Binge

There are very few YouTube channels I follow and Tyler Oakley's isn't one of them. It's not because I don't like him though...I just never heard of him before. I know, where have I been hiding??? While waiting for my next library hold, I saw Binge was readily available via audio. It was categorized as humor so why wouldn't I read something mood lifting? I ended up really liking it...and really liking Tyler. From my reading experience, I can honestly say Tyler's book is enjoyable whether you are familiar with him or not. Regardless, I feel like I know him now and I might even consider checking out his channel, so if that was an underlying reason behind this book then it worked. Tyler writes with substance as well as plenty of humor. He discusses his experiences with eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, abusive relationships, coming out to a religious parent, advocacy, and his slow rise to fame in the world of social media. Tyler shared that he wrote Binge with the wish to demonstrate "the value of taking chances, pushing beyond our comfort levels, dusting ourselves off after our inevitable humiliations, and remaining open to the life and feelings and possibilities that are happening while we are busy either chasing phantoms of success or trying to outrun our fears." Personally, I think he succeeded. The audiobook version of Binge was a fun experience for me. Tyler self-narrated and spoke directly to the listener, even letting the reader know if there was a screenshot or something they were visually missing in which case he tried to summarize/describe it the best he could. The audio was well-done in my opinion and I would recommend it. Check it out! My favorite quotes: "A good mom is supportive of you but the best moms are supportive of your growth. Even when it doesn't seem like they're on your side, great mothers are on the side of your becoming a better person and you'll be so much better off in the long run. So pull out your flip phone and text a quick thank you to your mom. She has your best interest at heart even if you are sometimes a dick." Note: So who is Tyler Oakley? He is a strong presence on YouTube and all of the social media outlets. At the time of this review, he has 7,737,335 YouTube subscribers, 5.3m Instagram followers, 4.75M Twitter followers, 2,811,812 Facebook likes, and an impressive number of Snapchat and Tumblr fans. He has this book (obviously) as well as an upcoming documentary titled Snervous set to release December 2015. After some research, I learned that Tyler is not only a social media obsession but he is also an advocate for LGBT rights and The Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth ages 13-24. I have to admit, I find it impressive that Tyler uses his popularity and influence to do good. Keep up the good work Tyler! (less)

Despite being 23-years-old, I'm not ashamed to admit I love Tyler Oakley. In fact, I'm a big fan of a lot of Youtuber's and whilst I'm not the typical screaming fangirl, I do look forward to hearing more about my faves so when Tyler announced he was writing a tell-all memoir, I couldn't wait to pre-order it. Tyler has always been one of those people whose personality just radiates - whether that be through a screen or off a page, so reading Binge was just like having a nice conversation with a friend over a glass of wine. Binge features stories that we've never heard before, photographs from his childhood and exclusives that we never expected (PS. His name's not really Tyler!) I loved reading each and every page and learning more about a man I've grown to really admire - and it was all told in a voice that was very "Tyler" using his catchphrases and terminology, I could hear his voice reading the lines as I read them. The one aspect I had a slight issue with was that the stories switched from one to another very quickly and it all felt very rushed. I'm not a fan of comparing books, but I can't help but draw a comparison to Shane Dawson's I Hate My Selfie. In Shane's book, he had a chapter for each story - so you knew where each started and ended. I liked that. It was clear, concise and I didn't need to pause and think "oh, this is a different story now" as I felt myself doing whilst reading Binge. Tyler would finish one story and move onto another within the next paragraph, with very little separating the two. I found this to be a little disjointed whilst reading but understand that he had a lot he wanted to share, and only one book to share it in. I really enjoyed reading Binge and I feel as though people who don't know Tyler would enjoy it too. His comedic way of speaking is portrayed really well through text and his witty humour is one of the main things I love about him. Reading this book made me happy and whether you're a fan of Tyler or not, I'd strongly urge you to pick up Binge.

Binge is honestly a master piece from the dedication to the last word i sobbed my heart out.From reading about poop to learning how tyler has dealt with breakups, this book is something i will never ever forget. Binge absolutely emphasises how Ty is just like you and me: he may have a huge following on social media and accomplished so many amazing things but he's gone through his own bumps in his life and has decided to share them with the world and i think thats absolutely amazing.This book filled me with hope, it made me laugh and cry and face palm but not once did i ever put it down. Each page in the book oozes out his personality and i honestly couldn't put it down from the moment that it was delivered. Whether or not you watch tyler this book is a must read for everyone, if i could i'd promo it at every chance but i think tyler does that enough already. Everyone needs to read this book, it's extremely well written and heartfelt and you can just tell how much emotion has been put into it. This book is everything i've ever needed. I've been watching tyler on youtube for years ( youtube.com/tyleroakley ) and the moment i held his book was un real, i am so proud of how far he's come and the dedication he puts into everything for his people is astounding. Binge is my all time favourite book and i'm sure everyone else feels the same. - moonbun zo, @BADLANDSIVAN on twitter

I really like this book! Even though I have only read the first few pages, it's already made me laugh so much about Tyler's Adventures. [The one thing that has made me a little upset was that the book was 1 day late which made me believe that something happened to it, but it got here in the end.] Also it's signed! Wow! :)

