Lets Talk Bookish

Let’s Talk Bookish: Bookish Fandoms

Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

This week’s topic is:

Bookish Fandoms

Prompts: There are very popular bookish fandoms out there, especially in the romance fantasy genre (Maas, Yarros, LOTR, etc.). Are you part of a bookish fandom? If you are, what do you love about it? If not, do you think you’d ever want to be part of one? Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?

This idea came to mind because May 4 is around the corner and it got me thinking about the Star Wars fandom, and then naturally, that transitioned into me thinking about bookish fandoms! So…

Are you part of a bookish fandom? If you are, what do you love about it? If not, do you think you’d ever want to be part of one?

Hmm, I wouldn’t consider myself a part of any particular bookish fandom for any author’s books, although if you’re talking about book fandom in general, I would definitely say I’m part of that fandom! 🤭

I’ll admit there are books that I think I’d be tempted to join a fandom over, if I knew they even existed but in actuality, I probably still wouldn’t join one because I’m too socially anxious but I’ve heard things can get quite intense! 😂 If I somehow ever did join one, I’d probably just be a lurker in the background liking things and not really interacting much but at least being in the space could help make you feel more connected to the group.

I can understand why being part of a fandom would be enjoyable for others though. You get to talk to other book lovers who adore the book(s) and/or author the same way you do. You can gush about characters, worlds, story moments, theories, fanfic, and other things on a level that you probably wouldn’t do with other people, even if they loved the book, too. I think it can create uplifting and enthusiastic communities for authors and their stories in the same way it happens for musicians, actors and other “famous people”.

That said, I feel like sometimes these fan spaces can get a little toxic or overly competitive, and when things blow up, it gets really nasty. I’ve heard some nightmare stories in the past about fandoms demanding certain things from authors or there’s “in-fighting” within the fandoms between people who want a certain special edition or access to a certain event or whatever it is, and some people can get really nasty! I know that it can happen everywhere, not just with and within fandoms, but yeah, I’m not here for that kind of toxicity!

Does being part of the online book community help you connect to fandoms?

For sure, I think it can help! I didn’t even know fandoms existed until I became part of the online book community, but perhaps it’s also different for me as an international reader. I don’t get to attend bookish events like author signings, bookcons, etc., so being part of the online book community is the only way I can stay connected to the bookish world. I think being involved with the book community through social platforms like Twitter, Bluesky, Bookstagram, BookTok, are the places you can connect with fandoms, although I think it also depends on what fandom, too.

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽

Lin @ Lin’s Perspective
Raji @ Worlds Unlike Our Own
Laurie @ Laurie Is Reading
Emma @ Pages of Emma
Elle @ Unwrapping Words
Tiffany @ Romantasy Life
Leslie @ Books Are the New Black
Rachael @ The Green Tea Librarian
Felice @ Tea and Cats and Books
Julie @ Bookflowerpath
Leyre @ Read You Leyre
Abyssal Librarian

If I’ve missed your post this week, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments, and I’ll add you to this week’s list of community posts ASAP!

Do you consider yourself part of a bookish fandom? Would you ever want to be part of one if you’re not already? Do you think being part of the online community helps you connect to fandoms?

15 thoughts on “Let’s Talk Bookish: Bookish Fandoms”

    • Yes, I can really only think about a handful (if that) of books that I’m wildly fangirly over but it takes too much energy for me to dive into a fandom. I also hear about a lot of gatekeeping and just hearing about it is enough to tire me out, lol

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  4. They can be really awesome for building connections to other people. They can be toxic, too. In fighting for sure, but they also attack other people. Notoriously, they go after people who don’t like what they are a fan of.

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    • Yeah, I’ve heard some pretty intense things about the in-fighting but also the attacks especially defending the author or the aspect of the story that they love. I’ve also heard of fandoms attacking authors for doing or saying something they don’t agree with and at that point I just get very confused… 😂 But I know it’s not all fandoms and not all people in those fandoms!

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  5. I’m not really part of any specific bookish fandom, but I’d say I’m definitely in the general book fandom! 🤭 There are some books that almost convince me to join one, but my social anxiety says nope 😂 I’d probably just lurk and quietly enjoy the chaos.

    I totally see the appeal, though—gushing over characters, theories, and fanfic with people who really get it sounds amazing. But yeah, I’ve also heard fandoms can get a bit toxic at times, which is a turn-off.

    Being part of the online book community definitely helped me even discover that fandoms existed in the first place! Especially as an international reader, it’s how I stay connected to the bookish world. 💻📚

    👇Drop a comment and let’s geek out together! 💫
    https://bookfllwerpath.art/2025/05/02/bookish-fandoms-lets-talk-bookish/

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    • Totally the same with the general book fandom! I’m a massive fangirl of books and will always be! 🤭 I know a lot of people love the fandoms they’re part of and the things being part of a fandom brings to their life and good for them! To each their own and all 🙂

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    • I can see how easy it would be to slip into the fandom life being on those platforms. I think most of what I learned or heard about fandoms came from my time lurking on Twitter. It was wild! 😂 But yeah, I’m sure there are ways of avoiding the toxicity and it’s great that you’ve found ways to make it work for you and that you can still have a great time being part of those spaces 🙂

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