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Episode 11: Delicious Book Daddies and What They Do To Us
44 Plays1 year ago
You read that right. This week Jaimie and Sarah dive into the wondrous world of book daddies! What has this recent phenomenon done to the literature space, how is it impacting artist and readers alike and of course...you does it for you ;)
Enjoy this fun banter about all things book daddy and tell J&S who yours is over at @Rule.Followers on Instagram.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Book Daddies' and BookTok
00:00:02
Speaker
Hello, rural followers. We're back for another spicy episode. Spicy, spicy. Today's topic is so fun.
00:00:14
Speaker
We're talking about book daddies. We're talking about book talk. Shadow daddies. oh
00:00:24
Speaker
um For those of you that aren't familiar with the vernacular... ah Chat is coming through with the definition.
Characteristics and Appeal of Book Daddies
00:00:33
Speaker
Okay. Book daddy is a fictional character, typically male, though not always, which I did kind of put a ah girl on my list, who has become exceptionally popular among readers, particularly within book communities like BookTok for being notably charismatic, confident, protective, morally complex, or romantically appealing. Book daddies often embody tropes such as morally gray heroes, love interests with deep...
00:00:59
Speaker
Depth and nuance are characters whose presence significantly shapes the emotional resonance of the book. Hey. hello That's actually a pretty good definition, but I would say there's also a lot of spice to it.
00:01:14
Speaker
That's what I was going to say. that it is that,
Personal Lists and Character Comparisons
00:01:17
Speaker
but it's also like these are just kind of men and women that I would have sex with. A million percent. A million percent.
00:01:28
Speaker
That are fictional. so Oh, man. There is nothing better than just like reading one of those scenes and you're just like, Can you stop groaning though? Because it's so disturbing. in my headphones, you know.
00:01:48
Speaker
I mean, don't knock it till you try it, but okay. Also, my mother-in-law listens to this. this So, Catherine, i maybe don't listen to this episode. We are adult women who say adult things about adult books, as the girls of fantasy fangirls would say. Okay.
00:02:06
Speaker
um So yeah, I think it would be really fun to just start with our list. Did you make a list? I did, but like mine is so much shorter than yours because like I am new and fresh. I did my top five.
00:02:19
Speaker
Okay. Well, what did I do? Like hot top four? Okay. What book they're from and why they're one of your book daddies. Okay, so um for all of you listeners out there, Jamie has been in this genre a lot longer than I have. So my list is very short and probably very common to many women right now because BookTok has all launched us from be our Harry Potter days when we were 11 years old into this adult version.
00:02:45
Speaker
And here we go. So Zayden Ryerson of the fourth wing series, or it's actually going to be called the Empyrean series. Classic. ah Literally wields shadows. So he is a shadow daddy.
00:02:59
Speaker
And then we have Rhysand from ACOTAR. Yeah. um Cassian from ACOTAR, Rowan from Throne of Glass, and then possibly Rowan from Butcher and Blackbird. But he's it's mostly just because the book, like the Audible, is read by an Irish actor and it is so hot.
00:03:21
Speaker
Oh my god. It's so good. Okay. So what makes Zayden a daddy is that he it definitely like all of these male characters fit the tropes.
00:03:33
Speaker
But like one of the things they really do well, which I think a lot of um why females are drawn to these type of characters is they often are extremely protective of the female protagonist, but they let them lead. Like they still let the woman lead. They don't ever try to enforce.
Impact of BookTok on Reading Habits and Book Sales
00:03:51
Speaker
Their thoughts or their beliefs, like they're always in a supportive role, but as long as it is within the lines of what they deem as being protective. So you can look at that many different ways, but I would say that's kind of why.
00:04:04
Speaker
I know I was really drawn to it because you're like, oh, finally, a guy who just steps the fuck aside and helps you out. So particularly when you read the book, I'll just go into this example.
