A One Direction fan goes on a sociological dive into the intersection between music fan culture and social media— what more can you want?
Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It by Kaitlyn Tiffany is primarily written through the lens of One Direction fandom (as that’s the world the author occupies). But more than just a story of 1D, she writes wonderful cultural analysis and criticism as to the history, impact, and power of fandoms, particularly when those fans are women, and particularly now that they’re online.

Obviously one book cannot hold everything, especially when it comes to fan culture. When I initially requested this book, I was hoping to see some of my fandom reflects— I spent hundreds of hours on Broadway star fan forums in the early 2000s, and was hoping for a piece that would relive my same nostalgia. That was not even touched upon, like so many fandoms. But that’s the issue with fandom, we are all looking for our experiences to be reflected back, to see a piece of ourselves in what sort of media we are consuming.

Even though there was no Broadway present (or Twilight or Star Trek or much else on the never-ending list), I still saw pieces of myself. I saw the enthusiasm, the looking to belong, and the creativity fandom fosters. The author successfully shows that, as she notes in the later chapters, fans (or stans) are not just sites of consumption but of production. We produce inside jokes— ones that can be taken too far and become harmful, yes, but also ones that bring us together as a community and give life meaning—we produce art, and we produce culture. And we should not forget about being a site of production as increasingly fans are seen as simply money-making machines. We should be wary of being used, and understand that stan culture, as it exists now especially on social media, is not a neutral thing but a creature with power.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.

Really loved the insight into fan culture and how social media has influenced the way celebrities create followings and inspire loyalty, but I wish it branched out a bit more from One Direction as the main example of this. Great read overall, especially if you are someone who came to age in the era of boy bands and Justin Bieber!

Today is the release day for "Everything I Need I Get From You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It" by Kaitlyn Tiffany. Thank you to @Netgalley and for the digital ARC!

The book delves into the predominantly female fandom of the former boy band One Direction. The author takes the Directoners, as the call themselves, to discuss how fandoms operate online as subcultures with underestimated powers. Challenging the stereotype of the screaming, shallow teen girl, Tiffany provides a nuanced view of what it means to belong to a fandom, weaving together her own experiences and detailed research. She also critically investigates darker sides of the fandom and the relationship between the band's members and their fans.

Even though I wasn't able to name any One Direction song before I read the book, I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot about the subversive potentials of online fandoms.

Let's start by saying I wouldn't have read this book if the synopsis had been truthful about what was inside. Yes it does mention One Direction, but this book is literally about the 1D fandom and nothing else. Every other fandom that gets mentioned is only in passing, just as a way to bring some 1D story up. And I do not care about that stale ass boyband at all! I do know/recognize some songs, but I have no clue about what's up with their lives, and never had. I have never been in the fandom. Actually, I got bullied out of a friend group when I was 13 and one of the reasons was that I didn't like the same things as they did! Which included 1D at the time! So yeah. I wish the synopsis talked about what this actually is about so we wouldn't be in this situation now.

My problems with the book are purely about what was lacking from what was promised to me, which was a thorough story about how fangirls shaped the internet to fit their needs. The damn front cover says it!!!

How can you talk about the original fanfiction archives and not mention Star Trek? How can you not mention Anne Rice AT ALL and make it seem like the only problem with Livejournal and Fanfiction dot net was that you could not write smut? Authors were out for our blood, and AO3 was the first archive to have ACTUAL REAL LIFE LAWYERS to advocate for fans if authors dared file a lawsuit against us. How can you talk about how the internet becomes real life and not talk about DASHCON????? How were you on tumblr on 2012 and not talk about superwholock, Peter Pan from disney world, the shoelaces, All or nothing, Carmilla?? How can you pretend to represent the boyband fandom at large and only mention in passing the BTS fandom taking down that cops app?? How can you fail to mention how fandoms have become more and more predominantly queer? And this is just my stan ass talking, but in 2020 AO3 was banned from China because of a Xiao Zhan x Wang Yibo fanfiction. What does shaping the internet mean if not getting a whole website banned from your country because you shipped two guys too hard?? The only time she mentioned Star Trek was to say the fandom was mostly men!!!! ¿!?¿!?¿!?¿!?¿!?!?!¿

I really really really really would've enjoyed this a lot more if it was a fiction book. I did kind of like reading about the author's trips to see the places where iconic 1D moments had taken place in. Mind you, I started skipping them around 50% in because I couldn't bear to read these guys' name one more time, and she jumped back and forth between calling them "Harry" which made it seem like she was talking about her cousin, and "Styles" which made it seem like she was a 50 year old talking about who the young ladies like and how he's a bad influence. But they sounded like fun times. An Eleanor Oliphant-like literary fiction book would've been the perfect place for these anecdotes. Unlike this book.

