When I’m tired of flipping through social media and want something to play in the background while I work on a project or need something to help me fall asleep, I turn to YouTube. Aside from travel vlogs and movie and TV vlogs, I of course turn to bookish vlogs.
These content creators make me feel like I’m watching something worthwhile while still being entertained. They also tend to follow the theme of the season which really romanticizes the world around us, even if that world is externally gloomy and dull.
Below are 10 of my favorite bookish content creators along with recommended fall-themed videos on their channels. I don’t work with or know any of them personally. I’m just a fan who wants to share their content.
Darling Desi – Fall Starter Pack
Darling Desi’s channel was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in my search for people like me who love to romanticize the different seasons in a year. She knows how to decorate and light her film spaces and compile lists of appropriately themed topics.
Desi is a slow living, analog activity-loving content creator. Books are at the forefront of her videos, but she’ll also do movie, podcast, and music recommendations, give you baking and craft ideas, and take you on little trips, whether it’s to popular tourist destinations or bringing you along on a walk through her hometown.
Desi keeps her videos light and airy. They’re fun to look at, and she has such an enthusiastic cadence. Her story tastes don’t always align with mine, but I have taken her advice on a few reading choices and have been pleasantly surprised, or at least happy that I left my comfort zone and tried something new.
I chose Desi’s Fall Starter Pack video as a first watch because it encompasses the best parts of her blog. Her videos have grown larger in length and scale, but they’ve essentially remained the same in terms of content.
If you love this video, I recommend checking out her autumn enthusiast playlist and making your way through her collection of fall-themed videos. And circle back around during the other seasons when the time comes as well.
Morgan Long – A Cozy Fall Vlog
Morgan Long is another slow living vlogger who shares a mixed bag of activity ideas in each of her seasonal videos. Her videos are also very cinematic and full of eye-catching images that draw you into what she has to say.
Morgan is good at sharing her book recommendations which usually center around romance and fantasy books, again not my preferred genres, but her enthusiasm for them is catching. She has a quiet voice and talks off the top of her head, making her narration feel very conversational, as if she’s speaking directly to you.
I chose one of her older fall videos, A Cozy Fall Vlog, which begins with a montage of activities and then leads into a day in the life vlog. The topics might sound a little bland, such as watching her decorate her home, make tea, and show off her sweater collection, but it’s meant to be easy on the brain and something that makes you melt into the imagery and tone and hold your attention with ordinary, everyday topics.
The Cottage Fairy – Returning to My Little Forest Home – How I Make the Most Of Autumn
I’m a maximalist who wants to be a minimalist. I also tend to rush through my days instead of absorbing them. Stumbling across The Cottage Fairy and her minimalist, slow living lifestyle and calming philosophical advice has been like a mental medicine for me.
This channel was the first one I came across that used a cinematic vlogging style. She likes to establish sweeping wide shots of her nature landscapes intercut with detailed close ups with piano music playing in the background as she goes about her slow living days.
I chose her Returning to My Little Forest Home video because it is a short but sweet overview of her video style. It inspires you to go outside, to create art with the things around you, and to stop and get away from your screens and do something that is much easier on your eyes and brain, even if your technology is beckoning you to waste your time the easy way.
Paola, The Cottage Fairy, has dialed back on posting public YouTube videos since the birth of her son. However, her catalog is still up and available to binge. She also runs her own bookstore which you can support. I’ve even purchased some of her artwork on her Etsy shop back when it was open. So, she has a lot to offer aside from free entertainment.
Noelle Gallagher – Books I’d Love to Read This Fall
Another book vlogger who no longer posts but whose old videos are ones that I keep coming back to is Noelle Gallagher. Her vlog style is very bare bones, but she usually gets straight to the point. Her book roundup posts are packed with titles.
The themes are usually seasonal like the others but are more about what books she has recently purchased and has added to her TBR list. Even if she doesn’t have an opinion to share yet, it’s interesting to see why she picked these titles to buy, and her curiosity is addictive.
Noelle isn’t trying to do a calm, soothing, ASMR voice. She’s like a friend who is excited to show you her latest picks and read the back covers to you. She tends to sit on the floor during her videos, making it feel like you’re sitting cross-legged in front of her as a guest in her home and a one-person audience for her theatrical narration.
I pulled one of her multiple fall-themed videos called “books I’d love to read this fall but we’ll see if that actually happens.” This is a great example of how even the most disciplined readers tend to buy books faster than they can read them, but the act of just buying them and bringing them home is a completely separate activity that fits into our love of reading. And Noelle does read them, but as with all of us, life keeps her from being able to read them all at once.
The Book Leo – Annotating Books Will End Your Doomscrolling
When I was in school, I used to mark up the books I was reading so that I’d have a ton of reference points to return to when it came time to write my papers. I had fun with it, and it helped me learn how to analyze texts and take something from the stories I was reading, but once I was done with school, I never thought to continue that practice when I read simply for fun.
Cut to my discovery of book vloggers, and suddenly, I’m seeing everyone (okay not everyone) marking up their books with sticky tabs, jotting down notes in notebooks, and filling the margins with their thoughts. It made me feel like I was missing something.
The Book Leo has created an entire vlog about annotating books and explaining its benefits for your brain. She not only shows you her process but offers multiple different techniques for annotating books.
