in a new communica- vo nuevo (YouTube) y la concretan con rasgos literarias, análisis del discurso; tive context (YouTube) and make it concrete discursivos particulares (contextualización, promoción lectora; motivación in a particular discursive structure (con- presentación del libro, relaciones con la edi- lectora, tecnologías Web 2.0 textualization, book presentation, relations torial, análisis literario y apelación a la au- with the publisher, literary analysis and diencia) consolidando, así, una propuesta Contact: appeal to the audience), thus consolidating audiovisual de la reseña literaria que supone lv.paladines@gmail.com a new audiovisual concretion of the literary un nuevo contexto de mediación literaria en review that represents a new context of liter- Internet. ary mediation on the Internet. This study is linked to two R+D+i research projects of the Ministry of Science and Innovation: the research project led by D. Cassany “ForVid: The video with a format for linguistic learning and learning” (RT2018-100790 -B-100; 2019 -2021) which has funded the translation of this article into English, and the GRETEL research group, currently with the research project led by A.M. Margallo and C. Aliagas “Training readers of the XXI century: digital literature and new didactic devices to expand reading response in the school context” (PID2019-109799RB-100, 2020 -2023). Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. (2021). Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces. Ocnos, 20 (1), 38-49. https://doi.org/10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Ocnos: Revista de estudios sobre lectura. Edited by CEPLI; Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License 38 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces Introduction activity for literary analysis and reading rec- ommendations, which we characterise from a Technological advances in connectivity, discursive, communicative and literary point of ubiquity and access to new platforms and appli- view. cations on the Internet have changed the way young people take over and participate in youth Booktubers as literary mediators literary culture, taking advantage of the commu- nicative and creative potential of the web. These Booktuber activity has been documented changes are linked to a new model of consump- from various disciplines. Studies with a soci- tion, generation and socialisation of literary ological perspective such as those conducted contents, decided on, controlled, generated and by Sued (2016) or Thomas et al. (2019) describe distributed by users themselves according to the booktube community as a consolidated their own interests. This explains the emergence social group, sharing content aimed at literary in the network of new discursive genres with the analysis. Works from the field of communica- function of commenting on literary texts (Scolari tion (Maeda & Ramírez, 2017; Vizcaíno-Verdú et et al., 2018; Cassany, 2012; Lluch, 2017). Recent al. 2019) identify interactive features that struc- works (Colwell, 2013; Guzmán-Franco, 2018; ture the community of readers, partly based on Ehret et al., 2018) point to the need to study new loyalty strategies such as permanent interaction literary practices in digital environments, such of the booktuber with its audience, dynamic and as the international phenomenon of booktubers, playful communication or constant production which is the topic of this research. of contents. Finally, in the field of education, the challenges and benefits of this practice are Booktubers have established themselves as explored in relation to the literary competence a virtual community of young people who post of secondary school students (Rovira-Collado, videos on YouTube talking about books. Sorensen 2017; Torralba, 2018). and Mara (2014) define them as a “networked knowledge community”, which shares the The participatory and community component dynamics of creation and distribution of literary of this audiovisual practice (Jenkins, 2009) con- content. Audiovisual contents specifically asso- solidates booktubers as mediators of a new “delo- ciated with the booktube community are varied calised” reading process in school culture (Lluch, in format and in the interpretative relationship 2017), with its own spaces, channels, values they establish with the literary text: the analysis and rules of interaction, but with recognisable of the works takes the form of reviews, reading discursive structures. Thus, literary mediation guides or studies on books, while the will to is articulated on the basis of affinity between collect books has its own genres (book hauls, participants, aligning itself with the fandom’s bookshelf tours), which is also the case with the dynamic structures, and reproduces the model playful use of literary information (book tags, of an expert reader and literary mediator (the tops) (Paladines-Paredes & Margallo, 2020). booktuber), who recommends books to poten- tial readers, using roles that had already been The booktuber phenomenon dates back to identified in studies on literary blogs (Manresa 2009 (Scolari, 2010), coinciding with YouTube’s & Margallo, 2016) and which, in short, are those boom, and has increased in popularity and inter- who have traditionally orchestrated literary nationalisation exponentially over the last few mediation from experts (for example, teachers, years. Its central role in the literary