17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Literacy Volume 57 Number 1 January 2023 17 Literacy and literary learning on BookTube through the lenses of Latina BookTubers Lenin Paladines and Cristina Aliagas Abstract areas of knowledge related to adolescent literacies, digital practices and literary education, such as com- In this study, we examine various aspects of munication studies, sociology and language and litera- BookTubers’ literacy practices, regarding the personal ture education (Paladines-Paredes and Aliagas, 2021). and social factors that lead readers to devote them- This research highlights the growing and multidisci- selves to the BookTube community, the elements that BookTubers consider as they create and publish video plinary scholarly interest in analysing BookTubing book reviews and the sort of literary learning this dig- culture as a literary practice that is currently taking ital literacy practice entails. For this purpose, narrative shape outside the context of formal education. interviews were conducted with six BookTubers, five Several theoretical approaches have been applied to of them from Latin America and one from Spain. Their research on the BookTube phenomenon over the last answers offer insights into the motivations and unique decade. The New Literacy Studies (Barton and Hamilton, types of learning that come together in this literary 1998; Lankshear and Knobel, 2011; Street, 1984) empha- practice. A qualitative analysis of the interviews shows sise the need to understand textual practices as embed- that affective engagement with books is a singular fea- ded within specific social contexts, including the digital ture of BookTubers’ understanding of reading culture context and informal learning spaces. In the New and that literary video reviews are created in a com- Literacy Studies framework, the BookTube practice is a plex bricolage process where resources, skills and knowledge are mobilised and develop, both aspects vernacular literacy practice since it is not regulated by also being associated with the development of an on- the formalities that shape a culture’s dominant practices line social reading identity. In addition, an ecological (Barton and Hamilton, 1998). In this connection, the approach to analysing literacy and literary learning in concept of affinity space (Gee and Hayes, 2012) has been the BookTuber culture points to the importance of used to explain how the digital socialisation environment framing video book reviews as a didactic resource with works as an organiser of social dynamics in the BookTube considerable potential to bring new learning practices community (Semingson et al., 2017); BookTubers take to in-school literary education. advantage of the interactive affordances offered by YouTube as a virtual space to set up a network of relation- Key words: BookTube, literary learning, video book ships with other cybernauts by means of the BookTube reviews, youth online literary practices ‘channel’ where they post their video book reviews. Boot (2020) argues that the success of video book BookTubing as an emerging literary practice reviews within the community of readers is derived fundamentally from the enthusiasm with which among young people YouTubers share their reading experiences, something which in turn highlights the importance for young “I found on YouTube a space where I could share what readers of feeling like they belong to a reading commu- I read.” These are the words of Karla, a 24-year-old nity. This interaction collectively converts BookTubers Costa Rican who is devoted to reading and into what Sorensen and Mara (2014) call an online recommending books to other readers through video community of knowledge, given that they make up a book reviews. Like many other young people world- cohesive group that self-regulates the features of the wide, she is a BookTuber and has her own YouTube discourse and content generated among its members. channel, where she uploads the ‘reviews’ and dis- Ehret et al. (2016) point to the need to ‘understand’ cusses them with her followers (see Fig. 1). the multimodality of youth literacies from the point Recently, research on the literary practices of of view of the appropriation of discourses and the va- BookTubers has developed simultaneously in various riety of resources with which these literacies are enacted. Similarly, Burnett and Merchant (2015) under- [Corrections added after first publication: The first and second affiliations were interchanged in this version.] line multimodality in relation to the development of © 2022 The Authors. Literacy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of United Kingdom Literacy Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the orig- inal work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 18 Literacy and literary learning on BookTube notions of what constitutes a ‘good review’, in accor- dance with criteria validated by the community, approval of content, for example, being expressed by leaving ‘likes’, and recommendations on the YouTube platform. These video reviews act as digital epitexts (Lluch, 2010) that expand the reading experience and generate interactive content centred around the book. Few qualitative studies published recently examin- ing BookTubers’ discourse from an emic stance have made key contributions to the field. In a recent