What a fun book! This is a nonfiction book that researches fandom culture and its influence on the internet, with a heavy focus on One Direction (although some other fandoms are discussed a little). There are plenty of tweets, Tumblr posts, and memes referenced throughout the book as well as people's personal stories and other research studies. I was familiar with enough of the cultural references to fully enjoy this book, and it made me laugh out loud at times. It does touch on the darker side of obsession and fandom, but the majority of the book is pretty light-hearted.
I feel like everyone who was either a big early One Direction fan or who was active in other fan groups online in the last few decades absolutely needs to read this. It's entertaining, it's insightful about trends and patterns, and it's detailed in the analysis. On the other hand, people who weren't part of those groups (especially people who have no interest in One Direction) probably won't like this as much.
This is joining books like Because Internet in the list of my favorite nonfiction books about online culture. Really loved this one.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC to review!

I used to like One Direction’s songs a lot. I didn’t know or care for them enough to consider myself a real fan, back when the group was active, and now that it’s over I care even less about their solo careers. But I do care about knowing curiosities and odd things that happen inside fandoms, and how people interact with things they like – even if I don’t always think it’s good. I’m a sociologist, of course this book caught my attention; an exploration of the obsessions of fangirls and their relationship to the internet? Incredible. Even though it’s not scientific research, or maybe exactly because of that, this was wonderful to read.

“The cultural phenomena of fandom and the internet are braided together – one can’t be fully understood without the other. Both, in providing structure, have also produced chaos.”

Tiffany talks not only about other fangirls and their experiences, but also about her own personal life moments and the relationship between those and being a fan. The crazy things 1D fans pulled off during the band’s existence and beyond, inner fandom jokes that still last through the internet, and how (fan)girls helped create the internet as it is today, are all touched upon as well. Despite not going into depth with some topics, I think the author did a great job compiling ideas together, with careful passion for it as well.

The chaotic energy around the topics in this book gives it more life, and it’s hilarious in a relatable way – it’s so recent I’m sure anyone with social media will recognize a lot of things mentioned. Tiffany made it clear that while fandom has strength and a history connected to the internet and gender issues, anyone analyzing it needs to keep some realism, since there’s also the connection to the (music) market, as fans are the source of profit, and even apparent social power online has its limits.

Overall, 5 stars read, and I’d love to read more by Tiffany as well. Even if now I know more about The Beatles fanfiction than I ever expected to. Fandom might have its positive and negative sides, but "Everything I Need I Get from You" is 100% good.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everything I Need I Get From You investigates the ways in which fandom — and the fan girls who make it up — has shaped the internet, through the specific lens of One Direction.

As a fandom girlie with distinct memories of watching and stanning One Direction during their X Factor days, I was definitely poised to love this book, and love it I did! Tiffany digs into the good, the bad, and the ugly of fandom, building out a story of the creation of internet culture from the very earliest days of online forums. The book does primarily focus on One Direction, but there are other fandoms mentioned as well. I spent the first half of the book particularly hoping for a nod to the K-pop Stans who tend to dominate the modern online space, and I was not disappointed.

Tiffany has a good eye for the scope of fandom and the cause-and-effect of its various moments in time. I really appreciated the thoughtful, well-researched approach she took, as well as the way she did put in effort to explore both sides of polarizing topics like Larry Stylinson. Tiffany’s take is confident and informed and nuanced, and certainly a valuable addition to the fan studies discipline.

As a former and current boy band fan and someone who could easily have been profiled in this book I really loved it. It was interesting and went in depth on a topic I didn’t know could be so interesting.

This is undoubtedly a book about one direction — going to mull this over, I’m not sure if it’s three or four stars. I wanted more from it, more analysis, more stances, more advocacy for the importance of the fangirl, and definitely more fandoms examined.

I struggled a bit with this because I did not realize it was going to be solely about one fandom. While this briefly touches on The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and Justin Bieber, about 85% of the analysis of this is about One Direction. I also feel like the analysis was lacking a bit. I was hoping to hear a little bit more about the internet part about how fangirls created the internet. Instead, this was an ode to the way One Direction fans showed up online. It did talk briefly of how they utilized social media to manipulate charts, the way message boards and early social media platforms created spaces for meme culture and fandoms to commune.

