At 35, I decided to make money in the bookstore business.

I turned 35 today (June 18). Let's talk about money.

A year and a half ago, I started a YouTube channel called “Tsundoku Channel” to introduce books. The goal of the channel is to introduce books and have viewers buy them at “Value Books,” the bookstore where I work.

In modern terms, I’m a “BookTuber,” or to put it simply, a “Japanet Takata” for books.

I have released 128 videos. Basically, I introduce one book per video.

The cumulative sales of the books I’ve introduced are 28,000 copies, totaling 60 million yen. Since many people also purchase other books I haven’t introduced at the same time, the sales of books sold through my videos have exceeded 100 million yen.

These are the top 5 in the Tsundoku Channel sales ranking.
The number one spot is a book by Horimoto-san, my partner on the “Tsundoku Channel,” so it’s an outlier, but I am truly grateful that so many people buy books at the Value Books where I work.

Lately, I’ve been so busy with daily video updates that I haven’t had time to look back on the past (I just calculated the numbers above now).

On my birthday, which comes once a year, I’d like to look back on the past and turn my gaze toward the future.

Hello, I’m a YouTuber.

※ Last year’s article ↑

Age 34 was the year I decided to become a YouTuber.

It seems I had some aptitude for it, and I enjoyed the busy work of selling books on YouTube. My subscriber count kept growing, and my update frequency increased from once to twice a week.

While I’m happy that things are going well, my speech in private life has become as rough as it is on YouTube, and I get asked for photos and autographs between recordings. I felt a great sense of discomfort.

“I realized that YouTube casts a spell on both the creator and the viewer.” Even though it’s just a middle-aged guy with a beard and glasses talking, the YouTube screen applies an invisible, sparkling filter to the performer.

The other day, I uploaded a video where I talked about the struggles of an ordinary office worker who (by his own decision) became a YouTuber. It was three and a half hours long at an izakaya—an insane length in this era of short-form content dominance.

Since the content was a departure from my usual “book introductions,” I was worried about whether people would watch it, but it currently has about 200,000 views. It’s the fastest-growing video I’ve ever released.

I guess everyone has their own thoughts on this...
Thank you for your hard work. Truly.

I had lived a life of just going with the flow.

A long time ago, an older man I was close to once told me,“You’re not the type to push through rough seas, but rather the type to build a raft and skillfully drift along.”I remember him saying that.

The feeling of “Wow, that’s so true!” that I felt back then has stayed with me ever since.

People who set goals far in the distance and keep running while maintaining their passion are truly dazzling.

I don’t have anything like that “solid foundation,” and yet, I don’t have the guts to work as hard at job hunting as everyone else around me.

Because of that, I was just tossed out into society as an unemployed person, but I managed to paddle my raft by using “methods not generally taken,” such as writing letters to companies I wanted to join or negotiating directly with presidents at events.

I decided only that I would “live in the book industry,” and after that, I drifted and drifted until I arrived here.

Looking back, selling books on YouTube is probably my own version of a raft.

I threw myself into the battlefield of “selling books on YouTube,” which not many bookstore clerks choose, and I’m somehow surviving every day.

My first goal in life: “I’m going to make money.”

After deciding on the “place to drift to,” I’ve been doing my best not to die, but recently, something like a goal has sprouted for the first time.

That is“I’m going to make money.”It’s a stupid-sounding goal when put into words like that.

I don't have much desire for material things.

As long as I can read the books I like, listen to the music I like, and buy a Mt. Rainier at the convenience store from time to time, I am happy enough.

Well, some might consider even that a luxurious lifestyle in this day and age, but I have absolutely no desire to 'drive a nice car!' or 'go wild at a hostess club!!'.

At 35, for the first time, I am starting to think that I 'want to earn money.'
There are two reasons.

My life is no longer just my own.

I have a family.
A wife and a two-year-old son.

Honestly, until my child was born, I felt like we were just 'independent individuals living together,' even as a married couple.

However, with the birth of my child, the weight of 'someone else's life' was added to my own for the first time.

I don't think for a second that I should 'give them whatever they want,' but I still want to guarantee a minimum level of security (though where to draw that line is difficult) so that they can use their limbs as they wish in this world.

Also, I am constantly busy with YouTube preparations and recordings. When I am away from home, it is naturally my wife doing everything on her own or we are being looked after by her parents.

My wife says, 'It's totally fine. Just work hard at your job,' and as she says, I intend to devote myself to my YouTube work, but I want to properly provide a rich life for my family.

This month, I bought a new car. It's a used car, and nothing special, but I took out a loan to buy it.

The reason is that all we had at home was a light car I bought on Mercari, and,

a light van we inherited from my wife's grandfather.

My wife would often tell me, "I want to drive a slightly more normal car," but I would just dodge the question, saying, "It still runs, let's think about it another time." I have no interest in cars.