descrip- tive analysis with a focus on education, Ravettino- Destefanis (2017) describes how BookTubers “interpret their reading: they prepare their performances with en- Fig. 1: Screenshot of Karla doing a video book review on thusiasm, making full use of words, gestures, images her BookTuber channel (Source: https://www.youtube.com/ and sounds. They construct eloquent stories, have c/GoWithKar) turned what they do essentially into a profession, and, in some cases, their efforts yield benefits on a monthly basis” (p. 106). Tomasena (2019) uses virtual discursive practices and genres associated with youth ethnography to explore the complex relationship be- literary practices. The discursive practices of BookTube tween BookTubers and the publishing industry: how have given rise to a process of relocation of literary that relationship is constructed, how it evolves and development, due to the appropriation of the reading what benefits it yields. Taking a similar line methodo- responses generated and distributed directly from logically, Anderson (2020) conducts ethnographic in- users (Hull and Stornaiuolo, 2014). These contributions terviews with three BookTubers in order to understand show a growing and real interest in research in the lit- the functioning of what she calls the distribution of eracy practices of young people in different aspects, so knowledge, a process by which BookTube generates lit- we intended to delve into knowing and understanding erary knowledge. What we have, thus, is an interesting how the practices of BookTubers are interwoven with process in which literary competences are developed literary learning, socialisation, discourse and identity. in an informal context and constructed around BookTubers’ own particular forms of expression and literary text analysis, in addition to particular discur- Video book reviews as a discursive genre sive and interactional norms that they learn by partic- ipating in the community. This process is evident in BookTubers speak directly to the ‘imagined’ viewer in the sharing of technical knowledge on BookTube re- order to present an oral review of the book and com- lated to the production and editing of videos so that ment on, analyse and display it on screen. Given the other potential BookTubers can build these skills. This large numbers of followers some of them have gained, constitutes concrete evidence of the practical learning they seem to have successfully harnessed the potential that can take place through YouTube, seen from the of social media to make reading a popular habit perspective of the participants themselves. among young people (Tomasena, 2019). They have shaped a new, vibrant discourse genre—the video book review (what they just call ‘reviews’)—that has Aims of this study piqued the interest of readers around the world. Previous research on BookTubers (Paladines-Paredes Our goal is to document the process of creating and and Aliagas, 2021) has argued that BookTubers review publishing video book reviews from the perspective and evaluate a book using the affordances of the audio- of BookTubers themselves, taking into account the visual language in a virtual ecosystem that reinterprets diverse personal, interpretative, communicative and the notion of analysing–debating–sharing readings on artistic factors that guide them in this process, as well the web. BookTubers have developed their own rules as their motivations, experiences, literary preferences regarding the way in which they, as readers, approach and beliefs. Our research questions are therefore as a text, being able to add visual and paratextual elements follows: to the review, contributing to the genre a sense of multimodality that the literacies of the 21st century • What induces some young people to open and keep have adapted to literary practices. BookTubers’ video active a channel on BookTube? reviews have their own structure, self-regulated by • How do BookTubers conceive, create and publish the digital community itself on the basis of implicit their video book reviews? What process do they © UKLA. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Literacy Volume 57 Number 1 January 2023 19 follow, and what interpretative and communicative means of a multi-step process. The first step involved criteria do they apply in this process? referring to a prior study (Paladines-Paredes and • What sorts of learning does the video book review Aliagas, 2021) consisting of a discourse analysis of a creation process entail? And what views predomi- set of video book reviews published on 17 nate in the BookTube community with regard to Spanish-language BookTube channels. We emailed the potential applications of video book review these 17 BookTubers and invited them to participate culture and practices in the school classroom? in this interview-based study. We also tried to reach them by sending private messages via social media such as Instagram or Facebook. The second step Methodological approach consisted of applying the so-called snowball technique (Miles and Huberman, 1994) by asking BookTubers We adopt a qualitative and emic approach who had agreed to participate to reach out to other (Merriam, 2009; Willis, 2007) to the study of literacy BookTubers in their own social networks, consolidat- and literary learning in the BookTube community. ing a sample of six participants. All signed