00:04:15
Speaker
um When you read Fourth Wing, which they have Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm just came out. There's another character named Dane who you're introduced to in the first book. And Violet, the lead female in that series, is originally very attracted to Dane. They grew up together kind of like childhood sweethearts. And it takes a while for Dane to like clue into that. But something that is very distinct about Zayden versus Dane from the get-go is that the protection that Dane has feels very smothering. And he's always trying to... like
00:04:49
Speaker
dampen what Violet is doing in order to protect her. And he's not like pushing her to her full ability or asking more of her to like grow and be a better person or like be like fulfill the destiny that she wants to fulfill.
00:05:00
Speaker
But Zayden is always like, I'm not going to like hinder her. I'm going to push her. i'm going to be there for her. I'm So it it just feels very, very different. Rhysand, I would say with Feyre, same thing, always has really good morals that align with like a feminine view. like For instance, if a city is being invaded, Rhysand is always like, yes, of course, we'll take you know people who have no home or you know immigrants or whatever it is. like they' And the same thing actually happens with Zayden in their book.
00:05:31
Speaker
of taking these um people who are being output by, you know, the bad guys. So those are, that's my little list and I'm sure we'll dive into more, but I want to hear your list.
00:05:41
Speaker
okay Okay. my list, I have Dorian slash Aelin from Throne of Glass. Why are you looking at me like that?
00:05:54
Speaker
Wait, like Aelin is your shadow daddy or like when Dorian and Aelin were together? No, like Dorian or Aelin. Oh. Are my shadow dad. Not my shadow. Are my daddies. You've got a shadow mama.
00:06:05
Speaker
i got a shadow mama. No, a book mama.
00:06:10
Speaker
um I just love... i mean, Aelin is probably one of my favorite characters of all time. So that's just that. um But I love... You'll notice a theme through all of mine that are the morally gray is there.
00:06:28
Speaker
And they're all like, I don't know how to explain this. i I'll explain it after.
00:06:34
Speaker
um okay so the second one is curious and he is from danielle l jensen's series the bridge kingdom series uh yes that is on my list you keep talking about that i love the series he is in the second i mean he's in all four books but um he's the main character in the second two books or the second yeah two books and And um he is just so smart.
00:07:04
Speaker
i love smart male characters. um Okay, i'll keep I'll keep going. I need to stop tangenting. Okay, next one is Lucas. He's actually from a contemporary romance called Deep End by Allie Hazelwood.
00:07:17
Speaker
i haven't heard of that one. Oh, my God. oh my God. It is a... so it is a um It's a sub-dom relationship.
00:07:31
Speaker
And it is like both of their kind of first time being in this type of relationship. So it doesn't get like too great. Like it doesn't get too into that culture.
00:07:43
Speaker
Not a lot of BDSM. Not a ton. A little bit, but but not a ton. So, like, it was, like, perfect little taste. A little toe dip. Loved it. I loved it. And he is. Mr. Gray, we'll see you now.
00:07:58
Speaker
Deep breathing. I'm deep breathing. Okay.
BookTok's Influence on Indie Authors and Media Adaptations
00:08:03
Speaker
um Okay. And then the next one is kind of funny. It's a guy named Wes. He's from actually a young adult romance novel.
00:08:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:08:16
Speaker
i was obsessed with sarah duin growing up i actually still am obsessed with her i love i'll read anything she writes um but wes was like probably my first love when it comes to but I'm trying to think. You brought up a good point. I don't think I even remember having like first book crushes when I was in my early years of reading. Were you early reading? like I read books.
00:08:39
Speaker
Okay. I just don't remember having like a... Crushes? Yeah. ah I was reading the wrong books. was reading the wrong books. Yeah, really were. was very in love with Wes. Actually, everyone's in love with Wes. Okay.
00:08:51
Speaker
And then the last one is Draco Malfoy, but specifically in Manacult. Okay. Okay. That makes sense. You've talked about that so much. So that makes sense. Okay. So that's my list. So the theme here is boys that are maybe a little bit alternative, smart, morally gray.
00:09:15
Speaker
All of them are a little bit on the side of like uh i don't want to say kinky but like they're all on the side of like dominant but not in like a mass like a super masculine way because that's not really my vibe but i like my men to be like a touch of femininity to them but still be like Take control.
