by Ellie Bowker
YouTube is the biggest video sharing website to date that attracts more than 1 billion viewers a month streaming around 6 billion hours of video. When the view records for some of YouTube’s top 100 channels have grown 80% in the past year, it’s no surprise that most teens are turning off the Hollywood blockbusters and turning on a YouTube video of your Average Joe vlogging (video blogging) about their day. The success of these YouTube personalities continues to grow every single day and some of our beloved YouTubers have spread themselves to different media which brings me to my point; YouTubers writing books.
YouTube is the biggest video sharing website to date that attracts more than 1 billion viewers a month streaming around 6 billion hours of video. When the view records for some of YouTube’s top 100 channels have grown 80% in the past year, it’s no surprise that most teens are turning off the Hollywood blockbusters and turning on a YouTube video of your Average Joe vlogging (video blogging) about their day. The success of these YouTube personalities continues to grow every single day and some of our beloved YouTubers have spread themselves to different media which brings me to my point; YouTubers writing books.
One of the most relevant and popular authors among the YA genre is New York Times Bestselling author, John Green. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! That’s right, not only is Green a super good author and general nice guy but he also runs a very successful YouTube channel (Vlogbrothers) with his brother, who is an equally nice guy, Hank Green. Their YouTube journey kicked off in 2007 when John Green had already released two novels, aforementioned Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines, and would go on to write/co-write four more novels. And it seems that some of his fellow YouTubers are following him in to the great, wide world of books!
My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide to Eating, Drinking and Going with your Gut by Hannah Hart (available now!)
Hannah Hart (MyHarto) is best known among the YouTube community for her My Drunk Kitchen videos where she gets more than a little bit tipsy and “cooks” something (if you’ve seen the show, you’ll understand why that’s in quotation marks). Hart started off the My Drunk Kitchen craze in 2011 when she had more than a few glasses of wine and demonstrated how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. The video ended up going viral and now Hart’s channel has almost 1.5 million subscribers. Her book, My Drunk Kitchen, is a festival of fun that includes recipes, stories, photos and drawings to inspire your own drunk cooking adventures whilst showcasing her brilliant comedic voice. Her descriptions of the effect of alcohol on the body are hilarious, 'a face like a sweaty tomato when the bar closes and the lights come on'. Not only is Hannah Hart hilariously entertaining but she also has so many positive things to say and her life-advice is on point. Funny and witty, My Drunk Kitchen will leave you with a comfortingly warm feeling (nope, not from the alcohol) and, whether you are familiar with Hannah Hart’s YouTube videos or not, you will not be disappointed.
Hannah Hart (MyHarto) is best known among the YouTube community for her My Drunk Kitchen videos where she gets more than a little bit tipsy and “cooks” something (if you’ve seen the show, you’ll understand why that’s in quotation marks). Hart started off the My Drunk Kitchen craze in 2011 when she had more than a few glasses of wine and demonstrated how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. The video ended up going viral and now Hart’s channel has almost 1.5 million subscribers. Her book, My Drunk Kitchen, is a festival of fun that includes recipes, stories, photos and drawings to inspire your own drunk cooking adventures whilst showcasing her brilliant comedic voice. Her descriptions of the effect of alcohol on the body are hilarious, 'a face like a sweaty tomato when the bar closes and the lights come on'. Not only is Hannah Hart hilariously entertaining but she also has so many positive things to say and her life-advice is on point. Funny and witty, My Drunk Kitchen will leave you with a comfortingly warm feeling (nope, not from the alcohol) and, whether you are familiar with Hannah Hart’s YouTube videos or not, you will not be disappointed.
Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-Up by Grace Helbig (available 21st October 2014)
Grace Helbig originally started making YouTube videos with her friend, Michelle, and later Helbig was asked by MyDamnChannel to create vlogs 5 days a week on a new channel called dailygrace. Earlier this year, that contract with MyDamnChannel expired and Helbig chose to majestically branch off in to a new direction and moved to another YouTube channel called it’sGrace, where she continued to… be weird. But we like it! In May, Grace Helbig announced via her YouTube channel that she is releasing a book in October. As you can probably gather from the name of this book, this is a guide on how to be a grown up and do grown up things because let’s just face it, no one knows what they’re doing and anyone who claims they know what they’re doing are liars. The book features everything you need to know for surviving the adult world such as handling break ups and recovering from hangovers (see My Drunk Kitchen for context) and the book also includes some of Helbig’s misadventures and other laugh out loud lessons she has had to learn the hard way. Grace Helbig is one of the sharpest and funniest voices out there and I thoroughly look forward to getting my hands on a copy of this book.