life of young librarians, booksellers, philologists, etc.). adults leads us to study video reviews, which are the essential audiovisual device in booktubers’ 39 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces The literary video review written reviews, have an associated forum where the audience makes comments and ratings to According to Cerrillo et al. (2002), the literary continue the literary discussion. mediator acts as a bridge or link between books and readers by facilitating dialogue between In short, video review is a new space for them both. The literary mediation carried out literary reflection and learning, of an informal by booktubers consists of an oral recommenda- nature (Ito et al., 2019). Therefore, we propose tion of a book that takes the rhetorical form of to characterise it from the perspective of the dis- a literary review on video, something that, for cursive genre, taking into account the commu- authors like Tomasena (2019), is an innovation nicative and literary dimensions, in order to find of the literary genre of the review. out how it contributes to the promotion of youth literary culture. In addition to contributing to Castro del Castillo (2007) explains that the the specific field of booktubing, this analysis function of literary reviews is to give precise is also relevant in the educational field, where and brief information about a literary work in classroom experiences integrating video art as a order to express an opinion. In this sense, on space/resource for literary learning are growing the format of booktubers reviews, Sorensen and every day (Torrego et al., 2016; Torralba, 2018). Mara (2014) identify two parts: a first general spoiler-free review of the plot, and a second part Research goal and methodology of literary evaluation of the book, which may contain the most important part of the video. Our aim is to characterise video reviews by Thus, literary reviews and video reviews share booktubers in order to describe them from the a double descriptive and critical logic. In this point of view of the discursive genre (thematic study, we start from these first global descrip- content, style, structure, composition), commu- tions to examine the discursive and literary nication and literary content. We ask ourselves: complexity of this video genre. what is the discursive structure of booktubers’ video reviews and what contents do they formu- According to Semingson et al. (2017), video late and how do they do it? To that end, a first reviews are -within the wide world that book- phase was dedicated to the constitution of the tubers have built with their channels- a specific analysis corpus consisting of a search and fil- genre for commenting on a book from a very tering of booktubers channels in Spanish, using personal viewpoint, while maintaining a basic the following keywords: booktube; booktuber; structure (presentation of the book, assessment booktubers, booktube + Spain, Mexico, Argentina, of characters, plot and style). In this sense, Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Chile, Colombia. This the basic textual organisation coincides with search, carried out between January and March that identified by Castro del Castillo (2007) for 2020, found a first list of booktubers in the literary reviews (an initial contextualising part, Spanish-speaking world from which we selected a more analytical central core and a final overall the most viewed channels in each country. critique). From each of these channels we selected the If the review is a typically written literary three video reviews with the most views. This exercise, which incorporates the reader’s critical filtering resulted in a corpus of 69 videos, which and evaluative vision (Muchacho-Sánchez, we analysed according to the criteria specified in 2017), the video review is typical of booktubers table 1. This process resulted in a sample analysis and linked to the influence of social networks, of 17 video profiles. which have their own interactive rules, dis- cursive values and formats. Given that they Table 2 shows the 17 video reviews with are hosted on YouTube, video reviews, unlike the highest scores for audiovisual and literary 40 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces Table 1 Criteria for the evaluation and selection of the sample of video reviews Criteria Definition Score* Post-production • Relevant selection of images or video in relation to the topic dealt with. (1) does not meet the quality • Clarity of titles, text or other post-production elements. criterion, (2) partially meets • Debugging of distracting elements or recording errors. the criterion, (3) largely • Relevant and clear use of transitions, effects or music to accompany the meets the criterion, (4) fully audiovisual product. meets the criterion. • Use of presentation or farewell bumpers. (Clark & Mayer, 2011) Audiovisual • Image composition, location and stabilisation of the camera, lighting of the quality studio or recording location, correct recording of the audio. (Prado, 2010) Quality of Literary • Clarity and rationale for personal assessment. Analysis • A variety of elements are taken into account: elements relating to the writer, literary trend, ideology, narrator, atmosphere, treatment of language, time and style. (Sabino, 2004) Oral expression • Organising and structuring the discourse in a coherent way. and eloquence • Fluency in the presentation