5 Australian BookTubers shaping our taste

More influential than traditional reviewers or critics, social media book influencers now profoundly impact the publishing industry. Besides the professional impact, influencers on TikTok and YouTube can make finding a satisfying read straightforward. BookTubers – those specialising in long-form videos (10 minutes or more) on YouTube – can become valuable reading partners. 

Australians are not being left out of the trend. In recent years, a cornucopia of Australian BookTubers have proven they have staying power and influence internationally. Here are just a few:

Rachel Catherine

With nearly 300,000 subscribers, Rachel Catherine’s 10-year-old blog combines vlogging life and regular go-to BookTuber challenges. Her reading taste is regularly on trend, usually encompassing social media’s most popular romance and fantasy titles.

Little Book Owl

Fantasy-focused Little Book Owl promises “cosy (and chaotic) videos”. She regularly hosts ‘read with me’ live reading sprint sessions, where you can read along with her in real time. Her book choices will take readers just a little away from the most trend-worthy books of the season to more proven favourites.

LilyCReads

A diverse reader, LilyCReads steers through literary fiction, biographies, trending titles and even poetry. Her videos are simple, straight-to-camera chats with her audience. LilyCReads is a great place to go for classics or hyped books of the past that you may have missed, as well as the occasional suggestion you may have never heard of. 

Slaggy Book Club

Hosted by Cameron, the Slaggy Book Club promises videos about literary and Australian fiction, feminist non-fiction and memoir. Cameron is one of the few BookTubers who explicitly prefers Australian books, and presents her reviews with a trace of the academic critic. 

Moretomary

An unashamed romance lover, Moretomary is not afraid to leap into a solid mix of spicy, trashy, trending and clever romance novels. Moretomary regularly gets through as many as 10 books in a month, and her knowledge of romance is vast. It means her critiques come with a well-founded understanding of the genre and its pitfalls.