00:09:40
Speaker
Get on your knees. Well, and here's the thing, though, is I think because you and I both have like very type A personalities, it's like sometimes you just want to be told what to do because we tell everyone else what to do.
00:09:52
Speaker
Yeah. In a safe space. That yeah is the ideal. am controlling everywhere else. And then in this one area of my life, I want it to be the opposite.
00:10:06
Speaker
You know, my I'm you know, my I'm um So yes, those are my book daddies. And um it's a perfect list, basically. Everyone else is wrong. so Well, I will have to add your books to my list so then I can actually make a like ah formulate a valid opinion. Because right now I don't have one. But I think what's so interesting is so I got into this whole genre last January. So January 2020.
00:10:40
Speaker
23? Wait, no, it's 2025. So 2024?
00:10:46
Speaker
I don't know. It was post yet. It had to have been then because I had already had JoJo. And my friend Emily was reading Fourth Wing because her friend Lizzie was like, oh, my God, you have to read this. You'll love it. And Emily had been trying to get back into reading, but she was reading like political books. She was reading just like random one offs. And she was really struggling to like find a book that really gripped her. And so when she was like, oh, my God, Sarah, I can't put this book down. i was like, OK, if someone who isn't that into reading is like addicted to this, I got to try it. And so I picked it up.
00:11:19
Speaker
And it was great. I loved it. it was a i think Fourth Wing was a perfect introduction for me into this book talk daddy world. And for some reason, I feel like I caught it at the exact right time because that's when...
00:11:34
Speaker
I even started hearing about book talk and like this huge trend and the shift to like women just literally devouring books, creating home libraries and all this content around these types of books. Like my For You page on Instagram, because I don't really use TikTok anymore, is all of like, did you like this book? Because you'll like this book. Do you want the five books that are going to wreck your world? Well, here you go. And it's just like all these recommendations. And I'm like, oh my God, I need a bigger library and I need more money so I could buy all these books.
00:12:05
Speaker
Well, and I think we'll dive into it, but that I think is one of the best. There's a lot you can critique about Fourth Wing series or about Sarah J. Maas's books.
00:12:19
Speaker
But the one thing that I think is so amazing about them is they have ushered in this whole new generation of readers and gotten people to like try things that they've never tried. And I just, I love that people read. I love when people read it. I don't really care what gets you into reading.
00:12:39
Speaker
Well, I mean, it is. I mean, locally, it has had such an impact that Barnes and Noble reopened their bookstore in the Bellevue Square Mall. Like, For a while, there was one right next to the Bellevue Square Mall. It shut down, got sold to like a weird church. And then um Amazon Books had a bookstore in the mall, and then that got shut down.
00:12:58
Speaker
And now there's this whole resurgence enough to bring back this other one. And I think that that is so freaking cool that like we're seeing such this like huge uptick. And now with, you know, everything that's going on politically, people not wanting to support Amazon and ordering their books, it's like they want to go to a local bookstore, whether that's a Barnes and Noble, which is, you know, a larger company or they're like literal local bookshop to just like grab something. So i
Concerns About BookTok's Repetitive Tropes and Literary Quality
00:13:23
Speaker
think this is like one of the best things that has come from the internet in a long time.
00:13:27
Speaker
So I think one of the reasons why people, or especially women, are so drawn into this is because these are male characters being written by a female. And they are writing the sex scenes of like what they wish was happening their bedroom.
00:13:43
Speaker
Or it could be what is happening in their bedroom. But like the amount of clit work that has been happening in these sex scenes, I'm just like, yes. Oh, my God.
00:13:54
Speaker
It's like the magic button, gentlemen. If you haven't found it yet, you need to go a hunting because I deeply appreciate that. And there's also so much foreplay and like build up intention. And for women, that's super important when it comes to like having a sexually satisfying experience.
00:14:11
Speaker
It's like you can't just like drop your panties and be like, yeah, come to the muffin shop, y'all. It's open for business. like There's got to be a little... A little nurturing, a little howdy doody.
00:14:24
Speaker
Ma'am, we are adults who say adult things about adult books. Pull it together, Jamie. can't stop thinking about the audience.
