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Look What You Made Me Do: Qué significa ser fan en la era de Taylor Swift

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A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

336 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2024

56 people are currently reading
438 people want to read

About the author

Kat McKenna

8 books8 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
Profile Image for Cami L. González.
1,467 reviews699 followers
June 14, 2024
2.5/5

Admito que quería leer este libro solo por curiosidad, creo que estuvo bien, aunque no más que eso, no me dio algo que no supiera ni un análisis tan interesante. De hecho, se sintió como un libro fan escrito por una fan, que es lo que es, pero al que no le vi tanto propósito.

Básicamente es la historia de la autora, de cómo llegó a distintos fandoms mientras analiza la existencias de estos, el funcionamiento, el uso de redes sociales, la jerarquía en ellos y todo el fenómeno detrás de lo que es Taylor Swift tanto como artista y como empresaria.

"Creo que en ese momento no comprendía el profundo sentido de pertenencia que puede brindarte ser una fan, la comunidad que puede regalarte a partir de las experiencias y pasiones compartidas".


Es un libro bastante personal en el que la misma autora analiza el cómo en su juventud ser fan no era algo bien visto y cómo escondió esa parte de sí hasta que pasó a ser mainstream. El libro tenía partes informativas como definiciones o eventos, pero todo venía desde los ojos de la autora y su visión del mundo y de la misma Taylor Swift.

Voy a ser honesta, no soy una persona con tendencia obsesiva, si bien hay cosas que me gustan y otras de las que me llamo fan (como Doctor Who, Brandon Sanderson, Taylor Swift y BTS) creo que nunca he llegado al punto como describió la autora pues son gustos que comparto en tiempo. Así que no fue un libro con el que me sintiera identificada con la experiencia de ella o lo que describía sobre cómo era vivir dentro de un fandom.

"Desacreditar sus experiencias implicaba desacreditar indirectamente cómo me sentía con respecto a las mías".


Por lo mismo, no sé si sea un libro que funcione para alguien no fan, pues no es como si fuera un ensayo más objetivo del fenómeno de Taylor (como pensé que sería) sino que algo casi sacado del corazón. Claro que tuvo líneas de tiempo, definiciones, explicaciones de cosas que el fandom sabe como las pulseras de amistad, y otras por el estilo, pero siempre en un nivel superficial-divertido.

Aunque, al mismo tiempo, incluso para una fan tardía de Taylor como yo y que tampoco me dediqué a investigar de su vida, no me dio mucha información adicional que no supiera o me pareciera interesante. Por eso no estoy del todo segura quién era el público objetivo del libro, quizá alguien muy fan de ser fan, como es el caso de la autora.

"Todos tenemos herramientas que nos ayudan a entender lo que estamos atravesando, en especial cuando somos jóvenes y experimentamos tantas cosas por primera vez".


A su favor tengo que decir que no centró todo en Taylor Swift sino que analizó a otros cantantes o grupos que también acarrearon fandoms grandes como One Direction y como eso fue pavimentando el camino a lo que serían las swifties. Me gustó que, dentro de todo, intentó analizar los orígenes de los fandom y distintos aspectos de estos, aunque no fueran de Taylor. También había entrevistas a algunos influencers o creadores de contenido sobre cómo llegaron a donde estaban ahora y de su conexión con Taylor.

No fue el ensayo interesante que esperaba sobre el fenómeno Taylor Swift o por qué algunas personas tenían más tendencias a caer en fandoms, pero sí que fue un libro reivindicativo sobre lo lindo que puede ser estar en un fandom o cómo puede ser una manera de estar acompañados en un mundo que a veces nos aisla. Por eso creo que el libro era algo más personal y emotivo de una fan para otros fans que un texto de no ficción que aportara, realmente, algo interesante.

"Al tomar en serio al fandom, le otorgamos poder y, al darle poder, le proporcionamos el espacio necesario para generar cambios".


