Crafting

Up Your Book Nerd Game: 10 Bookish YouTube Tutorials

Kristina Pino

Staff Writer

Teacher, Avid Traveler, Life-long Reader, Beer Guzzler, Jigsaw Puzzle Lover, Disney Mega-fan, and other Fancy Titles can be used to describe Kristina. She spends her time blogging, tweeting, vlogging, podcasting, and making puzzles when she isn’t out having an adventure, cozied up with a book, or responding to the Bat Signal. She’s from sunny, tropical South Florida. Her life is pretty awesome right now. Blog: GeekeryDo Twitter: GeekeryDo

Feeling the itch to get your craft on, or just want to change up your routine? Get some inspiration from the many awesome people of YouTube who come up with wonderful how-tos that both feed your creative needs and play to your bookish interests. And don’t worry, this is not a full list of how-tos that involve crafting with actual book parts – if that’s not your jam, you’ll still find something to love here.

My list is in no particular order, but I am alternating between crafty DIY projects and how-tos that have more to do with, say, finding your next read through Instagram or pronouncing your favorite author’s name correctly. Consider these two links a bonus.

This is a great tutorial by Nerd Burger on making a Robin-inspired tote bag, but you can use these instructions for the base of any sort of tote bag you’d like and then decorate it the way you like. Then, you’ll have a lovely tote to take with you to the comics shop or library or anywhere else you expect to pick up some bookish loot.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uTRhOoce04[/youtube]

Over on Book Riot’s YouTube channel, Amanda talks about her love of hardcover books and the different ways she hunts for them in order to not, you know, go broke. If you like how hardcovers look on your shelf and you get a thrill from “the hunt,” this is the how-to for you.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMkehQX_p1M[/youtube]

Out of the many, many book purse/clutch/wallet/etc how-to videos I browsed, this one seemed the friendliest towards the largest audience. The necessary materials are very few, and no sewing skills are required.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYaoJy6gR3A[/youtube]

Here’s a nice, quick video by Books and Quills on avoiding the dreaded spine crack. It’s a meticulous process, but seems to work well nonetheless.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fN_odVFivw[/youtube]

If you’re like me, you probably use any ol’ scrap of paper you have lying around as a book mark, or even the dust jacket if the book is a hardcover. I own a zillion book marks, but I can never find one when I need one. Maybe if I had some of these adorable DIY book marks just lying around the house, I can turn my bookmark game around…

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XIrjkpuQQo[/youtube]

Here are 5 tips on diversifying your reading, delivered straight to your eyeballs (and ear holes) via the Book Riot YouTube channel.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVi5o2K3kE[/youtube]

If you have old hardcovers lying around and want to spruce things up around your home, consider upcycling those dust-collecting tomes into gorgeous little gardens before sending them to the thrift store. They’re easy to make and maintain, and you can guarantee it’ll be a conversation starter.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgz4MWP_iLU[/youtube]

Is your TBR looking overwhelming? This isn’t a strict how-to video so much as a great concept for reducing that pile. I chose to link this video over the original because 5 seems much more reasonable than 10 for the average reader with an out-of-control TBR pile. All it takes is a little discipline.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh6xlbjlvwA[/youtube]

Swapna made this great tutorial on making your very own book wreath. She made it around the holiday season, but I think it’s great year-round or as a party decoration.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45V6sFx5Gm0[/youtube]

And finally, my last pick is a video by Rincey on her own channel about where to find diverse books as well as some of her own recommendations. I know I already have a tutorial linked earlier in this article about reading diversely and finding diverse reads, but apart from the fact that the tips are different in each video, it’s worth mentioning as many times as I can squeeze it in because reading diversely is important, yo.[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeJI7FYY-CM[/youtube]

____________________

Did you know that Book Riot has a YouTube channel? We do. It’s new and we are having fun with it. Check it out here.

Solid_color_You_Tube_logo-2