00:14:36
Speaker
Okay. um What I was going to say was not only is it male characters written by women, but it is female characters written by women. True. Which is also just ah so much better because they're full people with like their own morally, ethically gray, whatever.
00:14:57
Speaker
um But they're still strong women. And they're, like you said, they're choosing these men that are have these like sort of traditionally masculine qualities, but then are put into practice in like ways that we would actually want them to be put into practice, like protection, but to a point.
00:15:18
Speaker
One of the critiques from some people about these books is that it's like just my, it's just like porn basically for women. No. So what, I mean, what is your view? Like if someone said like, oh, you you're just like read porn.
00:15:33
Speaker
Well, first of all, yes and. but Why does it have to be a bad thing? like I think that that's another way to suppress women's sexuality, which is a whole other conversation.
00:15:44
Speaker
But like if you if you're reading books like Throne of Glass, where that's like a ten eight book series, and it is so intense, there is so much world building, there's so much character arc to so many relationships and how they relate to each other. like There is so much more sustenance So one of my critiques of Butcher and the Blackbird, which is there's another character named Rowan and Rowan is also the the book daddy of Throne of Glass, but the Rowan and Butcher and Blackbird.
00:16:13
Speaker
he That book is something I would say is like, I don't, I think it was a fine little quick beach read, but it's not something that I would be invested in to like want to see the series continue if it was just about them. Because like, I feel like it kind of got to the point there wasn't as much depth in it as I wanted there to be.
00:16:32
Speaker
But when we think about characters like Rhysand, we think about characters like Zayden, like there is like Such a thick, deep backstory, not only for the male leads, but ah also for the female leads. And I was going to go back and say, like I love that Aelyn is your book mama. I would say that Manon might be mine. Yeah.
00:16:53
Speaker
But one thing I really like is that – and this is a contrast of Violet from the Fourth Wing series who is in love with Zayden Aelin who is in Throne of Glass and she's with Rowan, not Dorian for those of you. Sorry, spoiler alert.
00:17:09
Speaker
But – Like, Violet has this blinding love for Zayden, and I am so over the, but he won't let me in, but I'll follow him to the end of the world. Like, it just feels really played out, and, like, it's just gotten really boring. Which also feels very young. it feels very young, which is very really interesting because I feel like...
00:17:33
Speaker
This most recent book was the best world building and there was a lot more like meat to it, which I appreciated. I just wish that had been started in the earlier books. um But when you look at Aelin, Aelin keeps her own secrets. she you know She's kind of like a Khaleesi. She picks up the underdog. She helps other people.
00:17:54
Speaker
But she doesn't ever bow down to the will of men. And there are constantly men questioning her throughout her journey as this queen um to like reclaim and save her kingdom. Which, by the way, I have not finished Kingdom of Ash. I'm reading her right now. It's going to wreck me. I know.
00:18:12
Speaker
So don't give me any spoilers. Just letting you know. Jamie, i'm looking at you. um but What I loved is I love that, like, you know, there's a scene where her cousin Aideon is like yelling at her like, where are our allies?
00:18:28
Speaker
Where is all this stuff? ah da But if you had read assassin's. Assassin's Blade, which was like a ah novella of like all these smaller stories. Like all of that detail comes into play when all of these other kingdoms and armies come to her aid.
00:18:45
Speaker
And you're like, holy shit. Aelin has been doing the fucking groundwork for so many books. And you just get this like, fuck yeah feeling. And so like what I love is that the men who actually support her are of course like, well, it would have been nice to know that.
00:19:00
Speaker
But like Rowan is like, Fuck yeah. Like, let's just like, okay. And, and it just like puts men like ADN who are more like a Dane where it's like that protectiveness to hinder you They're like, we so I think that women are in a position in our world where we are realizing we are just as valuable at the table of leadership, if not better, like women are wired better for leadership and having male characters that support that just like fulfills that fantasy of finally being taken seriously the way that we wish we were in real life.
00:19:34
Speaker
That was a very long winded answer, but that's why. No, that was a good, that was good. One of the other huge, great parts of book talk is that it has really helped indie authors.