Fue divertido de leer, no lo niego, aunque se me hiciera pesado a veces porque pensé que sería corto o rápido. Algo más que tengo que destacar, es que tiene un diseño interior muy lindo y cuidado con ilustraciones acorde a lo que se dice y un estilo muy millennial con figuras y bloques de color. Como objeto, es un libro bastante lindo tanto en su cubierta, como en su interior.

Look What You Made Me Do es un libro que habla del fenómeno de Taylor Swift desde los ojos de una swiftie, no es un texto serio de no ficción que analice a nivel psicológico ni sociológico el fenómeno, sino que algo escrito desde el corazón de una fan para otros fans.

"Los fandoms comparten algo esencial: son comunidades formadas por personas que tienen en común una pasión muy específica. Esa pasión, sin lugar a dudas, es lo que aman, generalmente lo que más les apasiona. Los seguidores comparten el gusto por expresar su amor hacia esas cosas. Siempre buscan convertir a otros y esperan ganar más adeptos para ese artista o producto y ampliar su círculo de amigos interesados en escuchar los últimos rumores, teorías y noticias".
Profile Image for Lauren James.
Author 20 books1,574 followers
Read
June 1, 2024
[Gifted]

An affectionate and educated look at fandom through the lens of Taylor Swift's rise to icon status. Thoroughly researched and written from the empathetic perspective of someone who's lived through many fandoms, this was a joy to read. I loved the graphic design details on the pages too!
Profile Image for Emily G.
521 reviews25 followers
April 16, 2024
A swiftie history book!

This book is both a modern day look into Fan culture and how it has evolved.as well as a love letter to Taylor Swift.

This book starts by looking at Taylor's career and how it has evolved alongside her fans before delving a bit deeper into fan-culture as a whole. It's a great read if you're a swiftie and want to learn (or reminisce) more about the swiftie-evolution and what it means to have a constant role model in the form of a celebrity.

I wouldn't really call this a companion for the era's tour as advertised, more a companion to Taylor in general and her fans. It reads slightly like a personal memoir of the Author at times but is overwhelmingly a recap of Taylor and her fans so far. There is one chapter on the Eras tour, but this is mainly recounting what has happened to date.
Profile Image for ✨Lauren✨.
108 reviews12 followers
September 10, 2024
I found this book REALLY interesting - just like the title says, it breaks down and analyses the many facets of fandoms and relates it to Taylor Swift. I learned a lot of new things by reading this book, like finding out what parasocial relationships are and how fans can influence what an artist does or doesn’t do. It also looks at both the positive and negative aspects of being in a fandom and the different types of fans that you get too. This was also the first non-fiction book I’ve read in a long time and I really enjoyed it. If you want a deeper insight into the inner workings of fandom, then you should definitely give this book a read.
Profile Image for Teo-(school hiatus).
160 reviews63 followers
Read
May 8, 2024
Now I have no idea how this is, but I saw it for pre-order, and it kinda sounded interesting?
Profile Image for erinsbookcase.
44 reviews8 followers
July 11, 2024
If you’ve followed my book accounts for anytime at all, you know that my favourite niche genre of books is those about fans and fangirls. I could read all day about the ins and outs of fandom, the history of it and the science involved in it. Kat McKenna’s Look What You Made Me Do falls exactly into this category. The book is divided into a series of themed chapters, each adorned with corresponding song titles and beautiful graphics. Think of this not as a non fiction book but as a magazine column style guide to being a swiftie and understanding your fan behaviour in a better light. Fandom is so much more than the way it’s branded widely, it’s not just an obsession but a network of support and love. Look What You Made Me Do explores all areas of fandom from relationships (both of the fan and artist), politics and hierarchies. McKenna’s entry point analogy of fans, was such a fun feature too (I’m a OG 1989 girlie). Referencing and explaining some of the best moments in Swift’s career, this book is perfect for the baby swifties who are learning the ropes or the OGs who simply want a trip down memory lane. I certainly felt the excitement as McKenna recalled moments from the past year - the Eras Tour, the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and the ‘maylor’ era. The discussion around politics and accountability was a section I really enjoyed. It’s not an area fan writers and academics usually draw from, but it is certainly topical in today’s era of cancel culture. At no point is this book boring either, slipping in moments from other fandoms (harries, there’s an chapter for us too). As a hardcore fan who still doesn’t have Eras Tour tickets, I had great appreciation for the line acknowledging us. The only thing I would have liked to see in this book was some more referencing to fans biggest moments, for example how we rally together in moments of need or organise fan projects for stadiums of thousands. Though, it was nice to see some varying examples of fan culture, which I’ve found not all books of this genre does have. Nevertheless, my favourite part of this book is McKenna’s support and praise for the younger generation. Often the mainstream media paints us as lazy and obsessive, but this book does exactly the opposite. It sees our passion for music, books and games as an asset to making change, recognising the tough times teenagers have been through in the past decade. Accompanied with Taylor’s most inspiring lyrics, McKenna’s big sister style advice and faith in us was notably heartwarming. Don’t be put off by non-fiction, if you’re a fan of any sort, I highly recommend this book.
Profile Image for Sofía Aguerre.
Author 11 books228 followers
November 5, 2024
Algunas partes son muy divertidas después de escuchar TTPD.
Profile Image for Sarah Rayman.
272 reviews7 followers
December 21, 2024
Taylor Swift influenced exploration of fandoms. Really interesting. Too much Taylor Swift for me
Profile Image for molly jinks.
13 reviews4 followers
August 8, 2024
this book infuriated me beyond description
Profile Image for Becki Dawson-Darby.
222 reviews1 follower
May 19, 2024
I picked up this book because I was intrigued by the premise. A discussion of fandoms, told through the lens of Swifties? Sign me up.