an in- Our data consist of the BookTubers’ own discourse formed consent form before being interviewed. Table 1 regarding their reading habits as recorded in guided provides basic background information for the inter- narrative interviews (Kvale, 2011), which are distin- viewees. All were women (this gender distribution guished from other research interviews by their was unintentional) aged 21–25 years living in different autobiographical texture. In narrative interviews, the Latin American countries or Spain. All had started interviewees narrate their story and express their BookTubing in their teenage years, at age 17 or 18, views in their own words. The role of the researcher and the majority combined BookTubing with their focuses on posing key questions that will reinforce studies or work, aspects that overall show the extent the biographical and reflective texture of the narrators’ to which BookTube has penetrated the everyday life discourse. and culture of young people. For this study, six young BookTubers were The interviews were carried out in Spanish using interviewed by the first author. They were selected by Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc.) and Table 1: Background information for the BookTubers who were interviewed How long they have Name of Country been a YouTube Link to Name of origin Gender Age BookTuber Occupation channel channel Liz Ecuador F 24 4 years Doing a Caminos https://www.youtube.com/ communications literarios channel/UCJH000dNo- degree [literary aq5NDDpbe9PSg paths] Lucinda Mexico F 21 4 years Doing an arts Lucinda https://www.youtube.com/ degree entre libros user/LucindaGarza [Lucinda among books] Francisca Chile F 20 5 years Arts graduate FranUrriolaR https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCoEJm45sh3OPUp Duwy6VRCQ Karla Costa F 24 4 years Biology GoWithKar https://www.youtube.com/ Rica graduate channel/ UCGs2NtrbTFEa1mPehEAx9Ag Yaiza Spain F 25 6 years Nurse Pergamino https://www.youtube.com/ Literario channel/ [Literary UCtr3oEczPgdNlnq9kp_LLHw scroll] Lili Spain F 20 3 years Doing a Liltworld https://www.youtube.com/ law degree channel/ UCr2yS5wfpsYYkUyZz9sMjGQ © UKLA. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 20 Literacy and literary learning on BookTube framed as a guided narrative interview (Kvale, 2011). intimate perspective, considering affect a key category In practical terms, each interview was for understanding readers’ identities and ways of being semi-structured and covered the following points: in relation to texts and practices. Thus, it is important to study what motivates the participants of a discursive • Sociological data about the BookTuber, including community, what kind of concepts build meanings name, age, country of residence, language(s) they and how the feelings and perspectives of the partici- spoke and anything else that seemed relevant in pants themselves come together in the creation process socio-cultural terms. of key texts. In line with this affective turn in literacy • Reasons/motivation for becoming a BookTuber: the studies, the interviews carried out with the BookTubers first steps, opening a channel, the influence of other sought to understand how their feelings and beliefs BookTubers on their participation and their first brought them to the BookTubing community expectations. and then shaped their video book review creation • The process of creating a video book review, such as process. how they chose a book to review, how they con- All the BookTubers interviewed reported that their ceived the script or structure, the literary elements motives for joining the community of BookTubers that they focused on when designing the review responded to a personal need to share their own read- and what they considered when editing the video. ing experiences with other readers. This personal need • Interaction with their audience, such as literary ex- points to the inner perception that they lacked a social changes deriving from the comments they received space where relationships centred around literature about their videos and the influence of their fol- might develop: hence, the need to create such a social lowers on how they went about creating videos. space and begin to produce content as a strategy to • Views with regard to the personal and professional generate connections and dialogues around books. literacy and literary learning experienced as a result This is how Karla recalled her first steps into the of being a BookTuber and the potential value of BookTube community: video book reviews for formal educational purposes. I said to myself “I need to talk with someone about The interviews were video-recorded and tran- the books that I read. I don’t have any friends who scribed in their entirety. The resulting full transcript like the same books as I do”. And I found in was then coded using Atlas.Ti software (ATLAS.ti Sci- YouTube a space where I could share what I read entific Software Development GmbH); the answers (Karla). provided in the interviews were coded in relation to the thematic organisation of the topics of the questions Thus, the search for an affinity space (Gee and carried out in order to create a thematic organisation Hayes, 2012) centred around books is a key reason that allows explaining (Hine, 2005). In addition, other for approaching the BookTube community. In fact, implicit