This book...where to start? I have to be honest when I say I expected it to be a good read. I did not expect it to be as amazing as it was! It hit all the feels. It made me laugh and cry, my heart both broke and sang for Tyler numerous times through out. I "binge" read the book all in one day...read 4 hours... (yes the pun was intended). It didn't feel so much like I was reading a book as I felt more like I was sitting there having a conversation with Tyler. He is very candid, sometimes to the point of being questionable, but held nothing back. It flowed amazingly from one chapter to the next, with a bunch of silly Tyler-isms shall we call them, in between. I feel he kept honest to his heart, honest to his fandom, and gave us all what we have been longing for for so many years. I can only hope his adventure continues and we are lucky enough for him to bless us with another book. I can honestly say that when I turned the last page, and finished the last chapter it left me thinking. It shows how much of a "normal" (I use the word normal though it can be interpreted many ways I suppose) person Tyler is. What you see is what you get. He is very much the Tyler we see in videos and interviews, but within that he is also just one of us. A person who gets excited when someone retweets his post, or likes his post. Its the small everyday things that matter, and he proves time and time again in his book that he has not lost sight of that. Binge will definitely be in my small selection of books to re-read! It almost saddened me when I finished the last chapter. Some say when they finish a book they feel like they are losing a friend. I can't say I feel that way as I feel like Tyler is even more of a friend now, but rather, that the visit from the friend you have been waiting for has come and gone. And once again you are left longing...waiting for that next contact. Kudos to you Mr. Oakley. You have once again outdone yourself! Binge

Why does it seem like being an avid YouTube fan has to be such a dirty secret? Is it because so many people are so behind the times in terms of entertainment that it is still seen as weird and kooky to turn to it as a primary source of media? Or is it just an acquired taste? Either way, here's a personal admission that I never had sufficient reason to declare passionately on social media until now: I have loved Tyler Oakley for so many years. I have loved him with a true, pure, beautiful adoration dating back to the day my best friend/old roommate and I stumbled upon his channel in 2011. Now, years later, Tyler's empire is building and stacking up to be one of the most impressive in the entire online community. I'm proud of my little baby kindred spirit, and I love him now as much as I did the day we found his "HOW TO: Pray The Gay Away" video (that's right, young fans...I was there before the stalking One Direction video). At present, I have just finished his book at the end of my long night shift and passed it off to my partner, who just happens to be another avid YouTube content consumer and fan of our Queen Oakley. We spend our nights watching some of the other greats: Joey Graceffa, Mamrie Hart, Dan Howell, Phil Lester, Shane Dawson, Trisha Paytas, Zoe Sugg, and (my personal favorite right now) Drew Monson, just to name a few. Tyler, himself, embodies everything you want in a friend and his videos have become a tremendous source of comfort for me. It truly fills my heart with joy to know that anyone out there who may be struggling can turn to him and others like him to find refuge and strength. I realize now that this may sound cheesy and borderline pathetic, but when you find yourself at a low point in your life and you don't have the strength to leave your comfort zone, sometimes seeing a friendly face with a smile and a quick funny story can mean the difference between disparaging loneliness and heart-lifting hopefulness. That face can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but something about a sweet "Well, hello everybody!" followed by either a quick Q and slay, a cheeky story, or a hilarious collab seems to resonate with an abundant amount of people, and I am among them. Thank you, Tyler, for making the dark days brighter and the good days great ones. I also realize now that I haven't even talked about the book. Oops. This book is truly great. Tyler is obviously a very talented entertainer on so many platforms, and it was almost aggravating for me to realize that, in addition to being so seemingly adept at everything else he tries, he's an exemplary writer. Save some talent for the rest of us, Queen! The book flowed so beautifully that I would have believed that he was an author first and a content creator second. There were a few times throughout the book in which I felt like it would have had a better flow had the chapters been in a more chronological order, however upon finishing the entire thing I realize that it was formatted that way for a reason. The stories all come together to give you an even better understanding of who Tyler is as a person and I feel I can say with confidence that this particular book can be enjoyed by anyone, whether they be a Tyler Oakley addict living their life in a onesie or a YouTube novice who somehow found this book in their lap. As far as age-appropriateness goes, I would have to give it a PG-13 rating. In other words: Sure, there's a little bit of language and slightly graphic content, but I have seen Lady Gaga's titties with tassles 3 times in 3 weeks on basic cable and your big brother probably says worse, so who's going to stop you from staying up late to watch Beavis and Butthead when your mom falls asleep? Sorry, that was a flashback to 1998. Also sorry to Lady Gaga. No shade on the titties. You are bangin'. Keep slaying me. The stories in this book will warm your heart and break it, sometimes at the same time. It also goes without saying that you will be laughing out loud...a lot. And this is coming from an emotionless drone whose default expression is blank disinterest. You will horse laugh and scare those around you. You have been warned. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did and I hope this isn't the last book we see from our favorite Professional Fangirl. I can't wait to see what else he has up his sleeve.

I just threw it away.

Just finished reading the book a few seconds ago, I would like to say this is the funniest thing I have ever read. It made me feel all types of emotions and I guess Tyler is the best story teller .This book made my life a little lighter during my Final exams. Thank you Tyler, eagerly waiting for your second book.

Si vous n'avez jamais entendu de Tyler Oakley je ne sais pas ce que vous faites avec votre vie. Les histoire qu'il raconte ne sont pas juste interéssantés mais qui vous aprennent des choses qui vont vous servir dans la vie. Très souvent on ne voit sur Youtube que le côté positif de Tyler, mais dans ce livre nous pourrions decouvrir son ame :)