There were moments in this book I enjoyed. I was once also that shy girl hiding in my room writing fanfiction that no one would read and shipping Johnlock. This book acknowledged that I was never alone in this endeavour.

I had a few problems with this though. It is ironic that the author writes in the epilogue that we should "question our perception" and yet she never appears to question her perception of Taylor Swift.

I appreciate that the author is a mega fan. The author does recognise that humans are fallible and make mistakes. Sadly, she seems to brush any mistakes Taylor Swift has made under the rug or find someone else to blame. This hero worship was at times uncomfortable to read.

As a fan, I know it is possible to love something and still recognise its flaws and want it to do better, something the author has failed to grasp.
Profile Image for Amy.
85 reviews2 followers
July 4, 2024
Very fluffy - somewhat predictably, as it’s published by a YA imprint. But it’s an incredibly surface-level, uncritical look at the fandom surrounding Taylor Swift that never really peels back enough layers to make an impact. The narrative feels choppy & scattered and the attempted structure never quite manages to stick, with countless references to things that aren’t covered within the book, or come into play several chapters later. The printed edition also contains many, many errors and typos that give the impression that this was rushed through the editorial process.
All in all, it reads more like an unedited blog than a serious or definitive look at the culture and cult of fandom.
The kids deserve better.
Profile Image for Jasmine Nicholson.
248 reviews14 followers
April 15, 2024
As a huge Taylor Swift fan and someone who wrote her dissertation on Taylor at uni this book does feel like it was written for exactly me in mind. Super fun book that details Taylor’s career and more important devels into the idea of fandom and what it means to people etc the effect it can have on celebrities, good and bad. I explored different viewpoints including some political. I’m not usually a non fiction enjoyer but I liked this one alot and I think it’s a perfect guide for teens on the idea of fandom culture.
Profile Image for Chloe.
223 reviews7 followers
April 13, 2024
Honestly never read a book so fast, this is THE book for Swifties to devour
Profile Image for Joana Felício.
528 reviews1 follower
May 27, 2024
4.5 I finished this in line for Eras Lisbon N2, and I just loved it. About being a fan, by a fan.
Profile Image for Oyinda.
774 reviews184 followers
May 23, 2024
This book was written by a swiftie about online fan culture from the very beginning. It was so cool reading the history of online fandom from someone who quite literally lived through it. It's also a book in exaltation of Taylor swift and her career and the joys of being a swiftie. The job was so well done on the history of fan culture and how being a super fan has evolved thanks to the internet. However, she was not very critical of Taylor aka she was not critical of Taylor at all.
She had a lot to say about other people along the course of Taylor's career eg Kanye and Marty Healy. It's also a very recent book cause L she mentioned the Renaissance and eras tours.
She genuinely believes Taylor can do no wrong and even when she acknowledges Taylor's missteps, there are a million excuses.
Profile Image for emily ♡.
1 review7 followers
December 9, 2024
To anybody who is or has been part of fandoms, I cannot encourage you enough to give this book a read. It’s helped me to understand a lot about online communities but also myself, and the knowledge I’ll learnt, I’ll continue to carry.