content categories were pointed out, in rela- one key to understanding the origins and formation tion to motivation for becoming a BookTuber, the of the BookTube community and its success among video book review creation process, interaction with young people is the fact that BookTubers view them- followers and literacy and literary learning. selves as social peers, a point Yaiza makes in the fol- lowing transcript excerpt: Findings and discussion When I discovered BookTubers for the first time I re- The results are presented below according to the alized that they were young like me, they were not above-mentioned thematic categories, in some cases university professors or academics, and I realized broken into more specific subcategories. Excerpts from that there were people who read the very books that the transcripts have been translated into English from I myself liked, and that this could be a space in the original Spanish. The selected excerpts allow to which I could connect with other readers (Yaiza). illustrate the thematic categories selected in each case. These BookTubers place a striking degree of empha- sis on the feeling that they missed being able to speak with other people about what they were reading, the BookTubers and affective engagement lack of physical spaces for that purpose and the resulting social need to create such a space on Recent voices in the field of Literacy Studies YouTube, an online community of knowledge that (Burnett, 2019; Leander and Ehret, 2019) point to the would foster social circles specially devoted to reading. need to understand youth literacy practices from an This is especially clear in Lucinda’s discourse: © UKLA. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Literacy Volume 57 Number 1 January 2023 21 I was motivated by the social dimension of reading book choice process. They acknowledged that there on BookTube. It is assumed that reading is done in was a crucial relationship between the spontaneous solitude, but we [readers] actually enjoy reading emotional responses that a book aroused in them as more when we can converse with someone else they read it and the decision to record a video review about what we have read, when we can recommend about it and that this intuitive reaction—sometimes af- it [a book] to someone else, when we tell them ter very little reflection—played a decisive role in the “Read this, I swear you’re going to like it” or some- final decision. Thus, as illustrated in the quote from thing like that (Lucinda). Karla that follows, it was their emotional connection with the story or with one of the characters that drove Taken together, these quotes by Karla, Yaiza and the decision to review a book: Lucinda show clearly that these young people were motivated to join the community of BookTubers by a They have to be books that stir up the emotions too need to connect with others who were similarly in- much, that arouse strong feelings in me. Books that I clined and share their reading experiences. Thus, the feel will really stick with me (Karla). possibility of social connection with other people was generally the foremost expectation that led these In addition to the emotional dimension, which was young people to enter the BookTube community. personal, some BookTubers reported that the choice When young people fail to find friends with the same of book was also influenced by factors such as whether interests, the possibility of either creating a virtual they foresaw that their followers would be interested community that responds to those interests or integrat- in it or not. In the following quote, Lucinda articulates ing themselves into a pre-existing virtual community the two facets, personal and communal, that come into is, as Lluch (2014) argues, an appealing pathway to play when she selects a book, not only her awareness socialisation. This allows them to develop a social of the BookTube community but also her leadership reading identity, based on the social dimension of role within it. reading, sharing common interests and learning from other readers just like them. I review the books that I like most, the sort of book that you cannot stop talking about, which I think my followers will like (Lucinda). BookTubers’ bricolage practices around the ‘review’ This comment and others suggest that the choice of book may sometimes be influenced by factors related BookTubers’ literacy practices are configured around to the BookTuber’s identity within the BookTube com- various implicit notions (i.e. what is a book review) munity. Given that these BookTubers are avid con- and standards (i.e. what constitutes a ‘good’ video re- sumers of content created by peers within that commu- view of a book) as well as a certain amount of knowl- nity, they strive to differentiate themselves from other edge about literary analysis (typically fragmentary BookTube channels through their choice of books. and school learned) that interplay in a ‘bricolage pro- While most BookTube reviews focus on a particular cess’ (Lévi-Strauss, 1966) through which they mobilise genre or type of book, these BookTubers said that they their resources and knowledge to create an orally de- preferred to choose texts that had not already been re- livered video-recorded book review. The video crea- viewed or at least had received little attention. As they tion process involves making