In honor of Read-A-Romance Month and Romance Awareness Month, this August we’ll be sharing insights from members of the romance bookish community! For this month’s issue, we took a look at this community and what makes it so special in this article, and interviewed internationally best-selling romance author TL Swan to learn more about her writing approach and widespread impact in this article. Here, you can read the full interview with romance novel reader Cait. For their social media, see below!
How long have you been interested in reading as a hobby/academic interest/etc.? In other words, how would you describe your history with reading?
I had a lot of trouble with reading as a kid – my comprehension wasn’t great and I got easily frustrated when I did not understand a word – and this was super discouraging. I still read often but felt inadequate in my reading level compared to the other kids in my class. I think at this point in my life, I liked reading, but because I struggled with it, I didn’t love it. This changed in the 6th grade when I discovered The Hunger Games and Twilight series, along with the rest of the classic fangirl books of 2012. I think reading young adult novels helped to build my confidence in reading, but also exposed me to stories that I had no idea could be written. At 12 years old, dystopian societies, vampires, love triangles, etc., were so exciting, and it felt like I could never read enough. It was all I wanted to do, and luckily, reading those types of books at my school was “cool” so I could get away with reading Twilight on the playground without getting made fun of.
On average, how many books do you read a week? A month?
Every month varies. I’ve had months where I read ten books and others where I barely manage to read one. Typically, I try to read at least one book a week, but again, my reading habits are anything but consistent. Book slumps are REAL! and they are not fun, but I think it’s important to remember that reading is supposed to be fun. If reading ever feels like a chore for me, I don’t want to feel guilty for picking up the tv remote instead.
What is your preferred reading method (i.e., paperback/hardcover, Kindle/iPad, audiobooks, a combination of these, etc.)?
Definitely a combination! I’m the kind of person that reads multiple books at once, so I usually have a physical book, Kindle book, and audiobook at my disposal at all times. I will say that my Kindle changed my life though (NOT dramatic). I read a lot in my bed, especially at night when I am trying to sleep, and it’s just so much easier to get under the covers with my Kindle than to keep a light on to read a physical book. Sometimes I will substitute the Kindle for an audiobook so I can scroll on my phone (play solitaire) before bed while still reading.
How did you first get into the book community on social media? What social media platforms do you use to explore book-related content?
The first exposure I had to the online book community was BookTube in 2014 (a totally different world from today’s BookTube). I am someone who gets obsessed with things easily, so when I would discover a new book or series, it didn’t feel like enough to just read the book. This led to reading fanfiction on Wattpad (was too much of an amateur to know Ao3 existed), reposting fanart on my Tumblr (have since deleted that account), and watching other people talk about my favorite books on YouTube. To this day, I love the book community on YouTube, but TikTok and Instagram have been great platforms to explore book content as well.
Do you have a bookish account on social media to post about the books you’re reading/interested in? If so, what inspired you to make a bookish account to post on?
Yes! I had been wanting to make one for a while to keep as a sort of reading journal, but also to have a separate account from my personal one where I can engage with book content.
What is your approach to sharing about, promoting, and/or recommending different authors and books?
I wouldn’t really say I have an approach – I just recommend books or authors that I truly love or that resonated with me.
Are you in any book groups for any authors on social media? To what extent do you network with authors? Have any authors sought you out to be a part of their beta team/ARC team/etc.? Have you opted into these opportunities?
I haven’t sought out any of these types of opportunities but would be open to it! I think since I’ve only recently made my book account I haven’t really prioritized networking.
What are your thoughts on the book community, both at large and in your specific niche, considering your own experiences and interests within it? How do you find the broader book industry has changed over time? Describe the book community through a social lens. Has this community granted particular social/friendship opportunities you might not have experienced otherwise?
I think what makes the book community so special is the bond you create with other readers. A lot of the creators I watch with bigger platforms are all interconnected in some way which is really cool to see. For me, I’ve only just started participating in online book discussions (before, I mostly consumed content, but never interacted with anything beyond liking it), but I have still felt the sense of community that it has to offer.
Even with Evelyn, we both have so many mutual friends, were in the same major, etc, but I rarely talked to her during our time at Marist, but since I’ve made my account, we talk frequently about the books we are reading and loving. This is something I’m especially thankful for because our taste is very similar. A lot of my friends love to read, but don’t read romance, and I never felt comfortable talking to them about the romance books I love (and there are a lot I LOVE – it’s my most read genre). A lot of it has to do with internalized misogyny – the genre as a whole is discredited so much and so often, so it was never something I wanted to bring up to my friends who exclusively read classics or literary fiction because I felt like I would be judged for reading books that so many people label as “simple.” I found a lot of comfort in BookTube or BookTok, listening to people my age talk about their love for romance books, but I still felt so disconnected from a lot of it. Evelyn was the first person I met who seemed to love engaging with literature critically and academically, but who also loved to read romance. Talking with her the first time about one of our favorite romance authors felt like a breath of fresh air because I could openly talk about romance without the other person dismissing it as not real literature.
