Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Binge by Tyler Oakley


Rating: ★ 

I am extremely gratified that I was able to finish this book before the year was practically over because I had a major fear that I would not complete this book until 2016 but I was lucky enough that this was due back to the library already meaning it forced me to marathon the last 40 pages of this book. The reason why it took me forever was not because it was an awful book! On the contrary, when it comes to the end of the year, it is difficult to read anything because of the holidays and having my mind focus on the celebrations that I don't feel inspired to read or be productive for that matter.

As this will be the last book I read of 2015, I feel as though this is the perfect book to say goodbye. 2015 has been an hectic and crazy year for some including myself and this year has caused many different and difficult shifts in my life whether I was ready it for it or not and especially when it comes to the literary world I believe we have had major ups and down when it comes to certain book and their releases. While we have had wonderful new books introduce to our lives, on the other hand we have had major terrible books and it all involves with Famous YouTubers.

This will be my first book that I read from a YouTuber and I will admit that I was completely surprise at how comedic, honest, and shocking Tyler Oakley is both as a human being and as an YouTube icon. Before reading this I was actually apprehensive about reading it because I have heard and read countless reviews about certain YouTube novels being published and either the writing was horrible, the material was offensive, or the book was about advice or guide books to younger fans when it fact most of these people are less than 30 years old so how is someone going to give me love advice and other nonsense when they haven't lived long enough to provide us some experience?

I am not a fanatic fan of Tyler Oakley but I do love and appreciate his videos and sometimes I can definitely feel as though I could relate to his experiences and sure enough while reading this book I felt as though I was rewatching moments of my past through the several chapters of this book. I was shocked that by midway into this book I would be fully captivated and could definitely relate to him both on a personal level and our sexual experiences.

Tyler Oakley is a complex human being dealing with an addicting personality that can hinder his abilities when grasping with real life situations and trying to balance his career. I love the fact that Tyler knows and accepts that he has countless issues at hand but doesn't let it affect him and by having a circle of friends, family, and fans it allows him to know that he is human and can perservere with any struggles that life presents him.

When reading this book I was fascinated how being an YouTuber is a very contradicting job. At the one hand many people believe that YouTube is not a job because you simply film yourself and getting paid to do nothing whereas others see YouTube as a channel that provides different brands to entertain the masses on the Internet. YouTubers are not celebrities like A-List actors and entertainers who are constantly being harassed by paparazzi but now this YouTube culture has reached a new platform on social media and this wonderful thing called the Internet, this YouTuber stars are having fan bases in the millions and essentially being harassed by them every time they post their whereabouts on Social Media. 

I love this contradiction and I admire that Tyler Oakley notices this dilemma too and talks about it in this book. I will admit that in the very beginning of this book it was a tad bit boring and originally was going to get 4 stars but as the story progresses we get major insight into his life which is quite vulnerable to reveal and authentic. Since we know and love Tyler Oakley in the present day, he writes the story of his life starting from when he was born all the way to 2015. It is the smart move instead of jumping around in the timeline but I could careless about your life before High-School. 

Right from the start Tyler Oakley got my attention because A) we both were at an young age when our parents divorced. B) we realize very early on in our lives that we were different from the other boys. I remember there was this one story in which he mentions that he used to read online gay erotica stories before he entered high school and I laughed so hard because I did the exact same thing! I would have wild fantasies about certain guys in school (thanks to hormones and puberty) and in order to eliminate these day dreams and focus on my class assignments I would read gay erotica in the privacy of my own home and feel lonely. 

I do not want to spoil crucial revelations in this book but I will applaud Tyler Oakley for being his authentic self and revealing details that either weren't easy to make it public for the world to read and dealing with certain wounds that he has been avoiding but now has to confront it head on in order to move on with his life. The story about his first major love in College was utterly heartbreaking and while I have never had an boyfriend I could definitely understand what he went through and I have experienced similar dilemmas when it came to opening myself to another person and being vulnerable and putting myself out there and being rejected.

Would I recommend this book to someone? That is a tough answer. I believe if you don't watch Tyler Oakley videos or in any case any YouTuber then I don't recommend it because throughout the book, Tyler has his moments of utter weirdness that either I completely identify with or because I've seen a lot of videos I have come to understand and accept these moments in this writing. Like there's this one random chapter of ranking Disney Princes. Some may say but these are characters that are animated but trust me there are gay adult men who would act out "Kiss, Marry, Fuck" in an instant when it comes to Disney Princes. 

I don't believe I could give this book review any justice because trust me when I am saying that I am only touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Tyler Oakley's life. Throughout the book I found myself laughing, sad, happy, and truly entertain. It was quite refreshing to learn more about Tyler Oakley as a person and less of the YouTuber Icon that has grown in the recent years. People believe that YouTubers become instant famous overnight and honestly that is not true. YouTube was never Tyler Oakley intentions to make a career out of it, he simply used YouTube to stay in contact with his friends while at the University and over time he changed from making it as a hobby into a full blown 24/7 career of it and attending to the fans using all sources of social media. 

Now finishing this book I have a better understanding of Tyler Oakley and will admit that this may be one of the best YouTube books out there! I wish I could have more details about his private life now but I understand and accept that everyone regardless how famous they are need their privacy but that won't stop me from buying any upcoming books from him! Until next time...

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