Grace Helbig originally started making YouTube videos with her friend, Michelle, and later Helbig was asked by MyDamnChannel to create vlogs 5 days a week on a new channel called dailygrace. Earlier this year, that contract with MyDamnChannel expired and Helbig chose to majestically branch off in to a new direction and moved to another YouTube channel called it’sGrace, where she continued to… be weird. But we like it! In May, Grace Helbig announced via her YouTube channel that she is releasing a book in October. As you can probably gather from the name of this book, this is a guide on how to be a grown up and do grown up things because let’s just face it, no one knows what they’re doing and anyone who claims they know what they’re doing are liars. The book features everything you need to know for surviving the adult world such as handling break ups and recovering from hangovers (see My Drunk Kitchen for context) and the book also includes some of Helbig’s misadventures and other laugh out loud lessons she has had to learn the hard way. Grace Helbig is one of the sharpest and funniest voices out there and I thoroughly look forward to getting my hands on a copy of this book.
Girl Online by Zoe Sugg (available 25th November 2014)
Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) created a blog in 2009 which led her on to creating YouTube videos. Her main channel mostly consists of beauty/fashion related videos such as hauls, tutorials and “favourites” videos but her second channel, MoreZoella, contains daily vlogs where viewers can see what she gets up to that day. Sugg has received various awards such as Cosmopolitan Blog Award for the 'Best Beauty Vlogger' (2012), BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards 'Best British Vlogger' (2013) and Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for 'UK's Favourite Vlogger' (2014). Her main channel has over 5.5 million subscribers and over 230 million video views and is the 74th most subscribed channel on the website. In June, Zoe Sugg announced that she is releasing a fictional book this November aimed at young adults. The plot follows a 15 year old anonymous blogger known as GirlOnline and what happens when the blog goes viral. It’s got all the good makings of a great YA book; it’s got a bit of drama and mystery mixed in with a good dollop of young romance. As a big YA fan, I am really excited to read this when it comes out and it is ranked high up on my wish list.
Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) created a blog in 2009 which led her on to creating YouTube videos. Her main channel mostly consists of beauty/fashion related videos such as hauls, tutorials and “favourites” videos but her second channel, MoreZoella, contains daily vlogs where viewers can see what she gets up to that day. Sugg has received various awards such as Cosmopolitan Blog Award for the 'Best Beauty Vlogger' (2012), BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards 'Best British Vlogger' (2013) and Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for 'UK's Favourite Vlogger' (2014). Her main channel has over 5.5 million subscribers and over 230 million video views and is the 74th most subscribed channel on the website. In June, Zoe Sugg announced that she is releasing a fictional book this November aimed at young adults. The plot follows a 15 year old anonymous blogger known as GirlOnline and what happens when the blog goes viral. It’s got all the good makings of a great YA book; it’s got a bit of drama and mystery mixed in with a good dollop of young romance. As a big YA fan, I am really excited to read this when it comes out and it is ranked high up on my wish list.
The Pointless Book by Alfie Deyes (available 4th September 2014)
Alfie Deyes, or better known as PointlessBlog to the YouTube community, announced in August that he is to be releasing The Pointless Book, a journal/diary packed with games, pranks and other activities which includes a free downloadable app. Deyes started his channel in 2009 and now has almost 3 million subscribers and was named one of “12 Web-savvy entrepreneurs to watch” in December 2013. The Pointless Book is something similar to Keri Smith’s Wreck This Journal but with more social media interaction, less encouragement for destruction and more encouragement for documenting memories.
Alfie Deyes, or better known as PointlessBlog to the YouTube community, announced in August that he is to be releasing The Pointless Book, a journal/diary packed with games, pranks and other activities which includes a free downloadable app. Deyes started his channel in 2009 and now has almost 3 million subscribers and was named one of “12 Web-savvy entrepreneurs to watch” in December 2013. The Pointless Book is something similar to Keri Smith’s Wreck This Journal but with more social media interaction, less encouragement for destruction and more encouragement for documenting memories.
Whilst many are happy to respectably applaud the success of these YouTube personalities, others are quick to judge by labelling some of these people as “sell-outs” or “only being interested in making money” but is that really the case? As human beings, it is expected of us to progress as we grow and surely these YouTubers are only growing? Isn’t it an admirable and good thing to be able to expand your horizons? What do you think? Are you looking forward to seeing what comes of these books? Do you plan to get your hands on any of these reads?
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