What are some of your favorite genres and tropes to read? Do you often follow the trends in terms of genres and tropes that become popular, or do you stick with a particular set of favorites? Do you follow an author regardless of what sort of stories they write?
Again, I have very inconsistent habits that it just depends on what I am in the mood for, but generally, I will read anything. Romance is definitely my most read genre and what I would consider my safe space, but I’ve loved fantasy since I was little and if I find a good fantasy series, it will be my personality for a whole month (this happened with Six of Crows). Within the scope of romance, I will read almost any trope if I have heard good things about the book (tropes are not an end all be all factor for me) because at the end of the day, if a book seems interesting to me, I will want to give it a chance. When I pick a book, I am usually picking it for the book, not the author, but I do have a few auto-buy authors (anything they publish I will read). Ali Hazelwood is a perfect example – she recently published her first fantasy romance novel after having only written STEM romances, and I was just as eager to read the fantasy book because of how engaging her writing is.
Who are your favorite authors and how did you discover them? Do you read a lot of indie authors, mainstream authors, or a mixture?
I have a lot of favorite authors across different genres. My two favorites of all time are Toni Morrison and James Baldwin. Sula and Giovanni’s Room are my favorite books, and everything else I’ve read by them has been at least 4 stars. For romance, Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez are the two authors I will probably follow until the ends of the earth. I am incredibly picky with my romances and am very stingy with my five stars because of this, and Emily Henry is the only romance author I think I’ve given 5 stars (I think one of Abby Jimenez’s was close with a 4.75). A lot of my favorite authors I’ve discovered through social media, but some have been through school, or even just from browsing the bookstore. Because so many of the books I am recommended come from TikTok, the authors tend to be mainstream, but this isn’t always the case.
When do you write reviews for what you’ve read and what platform do you share these reviews on? What is your approach to or thought process behind writing a book review?
I use StoryGraph for all my book ratings and reviews, and there is no method to my madness. It’s the same way I feel about Letterboxd and rating/reviewing movies. Sometimes they are thought-out, other times they are based on vibes. I typically rate every book I read, but the ones I review are usually just for me when I have something to say (I actually have nothing important to say ever).
Do you feel a certain obligation or pressure to give authors glowing reviews if you get a beta/ARC or you’re a fan of the author, whether you’re connected to them somehow or not?
Truthfully I have no experience with this, but I think if I was given an ARC, I would still rate and review the book how I would any other.
Do you attend author/book events? What sort of impact do these have on your perspective of the book community?
I have only recently gotten into book events but I’m so thankful that I discovered them. I went to Rachel Khong’s Real Americans book tour and was so scared at first because I didn’t have anyone to go with and wasn’t sure what to expect, but the event was grounded and intimate, and the conversation authentic. It was inspiring as a lover of both reading and writing to hear a published author discuss her book, but also her writing routine, along with other mundane things that help you to remember that published authors are just people. On a much smaller scale (and a nerdier one), it feels like going to see your favorite artist live in concert, and it’s like “Oh shit, they are not just a tiny icon on my Spotify.”
In an age so flooded with technological influences, what keeps you inspired and motivated to continue reading?
For me, it’s always about consuming stories, and this isn’t limited to books. A couple of years ago, I read maybe 5-10 books during the year, but had watched nearly 150 movies, so I was still consuming content, it was just a different format. I mentioned it earlier, but as soon as reading feels like a chore, I have to take a break from it. The past few years I have been lucky and have not felt this way often, and my preferred method to consume stories is through books, but I won’t ever deny myself other storytelling mediums.
It definitely is frustrating when I’ve spent 2 hours on TikTok and realize I could have spent that time reading, but I think it’s really important to create a guilt-free reading environment. When I feel like I can’t get off my phone, I either give myself some grace, or I put on an audiobook. I used to feel like if I wasn’t reading, I wasn’t being productive. I saw so many people online reading so much within a day, week, month, that I didn’t know how I could compete, but reading is not a competition and it should not feel like work! (unless it is your job). Now that I’ve graduated, everything I read is for fun, and I’m trying to reframe my relationship with reading to allow myself time and space for other things when I am not in the mood to read, and most importantly, be OKAY with it.
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