The BookTube Spin

Look, I’m not on BookTube – where people talk about books on YouTube, for the uninitiated. Nobody needs to see my shoddy camera angles and poor editing technique. But I do enjoy watching a few of the channels, and taking their new and modern ideas to the olde worlde world of book blogging. Our words are written down! Fancy.

And I enjoy no book channel more than Rick’s. He’s come up with The BookTube Spin, which is very similar to the Classics Spin, but open to any sort of book. Essentially, pick and number 20 books – he’ll spin a wheel and a choose a number on 31 January, then we have two months to read the book. I’ll let him explain in greater detail…

It’s a fun way to get someone else to help sort through your tbr pile! I decided to plough my own furrow a little, and pick alphabetically – skipping Q and so ending at U. Where possible, I also chose book titles beginning with the same letter, though that wasn’t always doable from my tbr shelves.

I’ve tried to pick books that I’m not racing towards (though I’m pretty sure I’ll read Butterfly Lampshade soon whether or not it comes up), so as to find something unexpected from my tbr.

1.) After the Funeral – Diana Athill
2.) Butterfly Lampshade – Aimee Bender
3.) Chedsy Place – Richmal Crompton
4.) Dombey and Son – Charles Dickens
5.) Every Eye – Isobel English
6.) Faces in the Water – Janet Frame
7.) Go She Must – David Garnett
8.) Hangover Square – Patrick Hamilton
9.) Lions and Shadows – Christopher Isherwood
10.) Woman in a Lampshade – Elizabeth Jolley
11.) Suddenly, a Knock at the Door – Etgar Keret
12.) The Limit – Ada Leverson
13.) The Magician – W. Somerset Maugham
14.) News of England – Beverley Nichols
15.) The Opposite House – Helen Oyeyemi
16.) Pax – Sara Pennypacker
17.) Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole – Allan Ropper
18.) The Small Room by May Sarton
19.) Temples of Delight by Barbara Trapido
20.) Rabbit, Run by John Updike

Have you read any of these? Fancy making your own Spin? Let me (and Rick) know if you join in!

17 thoughts on “The BookTube Spin

    • January 25, 2021 at 6:20 pm
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      I have heard very varying reports so would be intrigued. And I’ve owned it for about 15 years!

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  • January 25, 2021 at 10:28 pm
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    I’ve struggled to get into the whole book tube thing. It might just be that I’ve not watched the good ones – sadly most of the ones I’ve seen have been dross. Just the presenter gushing about all the books they’ve received free. No commentary of any meaning. So I’m intrigued by your comment that you enjoy watching a few. Can you give me some recommendations Simon?

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  • January 25, 2021 at 11:04 pm
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    I prefer to read and write book reviews, no booktube for me. I see two of your books have Lampshade in the title. I think you should read those two.

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    • January 26, 2021 at 11:04 pm
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      Ha, yes, I only spotted that when I typed it up.

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  • January 26, 2021 at 2:38 am
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    I have watched a few bookish you tube videos but not clicked with any for long. I will do this challenge though as it’s a once off and I have just written on my blog the lists of books I’m going to chance on. It gave me a chance to look through my shelves and have a better look at 20 books, many of which I forgot I had. Good luck.

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  • January 26, 2021 at 3:03 am
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    I love booktube and I watch a lot of great book tubers! I don’t do a spin, but this concept is pretty much the same as a TBR jar, where you write the title of books on a slip of paper and pick them at random. I do that from time to time as well as setting up a bingo board and it does help me (Like your Project Names) read stuff I’ve owned for a while.

    I am surprised you’ve not read Hangover Square yet?

    From your list, I’ve read Dombey and Son (loved it – big Dickens fan here) and Rabbit, Run which I admired when I read it in my 20s but I suspect you are not going to like it.

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    • January 26, 2021 at 11:04 pm
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      I know, I got so excited about Hamilton after Slaves of Solitude and then never read anything else.

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  • January 26, 2021 at 9:28 am
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    Temples of Delight. No brainier!

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    • January 26, 2021 at 11:04 pm
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      Let’s hope the spinner spins that way then :D

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  • January 26, 2021 at 12:02 pm
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    What a lovely idea. I have some other challenges in order to reduce my TBR pile but I love this, as well.

    I haven’t read any of your books but I love Charles Dickens and have read quite a few of his novels.

    In any case, enjoy!

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  • January 26, 2021 at 2:44 pm
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    I usually take part in the Classics Spins, but I like the idea of doing this with other types of book too. I read Every Eye last year and really enjoyed it, so I hope that number comes up for you. The only other book I’ve read from your list is Dombey and Son – not a favourite Dickens, but still a good one!

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  • January 26, 2021 at 6:39 pm
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    I’ve never watched a BookTube video; shocking, I know! So I appreciate vloggers who also blog, like Eric of Lonesome Reader. But I do engage with Rick on Twitter, etc. I like your double-alphabetical approach. A good reminder that I have Temples of Delight and the Rabbit books on the shelf to read! I’m so pleased to see The Small Room on your list. I read that in 2019 and enjoyed it a lot. Sarton is one of my favourite authors and little read these days. And Faces in the Water is excellent. I’ve been on a Janet Frame kick recently: I’m currently reading Owls Do Cry, plus Michael King’s biography of her.

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  • February 1, 2021 at 4:35 pm
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    I love BookTube! Kate Howe’s channel is my favorite, and I saw you commented on her post. I can’t wait to hear what book you get from this list. I thought it was such a fun idea! Good job for bringing the idea over to your blog.

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  • February 3, 2021 at 2:15 pm
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    This sounds like a good take on the Classics Spin, I’ll need to check the channel out. There are a couple of booktubers I listen to on a somewhat sporadic basis, but they tend to focus mainly on classics.

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