Four stars; would’ve been five if it wasn’t littered with errors and typos. 🥲
143 reviews
March 26, 2025
Welp.

This book often says to critique your idols, but the author does not seem to actually be able to. Every valid critique is hidden behind some silly critique easily disputed. Also, the weird line about j.k. Rowling wont be forgotten. Why act like transphobia is an actual problem earlier in the book but then refuse to acknowledge the harm jk has done to trans people in the last years. Smh
Profile Image for Riina.
164 reviews2 followers
August 3, 2024
Kirjoitinko minä tämän kirjan? En. Mutta olisinko voinut? Ehkä, koska ainakin koko kirja tuli suoraan mun päästä. Tarkoittanee enemmän, että minulla ei ole koskaan ollut uniikkia ajatusta tai kokemusta. Mutta oliko tämä täydellinen kirja? Tottakai, olinhan ajatellut jokaisen lauseen jo joskus itse mutta nyt näin ne painettuna tekstinä julkaistuna kirjana.
Profile Image for Mimi Schweid.
657 reviews50 followers
Want to read
May 21, 2025
Maybe one day I will listen to the rest of this book. Today is not that day. It's perfectly fine, just another ALC I downloaded impulsively.
Profile Image for Emma Fawkner.
74 reviews1 follower
June 13, 2024
Such an interesting read! Made me very excited to see Taylor on Saturday! Quite obvious now I have an addictive personality but I’m very happy to part of such a mad ridiculous cult.
Profile Image for Hannah Duckett.
135 reviews
August 7, 2024
This was a really good book. It looks at Taylor’s success and the fans. A really easy read.
Profile Image for Irono Yami.
Author 1 book15 followers
July 22, 2024
a book about fan culture, music industry, feminism and stalking. this is more than about Swifties.
Profile Image for lulu .
180 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2024
3.7!!!
un libro muy completo sobre la perspectiva del mundo de los fandoms.

explora todas las vertientes, ¿cómo nos hacemos fans? ¿por qué queremos a nuestros idolos tanto o más que a nuestros familiares? ¿qué es un fandom? y muchas otras.

destaco que no se cierra solo en taylor swift, sino que además explora el mundo de los videojuegos, el cine, los libros y básicamente todo lo que me obsesiona (LE DEDICA UN CAPITULO ENTERO A LOS SIMS Y A LILSIMSIE!!!!!) me parece maravilloso.