of the message. used to convey the • Expression of emotions (Cassany et al., 2001). message Internet visibility From 0 to 100: Does not meet the criterion. (based on the From 101 to 1,000: Partially meets the criterion. number of views) From 1,001 a 10,000: Largely meets the criterion. More than 10,000: Fully meets the criterion. Results and analysis quality (at least 17/20 points or more), which we numbered and transcribed in full for analysis. The results identify three parts or movements in the basic structure of the video review: intro- The second phase of the study, aimed at a duction, literary analysis (with final critical discursive-rhetorical analysis, focused on the evaluation) and closure. The rhetorical-discur- identification of internal gender rhetorical sive analysis of each part with its movements or movements, a concept defined by Swales (1990) sub-parts, illustrated with examples from the as those discursive units that play a concrete corpus (table 3) is presented below. communicative role and that articulate a text. To that end, we inductively encoded video logs Movement I: Introduction using Atlas-Ti software. The introduction deals with the commu- From a qualitative approach, we proposed a nicative function of establishing contact with discursive analysis of the textual organisation the audience and presenting the book to be (Calsamiglia & Tusón, 2001) and an inductive discussed. The introduction typically includes process of categorisation of the corpus. The three sub-parts: (a) greetings and goals of the foregoing was based on previous discursive video, (b) context and motivation, and (c) pres- descriptions of the literary review (Castro del entation of the book. Castillo, 2007) and the video review (Sorensen & Mara, 2014). 41 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces Table 2 Sample of analysed videos Year of Book’s Gender Country Code Book’s title publication Channel name Duration Link to video author (M or F) of origin of the book André V1 Find me 2019 Abriendo Libros 05:31 M Mexico shorturl.at/alHLV Aciman V. C. 1979 V2 Flowers in the attic Alexis Ayala 09:20 M Mexico shorturl.at/lmzEI Andrews (re-edition) Rainbow V3 Eleanor & Park 2013 Andreo Rowling 07:14 F Spain shorturl.at/kvL36 Rowell Crónicas de una shorturl.at/ V4 Ready Player One Ernest Clyne 2011 08:53 F Colombia merodeadora mEK25 Fly like a V5 Cuando me veas Laura Gallego 2017 04:31 F Spain shorturl.at/hS457 butterfly Todas las hadas del V6 Laura Gallego 2015 Javier Ruescas 05:42 M Spain shorturl.at/PUZ69 reino The Fault in Our Las Palabras V7 John Green 2012 08:00 F Mexico shorturl.at/txSXY Stars de Fa Carmen 1945 V8 Nada Libros de María 12:41 F Spain shorturl.at/cw357 Laforet (re-edition) All the light we Anthony Lucinda entre V9 2014 05:38 F Mexico shorturl.at/jC278 cannot see Doerr libros V10 Under the Dome Stephen King 2009 Martín Rondina 07:44 M Argentina shorturl.at/ikrEX Journey to the 1864 shorturl.at/ V11 Jules Verne Matías G.B. 06:14 M Argentina Centre of the Earth (re-edition) fmX35 Harry Potter and 1997 V12 the Philosopher’s J.K. Rowling Mayra Yamonte 07:30 F Spain shorturl.at/fmxFL (re-edition) Stone An Ember in the V13 Sabaá Tahir 2015 Mia Nauca 04:19 F Peru shorturl.at/fhoW8 Ashes Becky V14 What if it’s us 2018 Natalya 06:54 F Argentina shorturl.at/mrvET Albertralli V15 Coraline Neil Gaiman 2002 Rainbook 07:52 F Mexico shorturl.at/lKV03 The Catcher in the 1951 Sebastián V16 J. D. Salinger 08:55 M Spain shorturl.at/frGZ7 Rye (re-edition) Mouret 1897 V17 Dracula Bram Stocker Vikinga Lectora 10:15 F Mexico shorturl.at/nrzOX (re-edition) Table 3 Rhetorical-discursive movements of the literary video review Movements Sub-parts M1: Introduction (performs the function of self-presentation of the booktuber and justification of the Greetings and goals of the video choice of book) Context and motivation Presentation of the book M2: Analysis (performs the function of valuing the literary work) Abstract Overall literary analysis Final valuation M3: Closure (performs the function of “connecting” the review with other spaces/users in the network) Direct appeal to the audience Other information 42 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces (a) Greetings and goals of the video booktuber usually positions himself from his own experience and acts as an expert who shares Typically, at the beginning the booktuber information about something known, in a dis- is presented to his audience and explains the cursive act that validates him as a recommender purpose of the video, which is usually to review in the process of literary mediation. a book: Hi all little Rowlings and welcome to a new video on my Personal reasons for reviewing each book channel. My name is Andrea and in today’s video we made explicit are another important element. are going to review and talk about this book here [shows The booktuber’s motivation can be intrinsic or the book in the video] called Eleanor & Park. (V3) extrinsic. On the one hand, motivation involves Hello to all survivors and welcome to a new videoblog personal tastes, interests or experience, as can on my channel. (V6) be seen in the following quotations, where the booktuber reinforces his identity as a reader with The above examples show details of the the experience to support the choice of a book: communicative function of this part such as: In my case, it is the fifth novel by this author I read. the use