a set of decisions put it: centred around the book and their reading experience: which book to review, the communicative intention of I like to review books by authors who are not well the video for the ‘imagined’ audience, the role of liter- known or whose work is not mentioned elsewhere ary analysis in the review and the editing of the video. on YouTube. That way I give my channel a special In the creation process, the BookTubers are guided by distinguishing feature (Lili). certain norms that—as we have noted—are largely implicit. a Selecting a book I always look for Ecuadorian authors to review, and Most BookTubers mentioned that selecting a book for try to differentiate my channel from others that way commentary was usually guided by certain general (Liz). criteria but without these criteria being in any way ‘rules’ to be applied systematically. They all mentioned The preceding quotes reveal a certain tendency to spontaneity and impulse as a usual feature of their specialise thematically in their BookTube channels. © UKLA. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 22 Literacy and literary learning on BookTube Given the increasing number of BookTube channels on I do not like writing out scripts very much because I YouTube, it is essential to find a specific area of content want the people who are watching the video review that is not already being covered in order to gain ac- to feel like I’m in a conversation with them, as if we cess to the larger virtual community. At the same time, were having coffee together and I’m telling you the quotes also show the concern of these BookTubers what I thought about the book (Lili). to bring something new to the community, an impulse partly linked with their desire for a small degree of fame or at least visibility. It is also worth noting that some of these I always have a script prepared for each of the BookTubers receive copies of new publications from videos, and each script depends on what particular publishing companies or independent authors, in the topic related to the book I want to talk about hopes that they will promote them on their channel. (Lucinda). Certain tacit rule governs this dynamic. First, receiving a book does not oblige the BookTuber to review it or even mention it on their channel, though sometimes BookTubers will do so in keeping with their own par- I do not follow a prepared word-for-word script, ticular criteria. Yaiza, for example, consciously tries to but I do have my bullet points. I have an outline promote authors or small independent publishers: of the topics I want to cover (Karla). My main reason for reviewing a book is that it was The BookTubers who habitually used some kind of sent to me by an independent publisher or is being written outline explained that these outlines were self-published by the author (Yaiza). helpful to give their video structure or contained con- crete information about the book such as its historical Nor do YouTubers have any obligation to speak or literary context, the author’s background, the genre well of the book received; generally, if having read to which the book pertained and the key literary as- the book, their impression is negative, they simply do pects that they wanted to cover in the review. Thus, not review it. None of the BookTubers interviewed these notes were useful to keep them on track as they stated that they had on some occasion felt pressured spoke. by a publisher to review a book positively. c The literary dimension of the book review b Planning and carrying out the video review In spite of their apparent lack of planning with regard Most of these BookTubers explained that they did not to what they would say, the interviewers had fairly follow any formal planning procedure because they clear-cut ideas about how to organise their evaluation were afraid that the result would come out too ‘struc- of the key literary aspects of the book being reviewed. tured’ or ‘academic’, though they admitted that mak- Thus, the interviewees all reported that they organised ing a video did require a certain amount of their review around a set of literary elements whose preparation, at the very least careful thought analysis they regarded as essential, such as the psy- about key points in the book for analysis. In this chology of the main characters, the plot and the style. sense, the video reviews illustrate what Barton and This is consistent with a previous analysis of the dis- Hamilton (1998) call a vernacular practice that is carried cursive structure of video book reviews (Paladines- out external to the culture of formal education and the Paredes and Aliagas, 2021), which identified three ele- academic discourse associated with it. ments, incorporated into discursive rhetorical moves The interviewees stated that the key idea underly- (Swales, 1990), which defined the implicit structure of ing the preparation of the video review was that it the video review, namely, presentation, evaluative must come across like a natural conversation. In this analysis and closing. The BookTubers reported cover- fashion, the video review acquires a conversed and ing other aspects such as intertextuality, the book’s his- narrative texture. To accomplish this, while some of torical context or its relation with social issues, these BookTubers reported using a prepared script, depending on the BookTuber’s particular interests or others limited themselves to a written list of points literary training. This can be seen in the quotes below: they wanted to cover or used no written prompts whatsoever, relying entirely on a mental plan. The fol- Usually I think the plot is very important, as is lowing quotations show these different strategies and explaining to readers how the characters are con- understandings of ‘the script’: structed (Liz). © UKLA. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Literacy Volume 57 Number 1 January 2023 23 I like to include elements like the plot, the charac- In fact, the BookTuber’s mastery of discourse in ters, the author’s style, what the book made me feel, YouTube videos is key if the review is to be well re- if it’s related to other books I have read, that kind of ceived within the community, which to some extent thing (Lucinda). implies that it must align with certain implicit values and a particular aesthetic sensibility: it must be natu- ral, sincere, personal and genuine. Here, Lili tries to de- fine what a ‘good review’ means to her: It is also important to analyze the story behind the book, the relationship, the message that the author For me, a good review is one that makes me want to wants to give and the analysis that is made of the immediately run out and buy the book to read it, narrative (Yaiza). because if the video gives you that impression, it is because the BookTuber really made an effort to con- The video review constitutes an important exercise vey this, in an impartial way, and more than just be- in literary analysis because it takes place on a digital cause they are fanatics, they give me convincing platform where young readers interact, interpreting el- reasons to read the book they have reviewed (Lili). ements such as the author’s intention, the literary con- text and the importance of the book in its historical or social context. Taken together, these features make it a e Interaction with followers valid approximation of a vernacular literary interpre- tation process. Once a video book review is published, YouTube al- lows the community to interact with the content crea- d Emotional engagement building on a valued aes- tor by means of comments about the video. This thetic video experience enables the BookTubers to see what their followers If we focus on the communicative context, the prag- think about the content they have generated, and such matic function of a video book review is to urge and comments can even—as we noted above—influence convince the viewer to read a particular book. The ex- the BookTuber’s subsequent choice of books to review: pectation is, therefore, that the video review will arouse sensations of interest or curiosity in the poten- In the comments I get, people comment especially tial reader so that they read the book and then reflect about aspects of my review that they liked or did on and/or discuss their reading. These BookTubers felt not like, and this way we continue to build up that their audiences particularly valued the natural- this community in which everyone participates ness of their expression as evidence of the quality of (Liz). their reading engagement as well as the fact that their discourse came across as sincere and personal: I want to see that the BookTuber devotes time, or In general, the comments are positive, they help me that the person is involved in what they are saying to understand what people like and what direction and does not just do it to do it, does not do it just to take in the reviews I upload (Francisca). to upload one more video, but rather that they share that impulse that, in the end, a good video review is For the BookTubers interviewed, an important con- one which makes you say “I’ve got to read that cept was that BookTube ensured that interpretative book!” (Lucinda). and experiential knowledge about a book was con- structed organically. Although, in the early history of Lucinda’s quote is important for what it reveals BookTube, the participation of followers was limited about the emotional value of the message the to commenting on the video in writing, new forms BookTubers seek to send to their community. What is and genres of interaction are emerging, particularly valued is the sincerity and feeling conveyed, more than those that make use of the potential of live streaming. the content of the video as such. The discourse of the One of these new genres is the so-called group read, in review therefore reflects the personality and individual which all members of the community read the same interpretation of that reviewer’s reading of the text. book at the same time. The audiovisual character of YouTube enables the BookTuber to give a face and feelings to a Currently, we are doing group reads, so we all agree pre-existing genre, the literary book review, a genre on a book to read and then we comment on it bit by that exists in both academic and vernacular contexts, bit as we read, with live streaming sessions, and this whether on paper or in digital form. way people get involved more in what I do, it is not © UKLA. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 24 Literacy and literary learning on BookTube just one individual talking to the camera about now. I can tell that I have grown as a reader what she thought about the book she read but in- (Lucinda). stead we have the collaborative community in which everyone can participate (Yaiza). BookTube also enables the members of this commu- nity to cultivate values such as perseverance—indis- This interactive process has several of the features pensable if one needs to keep a channel active by reg- that Jenkins et al. (2006) argue are indispensable for ularly creating and uploading content—as well as participatory culture: the sensation on the part of the learning to speak in videos to an ‘imagined’ audience community’s members that their views count and the that can be highly participatory and even critical. The high degree of social connection that they experience following comments show how important these two by being able to interact freely within the community. aspects are for the development of a YouTuber. This idea connects with the initial motivation of the BookTubers to find a community of readers that share I have learnt that you have to be constant, persever- their interest in and passion for literature, as we noted ing to keep going with this. Though sometimes I get above. YouTube as an interactive social context on the a bit behind, my followers know that they can be Internet satisfies that need, thereby allowing the partic- sure that the work I am going to do will be quality ipatory community to take form. work (Karla). Ecology of literary learning in BookTube culture I have learnt to value myself more and speak more It is important to understand literary learning through freely in public, but it is true that now it’s like I’m BookTube from an ecological perspective. Given the in- not [nervous], it’s easy for me, I speak much more terest shown by the educational community in the freely (Yaiza). video book review genre, which is clearly of special relevance to the area of literary education (Burnett and Merchant, 2015; De la Torre-Espinosa, 2019), it b What is the potential of video book reviews as a tool was felt of interest to hear what the BookTubers for in-school learning? interviewed would have to say about the potential re- lationship between the reading practices they experi- All the interviewees took a positive stance regarding enced on BookTube and literature-related learning in the integration of BookTube culture into formal educa- formal educational contexts. tion. However, they all agreed that it was essential that, before attempting to create their own video book a What can be learned through BookTube? reviews in the classroom, students must have a full un- Regarding personal learning, most of the BookTubers derstanding of the features of this discourse genre in interviewed referred especially to their personal order to avoid trivialising it. They regarded it as growth as readers, to how the channel had influenced equally crucial that the classroom teacher should be their choice of readings, to the new narrative genres fully familiar with the particular features of video re- that they now read and even to how they had rein- views, at the discursive, instrumental and communica- forced or developed new interpretative strategies for tive levels, in order to ensure that the genre served reading. BookTube can thus be regarded as a commu- effectively as a tool for learning. nity in which are experienced forms of vernacular learning related to reading, literary appreciation and BookTube can serve very well as material for teach- knowledge about books and literature, as well as a ing, but only if the teacher really knows how to do it community that contributes to the development of a well (Liz). person’s self-concept as a reader. In most of the interviews, mention was made of the YouTube has opened for me the opportunity to get need to teach students to read without making reading to know other BookTubers, publishing companies, an obligation. This reinforces the idea that BookTubers’ literature of different types and so on. It has turned primary motivation is to find a space for independent me into a better reader (Liz). reading for pleasure, which clashes with the sort of re- quired structured reading typically found in formal educational contexts. Already consistent with this line I have also learned to value the path I have followed of observation, some scholars (Margallo, 2012; as a reader from when I started my channel up to Misas, 2015) emphasise the role of the teacher and © UKLA. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License Literacy Volume 57 Number 1 January 2023 25 other mediators in the process of fostering reading and analysis shows that it is affective engagement with a the choice of appropriate sets of texts for reading (in book that enables the creation of the literary video re- accordance with reading level) as strategies to create view, whose ultimate aim is to socialise the emotions, solid reading habits in teens and young adults. This responses and personal assessments of the video’s crea- points to a need to rethink current educational ap- tor and her followers, thus turning the video review proaches to reading in a way that reinforces creativity into a didactic digital epitext that seems able to bring through the use of the available technological tools. books closer to the new generations. This experiential and personal discourse about There are more and more spaces for learning and I books is the substance of the video book review, essen- think that if teachers use these sorts of