00:19:47
Speaker
Um, For those that don't know, indie author just means they're not going through um like a publishing house. They're not going true publishing traditionally with like an agent, editor, and bla blah, blah, blah.
00:19:59
Speaker
They're doing all this stuff themselves. And Amazon has made it incredibly easy for indie authors because they you can do sort of a... um you basically list your book through them and they get a cut of all your sales and that sort of thing. But they'll all do like a print on demand essentially. So like if you're an indie author and you don't want to buy ah thousand copies because to have, to be able to sell to people yourself, you're,
00:20:28
Speaker
You can just have the whole thing go through Amazon. They just print for you and send it. And then also you can be listed on something like Kendall Unlimited with that situation. So people are now getting access to indie authors through e-books.
00:20:41
Speaker
And the way Kendall Unlimited works for authors getting paid is they get paid per page read. Wow. Yeah. So... um Yeah, anyway, I think BookTok has really made that accessible. I know that there's an indie author I was listening to recently on a different podcast, and she was talking about how she literally in the beginning like was just trying to get her sales up, and she was like, oh, why don't I just open up a TikTok shop and start selling my books there?
00:21:11
Speaker
And she did that, and like she's gone viral, and like that's how she's able to make her living now as an author, as an indie published author.
Empowerment Through Women-Centric Narratives
00:21:20
Speaker
So I think... BookTok has been amazing for that.
00:21:24
Speaker
um But of course, there are downsides. Well, before we go into the downsides, one thing I think is also incredible is that...
00:21:35
Speaker
Because people in Hollywood love a book adaptation because the author has done all the hard work of world building. a lot of authors are also you know not only becoming viral on BookTok and selling millions of copies of their books, but they're also getting optioned for TV series and for books are for movies.
00:21:54
Speaker
yeah Your book's getting optioned for a book. Oh, my gosh. and I don't know what I'm saying. But like they're getting options. So I think that like ACOTAR is supposedly getting picked up. Fourth Wing has been picked up. Like it's pretty wild that like you could write this book and kind of have like the JK Rowling magic touch where it's just like now it's going to become this franchise if it's done well. You know, it adds a whole nother layer of pressure. But I think that like the fact that you could be an indie author,
00:22:24
Speaker
go viral on book talk, maybe get optioned for a larger production. Like that's just, that is wild that that is like a story that can really happen for people now. Oh yeah. One of my favorite um books I found because of book talk is called, um it's a series called spark of the ever flame is the first one.
00:22:45
Speaker
And ah she was an indie author wrote row and put out three of her books in a year and she wanted to do all four, but then she became so popular that, you know, what you said was not that silly because a publishing house basically came to her and was like, we want to actually publish your books.
00:23:05
Speaker
Um, so now she's being published and she still gets to negotiate so that she owns the ebook rights, but she's selling like the hard copyrights. Um, and now they're in Barnes and Noble. So like, um,
00:23:21
Speaker
Yeah. And the authors who are made famous by TikTok are are getting like traditionally published, but still being able to own part of their rights while still making money off of like people that can produce hardbacks and whatever at a higher scale than an indie author could.
00:23:37
Speaker
So yeah, it's just amazing. Like all of that has been such a benefit to the industry, I think. All right, so why don't you dive into what do you see as being some of the cons of this industry? A lot of similar things are coming out.
00:23:53
Speaker
I think that's how I'll say it. Basically, the same type of books are being written. There's just this huge insurgence of romanticcy, which is like romantic fantasies where romance is the main plot line.
00:24:10
Speaker
and
00:24:13
Speaker
So you're just getting, maybe they're set in a different world. Maybe there's like slightly different whatever going on. But for the most part, they're the same stories over and over again. They're very similar male characters.
00:24:28
Speaker
similar female characters. Because people on TikTok and in BookTok, they'll talk about books they like by saying, it's this trope and this trope. Oh, it's friends to lovers.
00:24:41
Speaker
And um there's the same bed trope. And there's a um who did this to you trope. And they basically like categorize it like that. And so this just creates like the same shit happening in books over and over and over again. um And the thing that bugs me the most is that suddenly tropes have become plot points.