sin dudas lo recomendaría a cualquiera que quiera conocer a taylor o a la cultura contemporánea en línea.
Profile Image for Kelly Chin.
68 reviews
May 3, 2024
The ultimate guide to fandom and all things Taylor Swift. Having done academic assignments and presentations on Taylor throughout my education, this is a book I wish I had the chance to reference. As a hardcore Swiftie, I enjoyed every page!
Profile Image for Martyna.
9 reviews
June 30, 2024
SWIFTIES RUN AND GET THIS BOOK!!! I am a huge swiftie and a huge fan girl and this book was so perfect! I really loved all the Taylor Swift refrences and how the chapters were named after Taylor Swift songs! I also like how there are mentions of other fandoms!
Profile Image for Vvictoriafg .
16 reviews
September 4, 2024
No se por donde empezar... (aviso que tiene spoiler)
Voy a hacerlo por las cosas que me gustaron, para destacar primero lo positivo.
La primer parte del libro me pareció entretenida, una fan contando como Taylor impactó en su vida y empoderando la figura del artista.
Destaco frases como: "Expresaba mis sentimientos de una forma en la que ya no podía" y "Su arte, su visión y su ambición son la que la hacen única". Coincido.
A nivel visual, la edición están llenas de imágenes que acompañan los capítulos de manera muy linda. Destaco: Swifties: una guía según el momento de ingreso y el capitulo 18 que ilustra algunos de los looks más lindos del tour.

Ahora pasando a la parte negativa, tengo varias cosas que decir.
Tenemos 2 capítulos literalmente dedicados a parejas de Taylor, artistas que además escucho en mi día a día, y no me gustó para nada el foco de los capítulos.
Puntualmente el de Matty Healy, donde escribe "Taylor estaba soltera y ya teníamos un novio problemático con el que lidiar". Que pesadez, dejen vivir.
El de Harry Styles obviamente fue todo lo contrario. Obviamente Harry no es el perfil de famoso que Matty pero de igual manera, no comprendo porque dedicarías dos capítulos para ellos y no un capitulo entonces de Calvin Harris o Tom Hiddleston que han inspirado increíbles canciones o incluso de Joe Alwyn, pareja de SEIS años, contra Matty y Harry que salieron poquísimo tiempo, se nombra muy por arriba pudiendo conectarlo con, por ejemplo, su colaboración en sus 2 álbumes pandémicos con el sobrenombre William Bowery etc. En fin, capítulos de relleno.

Otro capitulo que me pareció cualquier cosa, Gaylor.
Yo entiendo que nos gustaría que nuestro artista favorito sea como nosotros o con nuestra misma inclinación política, orientación etc. pero que PESADOS. El artista es lo que es y si no habla de cierto tema o apoya a su manera cierto movimiento, uno aprecia la música. No es un amigo que me tomo un café y hablo del cualquier cosa. Esa manía de querer que el artista abarque TOOODOS los temas de interés, insoportable. Además de hacer una LISTA de las supuestas mujeres con las que salió Taylor... Un montón.

Por último, como comentario negativo, la recomendación de paginas de chisme intentando hacer creer que no es una invasión a la privacidad solo porque son fans compartiendo información. Innecesario. Como el meme de Argentina: Conseguite un empleo honesto...

En conclusión, sentí que la autora se sentó, escribió cosas sueltas y publicó un libro usando el nombre de Taylor.
Profile Image for Scarlett°~☆.
92 reviews
June 9, 2024
LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO~☆☆☆☆
I bought this book for a few reasons, first we need to take a moment and appreciate the GORGEOUS cover,i also picked this book up because it is different to many other taylor swift books i see-most are an unofficial biography on taylor, in my opinion, they can get boring once your just reading the same thing, stuff you already know. However, this book is labelled to be for the fans and focussing on fandom, specifically the complex community of the swifries. As fandom means so much to me and is a part of who i am, i was immediately interested in this book.
'Look what you made me do' explores fan culture, influence, and all aspects of what fandom means, it covers all the impactful moments that changed the swiftie community and taylors' growth. This book was enjoyable to me to remember all these iconic taylor swift and fandom moments but also learn more about other peoples ideas of fandom, and the early days of the swiftie communtity that i did not get the experience. The book details how fandom has evolved over time and how society has shaped it, it shares the importance of fandom and others' experiences in community. To follow with the chapters, the book contains lots of beautiful graphics that decorate the pages and relate to taylor swift, the book is so beautifully created and thoughtfully crafted, a gift to the swifies.
Unfortunately, this book fell short of a 5 star rating from me, that is simply because in some chapters, the author describes more personal experiences for them in fandom, things that, to the reader, do not relate to taylor swift and can therefore seem like a bit of a boring or unnecsarry chapter. I think there was 2 chapers like this in the book that just made it a littlke bit unenjoyabele, as the book is about swifties and is the reason i chose to read it, i didnt want to hear so much about the authors seperste fandoms or experiences.
Overall, this book is a 4/5 star rating from me and i mostly enjoyed it, id reccommend for anyone interested or looking into fan culture, and ofcourse for any swifties who want to read a book related to taylor but is different from the repetative style of biographies.
Profile Image for Sarah.
2,959 reviews224 followers
December 28, 2024
3.5 stars.

