As the Internet facilitates not only the passive consumption but also the active creation of media content, the lines between the two categories blur continuously. At the same time new content is created and shared with unprecedented speed and available in abundance. Among the many industries deeply affected by this development is publishing: Readers are now creating their own book reviews on YouTube. The thesis at hand examines how this BookTube phenomenon affects cultural and social contexts of reading. BookTube constitutes a dynamic new agent in the field of trade publishing due to its specific resources in social and symbolic capital. It functions as an amplifier for authors and publishers while disrupting established forms of book reviewing in traditional media. Furthermore, BookTube exemplifies that online platforms have a particular relevance to the generation of ‘digital natives’ in terms of reading and consuming habits and the forming of its attitude towards books.