00:25:08
Speaker
so Which drives me nuts where it's like, oh okay, so... oh, look, there's only one bed in this inn. Like, this is the halfway, the midway point of the book. Like, this is getting us into the, you know, whatever, third act. Anyway, so it's just that is annoying because it's just not good writing. agree. It doesn't mean it's not entertaining, but it's just you basically got – we've been flooded basically now with –
00:25:41
Speaker
Um, because people want to sell and they know like, oh, this shit is selling. People want more of that. You have readers who are like newer readers. So maybe they don't, I want to say they don't know because I don't think people are ignorant, but like, they just don't care that it's not good writing.
00:25:59
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I think that, again, we're talking about like almost like a gateway drug to getting people into this genre. And you could say the same thing about the wedding industry. It's like when a trend hits and like everyone has gone out and bought a 35 millimeter camera and suddenly we're all film photographers, you know?
00:26:15
Speaker
Like there's definitely – I think this happens in a lot of markets. And I think it's interesting because i i agree. i see the trend in the books that are being released. Like – The people who do the recommendations are like, oh, did you like this? Because you'll like this. And they're like standing in their home library and they literally have hundreds of books. And I'm like, there's only so many ways you can write enemies to lovers like and make it interesting.
00:26:41
Speaker
That's the thing, though. There is actually, I think, way more infinite ways to write enemies to lovers. But we're seeing like five ways. Yeah.
00:26:52
Speaker
You know what I mean? Yeah. It just feels like a lot of the same. And i think that that that will die off. And I think that the advantage for someone like you who has a little bit more of that discernment, it's kind of like the acquired taste. Like when you first start drinking wine, you don't necessarily know what is good wine and what is not good wine or what's good coffee and not good coffee. It's like... And it's... ah It only comes to you with experience. I think that's the same thing about books is like good writing will come to you as an experience. Like it's something you have to learn unless it's like so blatantly, obviously bad.
00:27:27
Speaker
Well, and it's good to note that like, so two of my friends, Ashley and Lowe, we read similar books. We talk about books and for them, we'll all read the same book and I'll be like,
00:27:44
Speaker
I gave it a three star like or a two star. And they'll be like, oh, I really liked it. like I really enjoyed it. And I think that there's something to be said about people who can just enjoy something.
00:27:59
Speaker
And it doesn't have your mind is not like correcting the book as you're reading Well, you just have a very refined taste in books, girl. Yeah.
00:28:10
Speaker
Or pretentious. I think that's... are you a book snob? Not even pretentious because like my husband is actually a pretentious reader. I am like a i just like really love a good book, but um also and enjoy enjoying books. So there's plenty of books I'm sure that a lot of people would say were crap that I love. Yeah.
00:28:33
Speaker
It is what it is. tits what it tits. But I know a lot of people have made that critique about BookTok that it has lowered the standard of writing and lowered the standard of reading.
00:28:45
Speaker
and I disagree with that point. I think there's just more people reading now. I don't think it's lowered the standard or lowered like – all quality.
00:28:56
Speaker
Good writers are still writing. They're still, if you're a great writer with a great story, you're still going to get published or you can still publish yourself. It's not like, you know, the shitty book or this like halfway okay book. That's a romanticy that got popular because it TikTok.
00:29:14
Speaker
That's not going to dampen a great novel.
Cultural Impacts and Romanticization in Literature
00:29:17
Speaker
You know what i mean? They can coexist in the same space. ah The duality of books, much like the duality of life. The gray area. We're finding Crazy.
00:29:29
Speaker
and I think you know that also brings it to another thing. So there is like romanticcy. And then there's also, I guess, the category of like dark romance, which is like where you get a lot more into like that BDSM, a lot more problematic power dynamics, the toxicity.
00:29:45
Speaker
And that is where, like, I think, again, there's another line in the sand for readers of like who likes to cross into that world and who likes to kind of stay in the romanticcy. Because I think part of that is it's romanticizing very toxic male behaviors because that's usually what people are attracted to.