of a special nomenclature to designate All of Laura Gallego’s stories have something in followers: small Rowlings and survivors. This common: fantasy, which is present in this book too. tailored denomination reinforces membership But in this case it is a fairly realistic story that has a of a community, which recognises itself under very important paranormal factor. (V5). the corresponding epithet. This first sub-part My approach to this book is quite peculiar, because corresponds to the self-presentation function of the books of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea the booktuber and a mention of the book being on 1 and 2 have always been at home. And I wanted to reviewed. read it particularly Journey to the Centre of the Earth because I saw a film called the same way quite a few (b) Context and motivation years ago. (V11). After the greetings, some booktubers con- On the other hand, extrinsic motivation has textualise the book by providing various data to do with collective challenges, the opinions (author, edition, country or any additional infor- of other internet users or external reading mation they find interesting to present to the dynamics: audience). In this presentation one can already As you know, I started a challenge in November called predict the thematic angle of the interpretation May reads Harry Potter, with that same hashtag. It is they will make of the book. a challenge in which I intend to read a Harry Potter. Let’s talk about this novel, published in 1951; it gen- (V12). erated a lot of controversy from sexuality, religion, Because so many people had given it five stars; they said politics, as its main character is a teenager who that it was an incredible book, that they really liked it, smokes, drinks and even goes whoring. (V16). that they really wanted to, needed to read it. (V13). Background information fulfils the strategic The above examples identify a participatory function of reinforcing the booktuber’s motiva- component that reinforces the idea of an online tion to review the book, while intensifying the reading community. Thus, the booktuber does potential interest for its audience (i.e. it aims at not make decisions alone, but many are con- grabbing attention and create good expectations) textualised in its active participation in reading at the same time. The contextual data provided networks on different platforms. also support the subsequent comments. The 43 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces (c) Presentation of the book ration has consequences on the selection criteria of the books booktubers comment on. After the presenting himself and justifying the choice of the book, he presents the book Movement II: Analysis in more detail. The reviews analysed show a common element, which is the presentation The analysis part of the rhetorical-discursive of the book as part of the video. Paratextual organisation of the video review responds to the elements such as the edition, the cover or other communicative function of valuing the book interesting elements are mentioned before the from the literary experience of the booktuber. analysis itself: This analysis is typically made up of a sub-part This edition is published by Debolsillo. It has approx- that functions as a summary of the plot, which imately 1,123 pages. It is soft-covered and has no the booktuber uses as a starting point to develop flaps. It has no flaps and the typography is small; it is a more or less complete literary analysis and issue small for reading. (V10) a final valuation -positive or negative- of the book. The book is called Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell It is made up of the following elements: (a) the and published by Alfaguara. In this case, this copy abstract, (b) the analysis and (c) the final valuation. was sent to me by Boolino, a platform that promotes reading [He shows the book in the video]. (V3) (a) Abstract The edition I have here is not the one you will find in bookshops. It is a special edition. I want to thank Booktubers summarise the argument of the Montena publishing house very much indeed for work in all the reviews under analysis. They use sending it to me [he shows the book in the video]. It resources such as reading aloud passages of the is in hardcover, with the same illustration and the book or recreating dialogues or passages of the same back cover as the edition you will find in book- work, with a personal language and adapted to shops. (V6). the booktuber’s style. When appropriate, the booktubers thank The summary presents the plot or storyline the publisher or sponsor who donated the book. in a general way. The main conflict is mentioned This gesture is a reflection of the close link that and the characters are described within a spatial booktubers have established with the publishing and temporal context. It is usually organised on industry, in a mutually beneficial relationship: the basis of the presentation of the main charac- publishers gain in terms of strategy to reach ter, as in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (V16): readers and booktubers gain in terms of prestige Holden is a bad student and always has been. in the network for its connection with publish- However, his parents force him to move from one ers. This dynamic is suggested in this example: high school to another and from one boarding school Well, first of all I would like to