Watching this video makes me feel more motivated to read, even if I’m not writing down my thoughts to the degree that she does. The only notes I typically take while reading are notes while I’m reviewing a book, just to make sure I get the characters and general story straight, but her tips actually help me to analyze the stories better in my head so that I get more out of what I’m reading. I also love her instructional, yet funny way of expressing herself and her topics.
Ruby Granger – Autumn Night Routine
Ruby Granger is a popular vlogger who offers impressive study tips, ways to balance your time, and book recommendations. Her softspoken, British voice is very calming despite her fast talking. She makes you feel like you should get up and do something productive, yet enjoy yourself while you do it.
Ruby’s camera work is not as polished as other vloggers, but she has a specific flavor that makes it her own. You can tell that it mirrors her own perspective of her daily life.
It feels comforting for someone like me to see someone who is successful at filling her days without feeling like she has to do something Instagram worthy every day. She also romanticizes the mundaneness of her days, which reminds the viewer that most days are pretty bland, but you can still have a good time with that blandness.
I pulled Ruby’s Autumn Night Routine video to feature because it’s a shorter video that introduces you to Ruby’s narration style, content, and visuals. From there, I would suggest checking out her Victorian videos where she tries to live like different citizens in the Victorian era for a day and reflects on each routine that she tries.
Nomadic Ambience – Walking in the Rain in Boston, MA
Nomadic Ambience isn’t a book vlog, and it also isn’t a true ASMR vlog. Instead, we’re led through the streets of cities which picks up the organic sights and sounds of the different locations.
The Boston video is the one I come to the most. Filmed in the fall, the video gives you the feel of walking in the rain without the cold and wetness. The cobblestone sidewalks are matted in wet leaves, and the front stoops and yards are adorned with Halloween decorations.
So, why choose this as part of a bookish vlog list? My short answer is for the inspiration. If you’re especially looking to write something fall themed, particularly something set in New England, this video will give you a raw look at an authentic New England town for those who have never been there or those who may have visited or even lived there and need a refresher on what it looks and feels like.
I feel like this video also motivates the viewer to take their own walk in any weather, not only for the exercise but for the clearing of the mind and brainstorming session it will bring. And if not, throwing on a Nomadic Ambience video is the next best thing.
Doug Bradley Reads “The Rocking-Chair” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Next on the list is a reading vlog where horror icon Doug Bradley reads classic books, short stories, and poems on camera. They’re like audio books only with the visual along with the audio.
Bradley reads in a chair by lamplight surrounded by photos of famous horror actors and the characters they played. He has a very gentle voice that will put you to sleep but also make you eager to get right back into the story the next evening.
Bradley often looks up at the camera as he reads, peering at the viewer over his black-rimmed glasses. The camera remains still, and the sound remains concentrated on his voice and the words he’s reciting. It reminds me of a teacher reading to an attentive class.
I chose “The Rocking-Chair” short story as a good first video to try because of its length. I love his introduction to the story and how he begins breaking down the story before he even reads a word.
From there, you can move onto classic novels such as Frankenstein or A Christmas Carol. Watch them in order or save certain videos for certain times of the year when they’re in season.
The Victoria and Albert Museum: Library Experience
The Victoria and Albert Museum is a place I’ll probably never visit myself. So, I’m grateful that they have decided to create a YouTube Channel for those who are curious about their collections.
I first stumbled on this channel while searching for page flipping ASMR videos. It’s very difficult to find page turning that really suits my preferences. When you’re handling old books, you can’t help but take it slow and be gentle with the source material.
I chose their Library Experience video to fit with the bookish theme of this post. It’s more of a demonstration of how to handle old books, particularly the ones at their museum. From there, they do some page turning simply for the crispy sounds of old paper flipping from one side of the book to the next.
My favorite video of theirs, though, is the Turning the Pages of a Medieval Choirbook which is an extra crinkly book. It also gives you some history of the book and a breakdown of the art and layout of such an old text.
ALB in whisperland – Halloween Magazine Flipthrough
Ending on a sleepy note, one of my favorite ASMR artists, ALB in whisperland ASMR, has a bookish sounding name but is more of an arts and crafts content creator than a reader. She has some comic book-themed videos, but mostly she’s drawing, roleplaying, or showing off her love for vintage styles.
ALB also has a series where she flips through a Halloween-themed magazine every year, usually the latest issue of Better Homes & Gardens. I think that magazine reading gets tossed aside as not real reading, but they are full of journalistic content based on their theme.
Every time I get a magazine subscription, I’m so excited when a new issue comes in the mail. Unfortunately, they tend to come faster than I can read them, and before long, a stack emerges, and I’m scrambling to get through them before they become outdated.
ALB in whisperland’s magazine flip throughs remind me of hanging out with my friends in one of our bedrooms and flipping through a Seventeen Magazine. We’d mostly just peruse the pictures, but they’re great conversation pieces, and there are usually fun quizzes or other little blurbs to pick apart.
ALB usually whispers during these flip throughs and mixes it up with tapping and tracing on the shiny pages. So, don’t expect to make it through an entire video in one sitting. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time you stumble across a magazine, you’re tempted to pick it up.
What are your favorite fall-themed bookish YouTube videos? Leave your answers in the comments below!
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