Kailey Reads: The Nurse Who Unwinds After 12-Hour Shifts With a Stack of Romance Novels

Picture the end of a 12-hour hospital shift. Most people want the couch and a screen. Kailey wants a book.

“Reading is my favorite way to decompress after a long shift,” she writes on @kaileydeg on TikTok, where she posts as Kailey Reads. She works three 12-hour shifts a week as a nurse, and in one video she tallies how much she still managed to read in a single working week. Her channel is proof that a hobby does not need free time to spare. It just needs a place in your day.

Key takeaways

• Kailey is a nurse who works three 12-hour shifts a week and reads to unwind.
• On TikTok she reads mostly romance and romantasy, the genre that blends romance with fantasy.
• Her most-watched recent video is a September reading wrap-up, with about 7,600 views.
• Regular formats include book hauls, bookmail unboxings, seasonal recs and a weekly “car chat” about what she’s reading, watching and listening to.
• She also uses her channel to send viewers to indie bookstores and to authors she thinks deserve more readers.

Who is Kailey Reads?

Kailey describes herself simply: a “lover of all things books” and a romance and romantasy reader. Her shelves, packed floor to ceiling, show up behind her in most of her videos.

She has posted more than 150 videos and built a following of about 4,200 people, with more than 72,000 likes. The appeal is the same thing that makes a good bookstore clerk: she has read a lot, she has opinions, and she is excited to tell you what to pick up next.

September Reading Wrap-up

How does a nurse find time to read?

Kailey’s answer is to treat reading as recovery, not as a chore on a to-do list. In her week-in-books video, she shows how much she read across a week of 12-hour shifts and asks other nurses how many books they get through.

That habit is worth borrowing for anyone with a demanding job. A few pages after work, an audiobook on the commute or a book in your bag for breaks adds up faster than waiting for a free weekend that never comes.

What does she post on BookTok?

Her channel runs on a handful of repeatable formats that make it easy for viewers to come back:

• Monthly wrap-ups. A stack of everything she finished that month, with quick takes.
• Hauls and bookmail. Library book sale finds, Book of the Month unboxings and new arrivals.
• Seasonal recs. Cozy romance for fall and darker autumn picks for readers who want something spookier.
• Reader guides. Her pinned video is a starter guide to Sarah J. Maas, author of the Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City series.
• The car chat. A weekly check-in on what she has been reading, listening to and watching.

How does she support authors and bookstores?

Kailey uses her videos to point readers toward people who could use the attention. She has made a list of what she calls criminally underrated romance authors, tagging each one so viewers can find them.

She also took her followers along on a visit to an indie bookshop, The Velvet Spine in Reading, Pennsylvania, where she was excited to find an indie author’s books on the shelf. For readers, it is a reminder that BookTok is not only about the biggest bestsellers. It is a way to find small shops and new writers too.

Want to start a reading habit like hers?

You do not need a towering bookshelf to begin. Try this:

1. Pick one genre you already enjoy in movies or TV and find a book in it.
2. Get a free library card, or check your library’s app for e-books and audiobooks.
3. Set a tiny goal, like 10 pages after work or one chapter before bed.
4. At the end of the month, stack up (or list) what you finished. That is your first wrap-up.

Looking for another low-cost hobby to pair with reading? See our list of 7 fall hobbies you can start this weekend for under $50.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Kailey Reads?

Kailey Reads (@kaileydeg) is a BookTok creator and nurse who shares romance and romantasy book recommendations, hauls, unboxings and monthly reading wrap-ups on TikTok.

What kind of books does Kailey Reads review?

She focuses on romance and romantasy, including Sarah J. Maas’s series, cozy fall romance and dark romance, along with indie and underrated romance authors.

How does Kailey make time to read while working as a nurse?

She works three 12-hour shifts a week and treats reading as her way to decompress after a long shift, fitting it into the time she has rather than waiting for a free day.

What is romantasy?

Romantasy is a genre that combines romance and fantasy, with a central love story set in a fantasy world. Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series is one of the best-known examples.

Where can I follow Kailey Reads?

She posts on TikTok at @kaileydeg.

This feature is based on Kailey’s public TikTok posts. Live Love Hobby did not interview her, and she did not review this article before publication.