Whilst I do like Taylor Swift, I wouldn't class myself as a Swiftie but I'm sure most of us can relate to her fans. Whilst the book predominately focuses on the lady herself, it looks at fandom as a whole over the years but more so in present day. I would say that my own experience of being a huge fan was of A-ha back in the late 80's, early 90's. I had the hugest crush on Morten Harket and my bedroom wall was covered in posters of him and the band. So as I say, in some ways I could certainly relate to the hysteria surrounding a group or person.

Things of course have moved on a bit since my fandom years as there was no such thing as social media so what fans faced then to now is a lot different. The author explores how someone in the lime lights life is very rarely private. As we see so much of these days, a celebrity can be ripped apart on social media if their thoughts or actions are something people disagree with and the amount of online trolls all voicing their opinions. Celebrities are probably some of the biggest influencers in the world and I think that can be a hard position to be in but Taylor is someone who is a good role model and we can certainly learn a lot from her.

Look What You Made Me Do was an eye opener into the world of fandom. I read the paperback copy and have to say it was so well designed and really eye catching. The way it is laid out has certain quotes standing out and the chapters are relatively short making it go quicker than I thought it would. I certainly got to learn way more about Taylor Swift than I previously did and you can tell the author is a huge fan herself. I bet is must have been a lot of fun to work on this book. Overall a good read but will definitely be more appreciated by Taylor Swift fans.

Profile Image for Susana Brijandez.
153 reviews2 followers
January 13, 2025
Sí es un libro por y para #swifties 🫶🏻 pero lo interesante es que te lleva paso a paso no solo analizando la evolución, caídas, logros, retos, bajones y levantadas en la carrera de Taylor Swift, sino que describe el comportamiento justo de los fans, el público, los trolls, los haters, y todos los involucrados en esta especie de nueva relación o vínculo que se establece entre un artista y su público. El "fandom" 🙌🏻 y las relaciones parasociales.

Destaca el poder de las redes sociales y la cercanía que se "siente" con los ídolos. La tendencia de estar informando paso a paso dónde está, qué hace, qué dijo, con quién está, con quién anda, y no nadamás como un medio de comunicación que existe para "informar" sino como una persona común con fácil acceso a la vida de una persona famosa, y con la libertad de publicar en redes cualquier cosa (incluso falsedades) con tal de sentir la satisfacción de tener la primicia. Esto como una actividad del día a día, normalizada. Que claro puede escalar a niveles delicados como el acoso. 😐

Y por otro lado, este fenómeno también nos lleva a pensar en que no nadamás consumimos todo eso que comparten otros, sino que tenemos esa posibilidad de crear y comunicar, de actuar en apoyo, beneficio o no, a alguna causa o, como en este caso, para apoyar, fortalecer, defender y proteger a tu artista favorito.

Si eres fan de #TaylorSwift seguro ya vas a estar súper enterado de todo lo que se menciona en este libro, si eres medio fan o tiene poco que te volviste #swiftie vas a informarte súper bien de todo el fenómeno, y si no eres fan, a lo mejor no tiene caso que leas este libro.
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