videos to mo- tially an audiovisual literary genre. Though the video tivate their students to read, there will be increasing book review may constitute a vernacular practice, this numbers of young people who get interested, espe- does not mean that its preparation is not regulated by cially in reading things that at first they were told certain rules or implicit tendencies. In fact, the creation were not worth the effort (Lucinda). proceeds along certain basic steps that are articulated in a bricolage process—the selection of a book, plan- According to the interviewees, this transformation ning or preparation, recording, editing and finally of the educational approach to reading can include uploading—which may be more complex or less so de- BookTube, which involves understanding video re- pending on the style, goals and skills of the individual views as didactic digital epitexts—because they gener- BookTuber. ate literary content in audiovisual format—and as a Also involved are certain implicit communicative ‘free’ reading response articulated around the sharing criteria that are meaningful in the context of an interac- with others of the sensations and perceptions that a tive social space where the exchanges taking place book has left after being read. Interestingly, the around a book respond to the goal of a ‘recommender’ BookTubers’ discourse reveals their conviction that, if who hopes to motivate a potential reader to read the this resource is to be used in the context of formal edu- book being reviewed. Specifically, one of these implicit cation, it would be essential to keep it complementary. notions has to do with what should be expected from a BookTubers are generating discussions, proposals and ‘good review’, which in large part is related to the type learning that is not regulated by formal education but of oral discourse employed by the BookTuber, who that could be an interesting alternative as a mediating seeks to come across as genuine and personal in their resource for literary reading and as a way to stimulate assessment of the book and natural in their delivery. interest in reading. It is around these tacit axes that the participatory cul- ture (Jenkins et al., 2006) of the BookTube community, I think BookTube could be used in primary or sec- as represented by these participants, is formed, and oc- ondary schools, as long as the purpose of the videos casionally, these conventions are even made explicit we make is properly understood. The problem in through tutorials that the more expert BookTubers schools is that mandatory reading is not attractive make available to the community. In this sense, to students. BookTube would be like a complement, BookTube strengthens the notion that young people something that motivates students to read, but not can use the Internet to read and share valid knowledge something that turns into the central focus of the about reading and literature, in the process encourag- class (Lili). ing other to assimilate that vernacular knowledge in a way that is regulated by the BookTube community itself. Adopting an emic perspective by looking at the Conclusions video book review creation process from the stand- point of these BookTubers themselves has allowed us In this interview-based study with six BookTubers, we to gain insights into a community that places high have seen that the primary source of motivation for value on both reading and perseverance and has en- them to join the BookTube community is related to their abled us to reflect on aspects related to the literary personal desire to share the pleasure they gain from learning that takes place over the Internet in this ver- reading and their need to connect with other readers nacular context. The dynamics of BookTube culture to talk about literature. It is precisely the lack of such a represented here is an example of what Barton (2001) space that they perceive in their offline social circles that calls vernacular literacies, which takes place in an envi- leads them to follow BookTube channels and in some ronment that, albeit not guided, is structured—as we cases open a channel of their own, thus creating an af- have seen—by certain tacit axes. The more experienced finity space (Gee and Hayes, 2012) in which to develop the BookTuber, the keener seems their mastery of the a personal discourse surrounding books. Our data communicative and literary elements specific to the © UKLA. 17414369, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lit.12310 by Readcube (Labtiva Inc.), Wiley Online Library on [15/02/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 26 Literacy and literary learning on BookTube community. In addition, we have been able to identify lingüístico dentro y fuera del aula» (RT2018-100790- the intrinsic motivations of these readers to become B-100; 2019-2021), from Spain Ministry of Science and BookTubers. The importance of the community is Innnovation. highlighted, of sharing common interests, of organising the sharing of content in pace with the community. The genuine nature of the affective approach to read- References ing is especially relevant for studies related to the ANDERSON, T. (2020) A Book Club for the 21st Century: An Ethno- teaching of language and literature, which increasingly graphic Exploration of BookTube [doctoral thesis]. 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