Author: sdohmen28

Whether looking to add to your TBR—to be read—or just looking for something to play in the background, BookTubers often provide straightforward advice on which books they recommend. With so many facets and so many creators, it can be difficult to determine who to subscribe to. This article will break down the top BookTube influencers, giving some insight into what they talk about and why they’re worth checking out.

Destiny Sidwell

Destiny provides her 278K subscribers with personal vlogs, book reviews, and even occasionally participates in readathons—reading for twenty-four hours straight. She started posting on YouTube in 2018 but didn’t consistently involve books in her channel until 2021. She dabbles in all genres. Destiny is never afraid to be open and honest with her viewers, whether she’s reading a book she doesn’t like or dealing with personal struggles.

Rachel Catherine

Beginning each video with a bible verse, Rachel has curated her brand to be wholesome and welcoming. She also makes vlog content, but her signature video structure is the use of a monthly TBR jar. In these videos, Rachel pulls prompts out of the jar which must then correlate with a book she will read within that month. Prompts range from ‘a book with a red cover’ to ‘something you’ve been putting off’. She usually posts a wrap-up at the end of the month, discussing her rating on those books.

PeruseProject

PeruseProject (aka Regan) sticks solely to everything book related. She is all about the fantasy genre, reviewing anything between action packed tales and cozy fantasy.  Regan has been reviewing books on YouTube since 2013 and has her videos down to an exact science. If you are searching for a fantasy rec, her channel is definitely a good place to start.

Sara Carrolli

Exuding ‘it girl’ energy, Sara promotes both book content and lifestyle content. She makes a variety of book videos such as, “my boyfriend chooses my december tbr!” and “tier ranking the 100 books i read in 2025!”. Another common video she regularly posts is, “let’s do book stuff together”. In these bookish vlogs, Sara does everything book related, taking a trip to Barnes & Noble, adding to her reading journal, and simply reading, of course!

Jack Edwards

Instantly charming viewers with his British accent, Jack discusses everything literature related. His refined taste and brutal honesty are appreciated by his over one million subscribers. He commonly incorporates his extensive home library into his videos, as well as reviewing and recommending novels he’s deemed up-to-par. For more sophisticated suggestions, Jack has got you covered.

Haley Pham

With the most subscribers on this list—3.89 million to be exact—Haley is the steady and dependable reading guru you can count on for any recommendation. She stays true to herself and remains honest about her ratings. Haley also recently completed her debut novel. She will be releasing her romance novel, Just Friends, on March 3rd. As a reader, Haley is unafraid to conquer any genre.

If I’ve missed any of your favorite BookTubers, drop their name in a comment below. Receiving recommendations from someone you trust can make your entire reading experience way more enjoyable. When you’ve watched these YouTubers long enough, you start to feel like you really know them. While we may never get to meet these bookish superstars in person, we know we can trust their book reviews.

If you’re reading this article, you may already be familiar with what a reading journal is. For anyone who doesn’t know, these journals are the perfect way to track reading progress, personally rate books, and unleash creativity. This is a way to seize full artistic freedom and honor these literary works however you see fit. All you need is a blank journal and a little inspiration! Below are nine ideas to put in your reading journal, but remember, you can personalize this however you like. The possibilities are endless.

1. Simple tracking

The most basic use of a reading journal is tracking the books you’ve read. There are many ways to do this, such as simply making a list, inserting images (printed or otherwise) of the books you’ve completed, or using a similar layout to the one found above. Some people like to include other details, like what they rated the books and when they completed them.

2. Pages read per day

For those looking to challenge their daily reading quota, keeping track of how many pages you’ve read may be useful. This can be made easier with some form of calendar. The image above shows how I tracked my pages read per day for a month. Each book is colorcoded to make the calendar as simple as possible. I also included my ratings. There are many ways to record page count, so if this style doesn’t work for you, just keep in mind, there are many more options.

3. TBR list

A great way to keep track of future reads on the horizon is to create a TBR list. For anyone unfamiliar with the term, “TBR” stands for “to be read”. There are so many books left to read and they can’t all be your next pick. A TBR list can help prioritize what you will pick up next. The image above depicts the TBR I created in April of 2024 – I’ve read all of those books since then.

4. Series tracking

Whether reading a duology, a trilogy, or a fifteen book series, a series tracker can help create a visual of how many books you’ve completed and how many you have left. The visual above is how I chose to arrange my tracker, but really, the only thing that matters is how you would like your own tracker to look. As long as you understand it, no one else has to.

5. Keeping stats

Some people who use reading journals like to keep monthly or yearly stats. These book stats are all based on the information you choose to record. Part of the joy of tracking how much you read is getting to see how many books you completed in a certain period of time or how many pages you read. It is a great way to give yourself a pat on the back if you met your goal, and the opportunity to analyze and improve if you didn’t quite reach it. I also included my favorite books of the year in my stats. It’s all about hunting for that five star read, right?

6. Getting artsy

When keeping a physical journal, part of the fun is just personalizing it to yourself. You can design your journal however you like. I personally enjoy getting a little creative and putting my coloring skills to the test. One example of this artsy tactic, shown above, is my Bookshelf of 2024. This was both functional at displaying all of the books I read that year at a glance, and it was a fun project to continually work on. Other book journalists might create a collage dedicated to a book they liked, draw or insert a photo of each book they read, or create something totally unique.

7. Book binding

If you are bored of the basic exterior of a journal, you may enjoy creating your own. Book binding is a way to take your personalization a step further. The image above is only one of many ways you can craft your own journal. While binding books can be meticulous and often time consuming, the finished product is well worth it.

8. Other book journaling ideas

There is truly so much potential when it comes to this journal. You could fill a page with your favorite book quotes. You could make a list of reading goals for the year – or month. Above, you can see a page I dubbed as Book Bingo. You could designate a page for rating each book. Some journalists keep a portion of their journal which showcases their favorite books from each month. The possibilities are well beyond this list, but hopefully this is enough for you to start with.

9. More inspo!

Here are a few more resources to help you curate your reading journal:

• Rachel Catherine
• Haley Phamfont
• Destiny Sidwell
• Tiktok
• Tiktok
• Tiktok
• Tiktok