{"id":21175,"date":"2024-05-28T17:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T01:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=21175"},"modified":"2024-05-28T17:35:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T01:35:44","slug":"the-lives-of-book-readers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/the-lives-of-book-readers\/","title":{"rendered":"The lives of book readers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor<\/span><\/p>\n

Avid readers have many nicknames: bookworm, book rat and ink drinker being commonplace titles. Whether one is a casual or consistent reader, there is a consensus that books are a lifestyle for many.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Countless online book communities have risen in popularity on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and the anonymous message board app, YikYak. These apps have become places where readers of all ages and genres can come together and discuss what they have read.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The most famous of these, coined \u201cBookTok,\u201d is a hashtag on TikTok where readers can post book reviews and content, show off their bookshelves and promote merchandise they have purchased or made. It is also common for BookTok to be used as a platform where authors can promote their works.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A reader\u2019s favorite part about the lifestyle is, well, reading the books. In an anonymous online poll with 95 participants, 81 percent said their favorite part was reading books. Very few participants\u2019 favorite was discussing or collecting books \u2014 only a combined 16 percent of respondents chose either of these options.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love opening a book and being immersed into a story,\u201d said sophomore Hailey Cook. \u201cI tend to feel strongly about each book I love and I think it makes me enjoy books even more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, there can be issues within these communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most prominent is the discourse surrounding the author Colleen Hoover, smut in books and what exactly qualifies as a \u201cgood book\u201d; often, all three topics are discussed hand in hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other authors who have come under fire in these discussions include Sarah J. Mass, author of the \u201cA Court of Thorns and Roses,\u201d \u201cCrescent City\u201d and \u201cThrone of Glass\u201d series, and Rebbeca Yarros, author of the \u201cFourth Wing\u201d series.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maas, Yarros and Hoover have all been accused of \u201cmediocre writing\u201d that glamorizes harmful stereotypes, tropes and relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, fans often come to their defenses, stating these books are more like beach reads in the fantasy genre. They believe that the truly harmful books are those that are labeled \u201cDark Romance,\u201d which often have explicit scenes of violence, assault and abuse, such as \u201cHaunting Adeline\u201d by H.D. Carlton.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But, regardless of this discourse, many sections of book communities remain positive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c(I\u2019ve had) positive experiences,\u201d Cook said. \u201cI love when I can have a genuine conversation about a book with other readers and understand why they may think a different way than me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the discourse, book readers connect, creating and turning a hobby into a lifestyle that all can enjoy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1094,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[3141,3147,3146,1123,2050,3153,3154,2051,3148,3144,3151,938,3149,3150,1347,3143,3142,3145,533,3152],"class_list":["post-21175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses","tag-acotar","tag-book-stores","tag-books","tag-booktok","tag-colleen-hoover","tag-crescent-city","tag-fantasy","tag-fourth-wing","tag-genre","tag-haunting-adeline","tag-instagram","tag-iron-flame","tag-readers","tag-reading","tag-rebecca-yarros","tag-sarah-j-mass","tag-throne-of-glass","tag-tiktok","tag-yikyak"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}