Books on Tape is a one-man electronic and rock act from Los Angeles, California. With Matt Dennebaum, he formed the duo Subverse, whose sole, self-released cassette Nobody Likes You (1998). The band split shortly afterwards as their members moved to opposite coasts: Matt went to New York City, and Todd to Los Angeles.

Drootin started Books on Tape in 1999, dubbing its punk rock-influenced electronica "beatpunk", and released home recordings and demos for the first few years of the project's existence. The full-length Throw Down Your Laptops, issued on the label Deathbomb Arc in 2002, was the first release of Drootin's to have substantial distribution, and it was the first of a series of albums that followed in quick succession. These include Books on Tape Sings the Blues, released on Greyday Productions in 2003; The Business End, an EP issued in 2004, also on Greyday; and Dinosaur Dinosaur, which appeared on Alien8 Recordings in 2005. After the 2006 compilation Who Shot Ya?, Books on Tape went on hiatus until 2011, when the Still Ride EP followed; another full-length, Retired Numbers, arrived in 2012.