00:30:05
Speaker
um Which I think can have bigger implications, especially for women who have experienced violence in their romantic partnerships. Like it almost makes it quote unquote okay if that makes sense.
00:30:17
Speaker
Right. They're like, oh, I can relate to this character because I've been in it and da da da da. And it it might have the reverse effect. It's kind of like when 13 Reasons Why came out and everyone was like trying to ban the books. They thought it was going to increase suicide rates.
00:30:31
Speaker
It can kind of feel like the same thing where it's like, okay, how are we writing about this in a way that is... You can't limit what an author wants to do with a character, but how are we or how are authors like kind of protecting their readers by being like, okay...
00:30:46
Speaker
going to write this thing, but like, this isn't what you should actually be looking for in a relationship. Like this is actually a really big red flag and only to be enjoyed on the page, not in real life. Yeah. I mean, i know there are a lot of books with trigger warnings these days, especially if it's a dark romance, they'll, you know, list all the specific things you you might run into.
00:31:10
Speaker
i do think, most readers are informed enough to go into books knowing what you're saying. and no, because I think it also depends on like their maturity level, because I think some people who, cause like, so i' was talking to my therapist about those cause we were like discussing like people who've experienced like severe trauma. um And what can happen is that people stop emotionally maturing at the age that the trauma happened.
00:31:39
Speaker
So if you're talking about someone who's maybe ah 35 but had this like horrible thing happened to them when they were 13 you actually might be dealing with someone who has a much lower emotional capacity or an emotional intelligence so yes and no i think like the average person yes can differentiate shitty behavior to normal behavior know that it's a book know that it's fiction but it doesn't stop the fact that there are some people who will be susceptible to it it's the same way that like you know You could argue that little boys are heavily influenced by the violence of video games and movies because we've written male characters into these very violent, heroic people. And so that's what they think of as masculinity. So I think there's so much gray area around it. But do I think like it needs to stop or that people can't write about that? No, I just think that like it it just brings up an interesting argument about how are we protecting people who might be a little bit vulnerable. And I think that what you're saying...
00:32:36
Speaker
with the books where they're doing trigger warnings is great. I think that that's, that's basically all you can do. um and hopefully people heat it. It's hard to make any sort of correlations between somebody consuming content and what they choose to do in their life.
00:32:52
Speaker
I think maybe you can make correlations between like specific people, but in general, like people are so different in the way their mind processes things. So yeah, I think I think you're right. Trigger warnings are like the best that can be done. But in general, people are going to do what they're going to do.
00:33:13
Speaker
Well, yeah, because I mean, then you get into like, you know, these the state of books right now where we're having like certain parts of the country, hint, hint, trying to ban certain books, um you know, and like so they would say, well, if you have a book about gay people, it's going to turn my children gay. And I'm like, your child is already gay and they've probably read a lot of straight stories that haven't made them straight. So really, why would it work in reverse? Yeah.
Conclusion: Supporting Bookstores and Indie Authors
00:33:40
Speaker
um and speaking of banned books i've actually started my banned book collection so like i'm gonna have a specific shelf in my library that's all banned books love that well to sum up we love a book daddy yeah we love a book daddy um they can come over anytime they want we'll be ready for them
00:34:04
Speaker
i Read the books that we recommended because they're all good. We'll put them in the show notes. Will we? Yeah. Oh, okay.
00:34:16
Speaker
Like in the description? i don't think we've ever put anything in show notes. show notes is like you're supposed to have like a website where you post everything and it's like actually part of the blog post. I looked this up. But when we say show notes, we mean we will put them in the description, like our book recommendations. Okay. Yeah.
00:34:34
Speaker
Um, and like most things, book talk is somewhere in the gray on being good and bad. There's good things about it. There's bad things about it. Um, but it is ultimately just really fun. And i think getting more people reading is ultimately just great.
00:34:53
Speaker
It's fucking fantastic. So guys, go to your local bookstore, get some books, make sure you support those indie bookstores. um Try to avoid ordering on Amazon if you can. And yeah, keep on reading.
00:35:09
Speaker
Keep on reading. okay bye. Okay, bye.