Entertainment
9 Books By YouTube Stars For Every Kind Of Fan
It’s no secret that YouTube stars are the newest millionaires on the block. Self-made celebrities are born on their own channels every day, with the online audience also acting as their agents and talent scouts. Sure, your aunt and her homemade recipes may be only a phone call away, but there's a good chance your question will be answered even quicker by your younger cousin with over 50,000 YouTube subscribers.
According to Wired, on average, we're spending over 40 minutes at a time watching YouTube videos on our phones alone. This increased viewing time means big bucks for YouTube stars, who are expanding their brands into sponsorship deals, cross-country tours, hosting gigs, TV shows, and most exciting in our opinion — books!
Memoirs from YouTubers have recently become a rite (or should we say "write") of passage for online stars, with savvy social media moguls taking their channels and converting them into page turners. Much like the YouTube online landscape, the YouTube book landscape also includes a wide variety of answers to all your most pressing questions , from how to master the winged eyeliner look to how to survive high school.
Here are nine awesome books to check out if you're obsessed with YouTube.
I, Justine: An Analog Memoir, Justine Ezarik
After receiving her 300-page iPhone bill in 2007, Justine Ezarik did what any 20-something millennial would do — she made a video about it and posted it to YouTube. The story went viral and launched the self-taught coder from obscurity to online celebrity.
In her book I, Justine: An Analog Memoir, Ezarik chronicles her journey from rural Pennsylvania to social media stardom, giving readers a behind the scenes look at what it was like to be one of YouTube’s earliest adopters and first stars. Ezarik's compelling storytelling shines with tales of sneaking into a press conferences to hear Steve Jobs talk about the first generation iPad and interviewing bands about the tech world at SXSW.
Girl Online, Zoe Scugg
As a resident "young person" on YouTube, Zoe Scrugg, better known to her followers as "Zoella," may seem like the obvious choice to write a YA novel about a girl who starts a blog. But Scrugg’s impressive grasp of writing for the YA audience is exciting, especially considering this is her debut novel. Crafting a main character that is both relatable and aspirational, Scrugg’s is setting herself up as the Judy Blume of YouTube.
You’re Never Weird On The Internet (Almost), Felicia Day
Books by YouTube personalities run the gamut from memoir to cooking to makeup, but one thread that runs consistently through genres is the impressive introductions. For Felicia Day, that intro comes from Joss ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Whedon, who advises readers “if you want to survive, stay close to the redhead.”
Day tells all about her life as a "nerd girl,"explaining gaming to Hollywood film execs and going from homeschooled kid to Internet mastermind. Taking a comedic view on the mundane, mortifying, and more impressive moments in her life, You’re Never Weird On The Internet (Almost) is illustrated with personal photos of Day, which she has turned into memes, because #Internet.
My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide To Eating, Drinking and Going With Your Gut, Hannah Hart
With YA magic maker John Green penning the foreword (we weren’t kidding about these YouTubbers and their forewords), Hannah Hart’s cookbook gets off to a surprisingly emotional start and continues throughout the culinary memoir. Being engaging online and engaging on paper don’t always go hand in hand, but that’s not the case for Hart. With recipes like Dick Taters (mini weiners and tater tots), interstitial anecdotes such as "A letter to your metabolism" (there’s an over and under 25 version), and what to eat during a break up (Sad Thai, of course), Hart is equal parts hilarious, likable, and inspiring for those with zero cooking abilities.
The food vlogger will keep readers laughing, with lines like “Lunchables, food that was so clean it wouldn’t even touch itself,” and will inspire even make the laziest chef to consider mashing together whatever is left in the fridge.
Really Professional Internet Person, Jenn McAllister
Self-described as “aggressively not perfect,” YouTuber Jennxpenn removes the veil of secrecy she’s stood behind since launching her YouTube page in 2009 and lets fans in on the real Jenn with her debut book.
McAllister’s Really Professional Internet Person is most easily summarized as two books: The first, an autobiography that covers everything from struggling with her parent’s divorce to the traveling trials of the obligatory YouTube star tour across North America. The second book is a self-help guide for young people, with McAllister crafting a safe space through lists, including How To Deal With Negativity On The Internet and The 10 Things Middle Schoolers Worry About That They Shouldn’t. Visually similar to the teen female-friendly Rookie Mag, McAllister's heartfelt and humorous book is perfect for young adults growing up in the Internet age.
Grace’s Guide: The Art Of Pretending To Be A Grown Up, Grace Helbig
No one knows better than Grace Helbig that you can pretty much answer any question through a Google inquiry, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get a quality answer. That’s where Helbig’s guide to adulthood comes in. The unofficial godmother of YouTube (see: E! series, multiple book deals, and numerous national tours), Helbig is giving fans her two cents on growing up Grace-fully. Comprised of pages as colorful as Helbig herself, Grace gives the goods on nailing a job interview, surviving a hangover, delivering a break up, and throwing an adult dinner party.
Buy your younger cousin Jenn McAllister’s book and while you’re at it, pick up Helbig’s for yourself.
You Deserve A Drink, Mamrie Hart
Foreworded by her online bestie Grace Helbig and touting praise from Melissa Rivers, Hart's boozy essays (paired with cocktail recipes, of course) make her sound like the perfect drinking partner for self-proclaimed vodka lover Chelsea Handler. Hart’s stream of consciousness storytelling can get overly windy at points, with too many clever asides clouding a great drinking story, but we love Mamrie’s unapologetic approach to being herself and holding a cocktail … or two.
Make Up: Your Life Guide To Beauty, Style And Success — Online and Off, Michelle Phan
For YouTuber Michelle Phan, makeup is much more than something to apply in the morning. The hugely successful beauty vlogger and self-taught makeup artist has turned her love of lip liner into a brand, while simultaneously becoming the voice of a generation. In Phan’s debut book, the self-proclaimed Anime lover compiles her best beauty hacks into one glossy volume. What Phan lacks in writing strength, she makes up for in easy-to-follow beauty tips. Our eyebrows are now officially on fleek.
Self Help, Miranda Sings
Judging by her book Self Help, looking inside the brain of Miranda Sings, a caricature of comedian Colleen Ballinger Evans, means phonetically spelling lists and quizzes that almost always end in announcing Sings as the best answer to any question. Topped off with crude cutting and pasting of "cute boys" and "places to go on a date," Sings' Self Help is essentially her love-it-or-hate-it satirical YouTube channel brought to life. Sings' five million plus YouTube subscribers will be delighted to have another facet of Miranda's character to explore. Sorry, we meant xplohr.
Image Source (9)