thank Penguin to another searching for a place where he can hold Random House very much for giving me this little on to his studies. When the story begins, a few days book, because I asked them for it for a very, very long before Christmas, Holden has just been expelled from time. Actually, I was really to read it. (V13). his last boarding school and yet, in the meeting with the headmaster, he tells him the following: “Look, In one specific case (V6), the publisher sent you are expelled, but well, today is Wednesday, you him a copy that is not even available in book- can stay until the end of the week and I am not going stores, which shows a preferential treatment and to call your parents until Monday, so come on, get a consideration of the video review as a showcase out, get out of my sight”. (V16). for the publisher. It takes advantage of the book- tuber’s influence on his community of followers Booktubers generally try not to spoil any to promote his launches. Therefore, this collabo- circumstances or details that are decisive in the 44 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces development of the plot and sometimes they ment, reading pace, the author’s style, the nar- express this self-control in their comments, rative organisation or the themes dealt with by something that we will analyse later. the book. (b) Overall literary analysis (c) Final valuation Literary analysis is the central part of the Although the analysis focuses on specific reviews analysed. Booktubers evaluate some elements of the book, these valuation lead to literary elements of the work at several levels. an overall valuation of the reading experience, On the one hand, there is often an experiential which can be articulated qualitatively and/or valuation: the booktuber indicates his reaction quantitatively. The qualitative valuation sum- in the form of an opinion to certain parts of the marises the entire experience from the point of book that he liked or disliked. This analysis gen- view of the learning triggered on reading the erally focuses on the characters, the style, or the book, and/or the personal recommendation that development of the plot: is made: He has such human characters, so well made, It is a novel to think about, it is a novel to reflect upon, so endearing... You get attached to... I think, to but above all it is a novel to enjoy with an impeccable everyone. And those you have to hate, you hate them style, with a first-person narrator and a tragic story, very much. (V9). because the stress of Holden Caufield is nothing but The characters in Saba’a Tahir have really been a sad story. This is one of the best novels of the 20th incredibly well developed; you really forget that you century. In any case, do not miss the opportunity to are reading fiction: you want to know what else is enter Holden Caufield’s world. (V16). going on with the two main characters. (V13). This qualitative valuation can be accompa- On a more complex level, there are book- nied by another assessment aimed at quantify- tubers who show a broader literary knowl- ing the interest of the book. In this regard, we edge. This allows them to make more nuanced identify two strategies: appealing to a prestig- analyses through intertextual comparisons and ious rating (as in V7) or assigning rating stars comments, or by infusing implicit information to the book (from one to five), a system used by and relating it to contemporary issues: all the reviews analysed. This system is inher- It has a lot of symbols. I love that, that the book has ited from the social network Goodreads, which so many symbols. It has a... what is the name of that? also shows the coexistence between these social An epigraph; I think they are called epigraphs. This networks, with booktubers active in both spaces means that before the book they put some poem or of literary mediation. some part of another novel. It has an epigraph in the style of The Great Gatsby and the last lines are in the The quantitative valuation serves as a style of by James Joyce’s Ulysses. (V7). reinforcement of the recommendation to the audience, to suggest the reading or not of the As for the literary elements they value, book, based on the assigned grade. comments on characters and the plot predom- As expected, I give this book five out of five stars, of inate, as well as valuations on the writing style course. It is wonderful. In fact, this book ranked no. and the reading pace it involves. It is noteworthy 1 in the top ten best books of 2012 in the New York that the literary analysis does not constitute a Times. (V7). very extensive section of the video review in I read a review in Goodreads by a girl who said contrast to the introduction, which has a much nothing and gave it one or two stars, or something longer duration comparatively. It usually deals like that, and I was like: OMG! In my case, I am one of with aspects such as: characters, plot’s develop- those who has loved this book. I gave it his five out of five stars, it is worth it. (V8). 