The Booktube Habit

To get some variety back into this blog, I’m going to start writing in all the categories – journal, fiction, art, the art of writing, book reviews, and lists/challenges. Today I’ll start by writing about what’s happening in my life, as of March 2018.

Lately my life has been dominated by Booktube! I made a goal for this year, to produce a Booktube video daily during 2018. Really, a huge project, and time consuming!

Booktube is a casual subcategory of YouTube. There’s no official Booktube section of YouTube but video makers created a book-loving community and called it Booktube.

My original goal with YouTube was to train myself to speak better. I’ve been deficient in the speaking ability category since I was very young. My older sister was very talkative and had an outgoing personality, so I retreated into the background and let her do a lot of the talking for me.

The habit of choosing friends who dominated continued throughout my lifetime, culminating in the relationship with a man who had no control over his mouth… guess I learned my lesson.

I need to speak for myself and now I’m training myself to do just that with my YouTube channel…. a Booktube channel, as I can always talk about books.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said, “I write better than I speak.” Well, now that’s becoming, more and more, a thing of the past. After making daily videos for almost three months now, it is becoming quite easy to speak and I’m very pleased with my progress.

The Booktube channel is growing. You may remember, I made almost 50 videos in 2014, then stalled. I stopped making videos after my long bicycle ride in October 2014. Last year in October 2017 I decided that just wasn’t okay with me. I wanted to have a Booktube channel, and decided this is the perfect time to continue on with that goal. There are older people on Booktube now… and I might as well be one of them. Booktube is a fun place to be, especially if you love books.

Here’s one of my most recent “tag” videos – and I think it shows that I’m really starting to speak freely… so no more timidity during speaking!

I decided to make a schedule for my Booktube videos – just something to give my channel variety and give me a general pattern so I don’t face each day wondering what to make a video about next. At this point it has evolved into this:

Subscribe to the
Book Lady Channel
on YouTube.

Keeps me busy!

Seriously, too busy – because I need time for work. So I’ve learned to video all these on just two days per week. It is the only way I can keep going. On Mondays I film for Monday through Wednesday. On Thursday, for Thursday through Saturday. The other days, I can edit, and I can work online to supplement my other income streams.

Aside from video creation, do I even have a life anymore?

Well, yes, I do. I’m still reserving my mornings for my writing desk, meaning Bible study, journaling, and other creative work. I also read books, watch a few reality TV shows, and oh my goodness, just remembered that Survivor is on again tonight. I love looking out at the ocean scenes during Survivor. The sight of the ocean feels so healing. That blue is amazing.

On relationships – I’ve become a total loner except for going to church or the grocery store. Other than that, I’m not getting out much. I enjoy my connections with people on YouTube. I do speak with a limited number of people on the phone. Seems like plenty of human contact for me. We’re all different. I definitely need my alone-time in order to thrive in my lifestyle choice of art, writing and other forms of creativity. Generally, those are not social activities. The solo life fits me well.

I am contemplating travel later this year – not only to Southern Idaho, as I mentioned earlier in this blog – but I also may get the chance to do my Journey! California traveling late this year or next year. This is a project I’ve been putting off for my retirement years. It seems like that time has come. I definitely want to make blogging and video creation a big part of my traveling.

My favorite author right now is Andrew Murray. I discovered his writing only a few months ago and now, seems like I can’t get enough… he was so insightful. He is a classic Christian author. I read his book, Humility, and now am reading Abide in Christ. Amazing! I am loving the inspiring encouragement I get from his books. He was a pastor in South Africa who wrote in Dutch. He passed away in 1917, just over 100 years ago.

I was at my church this morning for a fellowship meeting. There were about 15 married couples, 2 or 3 single men, and me. I felt like a fish out of water. Unfortunately it bothers me to be around a lot of married couples, because that’s one area of my life I’ve been unsuccessful at: relationships and marriages. At this point I’ve learned I’m happier living alone, so I can have my creativity time… but it still stings to be in a group predominantly of married couples, as it reminds me of what can’t be.

I get that a lot with Christian groups, because they tend to have long-lasting, successful marriages. Once I went to a large women’s Bible study group, and every other woman there was married. I just don’t fit… as I gave up on marriage before ever becoming a Christian, which was only five years ago. It is nice to be in a group of Christians, even if there aren’t people I feel I can connect with well, and be friends with.

I guess that’s the life of a loner. Good reason for reading more books.

I’m so glad it is springtime again! I need to go take a walk in the woods. That’s sure to make me feel better about everything.

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