But finally, I realized that "that's not the point."

Because my life is not just my own.

I don't care about cost-performance. Since I have no interest in cars, I decided not to interfere at all, let my wife choose the car she wanted to drive, test drive it, and go through with the purchase. The car will be delivered in a few days, but I haven't even seen it yet.

My wife is happy, saying,"I don't have to charge it from the cigarette lighter anymore! I can play music without bringing a Bluetooth speaker! It has seat heaters and I can start the engine from outside, so it's warm!" she says.

I feel like I've been putting her through a lot of trouble.

The person I am remains the same, but my life is becoming intertwined with others.

While finally feeling the weight of that obvious truth—the kind that might be written in a dictionary—that this is what a family is, I think to myself, "Dad's going to earn more money."

When I'm away from home for filming, go stay at a nice inn with your parents. I want to earn enough to be able to say things like that.

"Bookstores don't make money"—I'm tired of that.

Bookstores don't make money.
I often complain about it in my videos, but well, they really don't make money.

When I graduated from university and entered the book industry, I was told,
"The book industry doesn't make money, right?"

When you work in the book industry, you're often asked,
"The book industry doesn't make money, does it?"

"That's right! It's a sunset industry through and through!" I used to reply, and honestly, I didn't care. I just came into this industry because I love books, and I had never even considered the scale of "whether it makes money or not."

However, it's different lately.I want to make a lot of money in the bookstore business.The reason is that I'm "tired of it."

The book industry isn't profitable, right? The book industry is tough, isn't it? People are reading fewer books, aren't they? Books are way too expensive compared to Netflix, aren't they? Bookstores aren't profitable, bookstores aren't profitable, bookstores aren't profitable...

$${\huge\bf{SHUT UP!!} }$$

$${\huge\bf{I'm sick of hearing that} }$$
$${\huge\bf{already!!} }$$

It's not just other people saying it; I think it to myself every single day. No matter how much I sell, it's just not profitable at all.

Doesn't it drive you crazy when someone on a date keeps saying the same thing over and over?

"I want to go abroad someday."
"Ah, I want to go abroad. But I don't have the money."
"Wouldn't it be fun if we went abroad?"

$${\huge\bf{THEN JUST GO!!} }$$

$${\huge\bf{Take your paid leave and} }$$
$${\huge\bf{book a ticket right now!!} }$$

It's the same thing. I'm sick of the fact that bookstores aren't profitable.
I want to build a bookstore that makes serious money and slap someone in the face with a stack of cash as thick as a Natsuhiko Kyogoku novel (whose face? I don't know).

It's not about "wanting to create a new future for bookstores." I'm not that grand of a figure.

I'm just sick of it. Sick of not making money.

I'm also sick of myself saying, "It's a sunset industry." How many times are you going to say the same thing?

I'm going to sell even more books through the "Tsundoku Channel." I'm going to sell thousands of them.

"Hmm, is that really necessary?"I'm going to clear out the inventory of publishers who say things like that (to all the publishers out there, I always appreciate your support).

"If we increase the number of pre-orders on Amazon, physical bookstores will stock them too, so pre-ordering through Value Books is a bit..."I'm going to boost the influence of the Tsundoku Channel so that it becomes a reference for physical bookstores, and I'll sell tons of books from publishers who say things like that too (to all the publishers out there, I truly appreciate your support).

I'm going to sell a ton of books and make a ton of money, you bastards.

The birth of a profitable bookstore is a ray of light.
Its influence on the industry might be negligible, but if one ray of light is born, two or three more will follow.
Of course, it's not just me; every bookstore is working hard today to become a ray of light.

The raft that had been drifting along has finally reached a simple yet distant destination: 'make a lot of money.' For the first time in my life.

I'll probably have to row the oars harder than ever before, but once I've made up my mind, all that's left is to do it.

A wishlist for domestic harmony

Now, after saying something so brave, it's very pathetic of me, but for another first in my life, I've published a 'wishlist'.

A list to keep the Iida family happy

Even at 35, I feel a strong hesitation about publishing an Amazon 'wishlist,' but if I think about how much it can enrich my family life, my own pride is a small price to pay. The list above is the result of asking my wife what she wants.

If you have some extra cash and are a kind soul who wants to 'support the harmony of the Iida family,' please do so!!

The reason I've become able to boldly ask for support is likely due to the influence of my partner on the 'Tsundoku Channel,' a greedy, dirty-joke-cracking, heckling swindler.

This year, it looks like I'll be taking on a new challenge with him: not just 'making videos,' but 'starting a publishing company.'

While fighting at times, keeping the family important, and sucking on a Mount Rainier when I'm tired, I'll row desperately through the rough waves. With a goal and a resolve that are the first of their kind in my life.

At 35, I decided to make money in the bookstore business.