45 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces Movement III: Closure says so”, because maybe there are people who [read] the comments and do not know the end. So be very The closure has the function of conclud- careful in your comments, or mark “spoiler” in capital ing the communicative event and linking it to letters, so that people scroll down the comment and other contexts of the network at the same time, do not read it. And so together we create a spoiler-free something that globally reinforces the booktu- community. (V3). ber’s identity. The booktuber asks the audience through greetings (individually or to the com- Spoilers are an important action in the book- munity) and provides followers with informa- tuber community, since they generate a whole tion of interest (other social networks, channel culture about the sensitive information dealt subscription or raffles). with in literary reviews, as it is not considered a good thing for someone to ruin the experience (a) Direct appeal to the audience of the reader who has not yet read the work. It can be understood they limit the way reviews are Aimed at generating an asynchronous inter- worked on, reducing the possibilities that book- action in the comments subsequently, so that tubers have to use the information of the work to the followers express their opinions and visions speak in the video. about the same work. These comments can be incorporated into subsequent videos, through Discussion direct mentions or greetings, which motivates the audience to follow the booktuber’s videos, The results of this research, in comparison consolidating the social function of the video with the structure proposed by Sorensen and review through the participation and construc- Mara (2014), from a more holistic point of view and tion of a collaborative and participative content. in line with the studies of discursive gender and I also saw there are already more than 1,000 of us on communication, show a video review without the channel, I cannot believe it! Indeed, thank you two such clearly differentiated parts. Review very, very much to all of you, those of you who are and discussion are rather combined throughout here no longer write in the videos; to those of you who the video. Our analysis shows that video reviews comment, thank you for subscribing to the channel. I articulate specific blocks (introduction-motiva- think am planning to prepare a little video so that we tion-presentation of the book-summary-literary can celebrate that we are more than a thousand. (V15). analysis-appeal to the audience-closure) that respond to a reformulation of the discursive (b) Other data genre of the literary review, taking advantage of the creative potential of the multimodality and It is used to give various information such as the interactive possibilities of YouTube. encouraging people to subscribe to the channel or giving specific instructions on the code of Likewise, this analysis also shows that video conduct and participation in the channel. In the reviews are shaped by its situation and com- following excerpt, we can see how the booktuber municative function (videos with an audience organises the participation of his followers in posted on YouTube used to recommend a book the comments section so that no spoilers of the with literary foundations), as well as the expres- reviewed work are written. This way, the experi- sive resources at their disposal. On the discur- ence of those who have not read the end yet is not sive side, booktubers organise the message in harmed their experience by learning the details such a way it can be easily assimilated by their thereof: audience. The speech is always organised in I would very much like you to post me your theories specific sections (introduction-development-clo- on what those three words are. Just write the words, sure) and the speaker expresses himself in the do not write something like: “In the end I think it second person, directly appealing his target (as 46 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces you know; do not miss the opportunity), using Conclusions formulas that connect with his audience and manage to keep the attention on the content. On This study has made it possible to determine the other hand, YouTube’s audiovisual compo- how video art emerges as a discursive genre for nent allows the booktuber to interpret the book in literary mediation with its own characteristics. a more personal and creative way, thus expand- Video reviews take over the discursive/commu- ing its expressive repertoire to the wide use of nicative function and characteristics of tradi- multimodal resources typical of video layout. tional literary reviews and combine them with the audiovisual possibilities of YouTube video The analysis of the sample of 17 video reviews blogs, such as interaction with the audience, has highlighted the direct link between publish- asynchronous debate in the commentaries or ers and booktubers, which is already mentioned the inclusion of audio and video elements as part in Tomasena (2019), who, through interviews thereof. Booktubers thus emerge as mediators with several booktubers, described the col- of literary socialisation before an audience that laborative relationships between publishers has the possibility to interact asynchronously and content creators on YouTube. In our work, through YouTube’s social functionalities or the however, it shows how that relationship trans- convergence with other social networks. lates into direct mention of the publisher, in the booktubers’ speech, usually by way of a thank As for the literary dimension, video reviews you and the presentation of the book in the take the basic superstructure in three parts video. The quality of the publication they recom- of video reviews (Castro del Castillo, 2007): mend is also detailed, which in turn makes the contextualisation, development and closure. booktuber video a showcase for the audience, As our analysis shows, each booktuber adapts who would be the potential buyers of the books this structure according to his interests or pos- reviewed. sibilities. The visual sphere plays a key role, as it allows the booktuber to review paratextual The video review emerges as a discursive aspects such as: the edition of the book, printing genre oriented to the recommendation and quality, cover, etc. Resources such as: reading analysis of books by young readers. In this passages, the superimposition of images or video sense, and as established by De la Torre-Espinosa when reviewing or reading are also used. (2019), booktubers’ video reviews would not be a form of literary criticism in the strict sense. As for literary analysis, this varies depend- Moreover, the informative content, the features ing on the knowledge or reading experience of literary analysis and the collective discus- of each booktuber. The more experience the sion of the texts read make this genre a fresh, reviewer has, the more intertextual elements original and playful way of reviewing, since it are analysed or more metaliterary terminology covers most necessary aspects (descriptions, is used. Despite this, most of these valuations evaluations, position taking and recognition are experiential or superficial, without going of a potential interlocutor) (Rodríguez-Carucci, beyond the booktuber’s personal opinion about 1997; Muchacho-Sánchez, 2017). Its purpose, elements related to the characters, the plot or the gaining the support of others, precisely makes book’s ending. it a suitable discursive genre for shaping what was established by Lluch (2014): creating virtual From the communication point of view, book- reading communities, generating prominence tubers use some resources to build audience and visibility, turning the young reader into a loyalty and consolidate or expand their commu- consolidated opinion leader within the commu- nities of followers of their channels: the use of nity of readers and to establishing booktube as a epithets or special names for followers related community of belonging and affection. 47 Ocnos (2021), 20 (1): 38-49 Paladines-Paredes, L., & Aliagas, C. DOI 10.18239/ocnos_2021.20.1.2489 Booktubers’ video reviews as literary mediation spaces to the channel’s name; raffles of gifts or prizes Castro del Castillo, E. (2007). La reseña. In L. Cubo for those who interact or special mentions in de Severino (Coord.), Los textos de la ciencia. the videos. In this sense, video reviews, besides Principales clases del discurso científico (pp. 115- having a literary component, incorporate a 118). Comunicarte. structuring social dimension, which maintains Cerrillo, P., Larrañaga E., & Yubero, S. (2002). Libros, the interest of the audience, always fostering lectores y mediadores: la formación de los hábitos participation and contributions of the readers lectores como proceso de aprendizaje. Universidad in the planning of the videos, or in the mentions Castilla-La Mancha. within the video review as a loyalty strategy. Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-learning and the science of instruction: proven guidelines for consum- The conclusions of this study are limited to ers and designers of multimedia learning. Pfeiffer. the sample of the 17 videos analysed. However, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118255971 they provide relevant data on how this discur- Colwell, J. (2013). Connecting old and new literacies sive genre is configured. Participatory research in a transliterate world. Library Media Connection, taking into account the direct opinion of book- 31(7), 14-17. tubers would make it possible to explore new De la Torre-Espinosa, M. (2020). El fenómeno perspectives such as: the influence of publishers’ Booktube, entre el fandom y la crítica liter- interests on the selection and opinion of the aria. Álabe, 21. https://doi.org/10.15645/ books reviewed, the economic and purchasing Alabe2020.21.6 power aspect of access to books, ideological Ehret, C., Boegel, J., & Manuel-Nekouei, R. (2018). aspects linked to the choice of books and their The Role of Affect in Adolescents’ Online valuation, etc. Literacies: Participatory Pressures in BookTube Culture. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Further research could deepen the analysis 0(0), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.881 of other elements (semiotic, linguistic, audio- Guzmán-Franco, M., Yot-Domínguez, C., & Vizcaíno- visual, etc.), which would allow for a wider Verdú, A. (2018). La educación lectora y literaria knowledge and understanding of this discursive a través de los libros digitales. Entre booktubers y genre within the process of reading mediation realidad aumentada. In I. Aguaded, & L. Romero- and transformation of legal practices influenced Rodríguez (Eds.), Competencia mediática en medios by the use of technology. In addition, in-depth digitales emergentes (pp. 189-210). Comunicación knowledge of the characteristics of the discur- Social Ediciones y Publicaciones. sive genre would make it possible to base and Ito, M., Martin, C., Cody-Pfister, R., Rafalow, M., specify didactic proposals that contemplate the Salen, K., & Wortman, A. (2019). 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