But this lacked a lot of information about the internet? There was an entire chapter about the Larry Stylinson ship (the theory that Harry and Louis dated), and while I appreciated how that colored the conversation around fangirls' relative power, I did think it got away from the larger message.

I would've easily given this four stars if it had talked a little bit about fangirls on the internet as compared to the larger internet population (this appears in the book a little at the start, but briefly), and also if the author had not solely discussed one fandom.

Fangirls are far and wide, this book isn't so much about them as it is about One Direction fans. I am of the age group depicted, and even I struggled to get invested.

I looooooooooooooooove this book. It's kind to young women, brilliant in its approach to the internet, correct about One Direction, and essential for anyone forming an opinion about how fans impact the internet. Kaitlyn Tiffany is hilarious and smart to a degree that makes me wildly jealous AND grateful to have her. It's so rare that someone writes a book about online culture and doesn't make the people who know it best cringe all the way through, but she signals her knowledge throughout with humor and heart. I loved it. Underlined something on nearly every page.

Extremely thankful to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Extremely thankful to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kaitlyn Tiffany´s new book is the coolest book I have read this year! Is it full of very specific fandom (One Direction) references throughout it? Hell yes. Would someone who does not know a lot about them be a bit lost? Also yes. But that does not mean that this book isn't a total hit. I think its accesible and humourish prose is appropiate for the book's intention and its specific target public. How so? Tiffany's thesis states (correctly) that the internet has been shaped by the fandom culture, more specifically: by the fangirls. She explores and analizes the current fandom world in the internet era, as well as its roots/origins since the Beatlemania when there was no internet at all and writes great remarks about the phenomenom. She wisely demonstrates how they are an important and vital part of the pop culture and the enterntaiment industry. Shortly, this book is about both defending the fangirls but also calling them out (ehem some toxic stuff inside such world), and I am here for it! If you have been part of a fandom (I bet you have, do not lie to yourself please) you will enjoy this!

While this book has some interesting points and really deeply knows it's subject matter, it is way to focused on One Direction to really provide a book worthy of it's subtitle. There are moments where the author explores other fandoms (including an interesting dive into Bruce Springsteen fans) but they are fleeting and far between. Arguably the biggest example of fandom in recent year (looking at you kpop stans) is relegated to a small chunk of the last chapter. I understand that the author is a one direction fan and that that inspired the book, but I feel like the book wants you to think that there's a lot more in here than there actually is. I think one direction fans will enjoy reading this, but I don't know that there's much here for readers who are curious about fandom, stans, and the internet as a whole.

I didn't realize this book would be so heavily focused on One Direction fandom in particular, but I'm familiar enough with the band to enjoy the deep dive. Any excuse to celebrate teen girls and validate their often overlooked contributions to society! Will be highly enjoyable for anyone who had a specific boy band/pop star phase (I still love you 98 degrees!)

I went for this book purely based on the title, not knowing it was specifically going to be about One Direction, about whom I know basically nothing. And that made this book all the more fascinating to me! I love books that take pop culture seriously, that go deep into history and the way a microcosm of society can reflect the way larger society operates and changes. This book is deeply researched, personal, weird, and compulsively readable. I also appreciate that although the author clearly holds One Direction and its fandom very dear, she can still look at the fan culture with a critical eye. Highly recommended for any pop culture enthusiast.

Using One Direction's fandom as her touchstone, Tiffany traces the history and impact of modern fandom culture. Everything I Need I Get From You (EINIGFY) is a deep dive into fandom from every angle: the joy, the expense, the gatekeeping, the inclusivity, the inherent ties to consumerism, the invasiveness... The whole gamut of being a fan is covered in this book's pages.

Where EINIGFY really shines is in the way that the book serves as a love letter to fandom in all of its gory glory. Tiffany personally counts herself as a member of One Direction's fandom. When she talks about the ecstasy of shared experiences and in-jokes, the love for her connection to fellow fans of 1D really shines.

Furthermore, as an insider, Tiffany portrays fan culture in a way that isn't completely diminishing and dismissive. As she writes in the pages of EINIGFY, fandoms that are primarily made up of young women are often not taken seriously. Our culture has historically ridiculed teen girls and their interests. The power of being a member of fandom is that concerts and fan-only online spaces are the rare places in which young women can express themselves freely; where they can experience uncensored fun. That being said, don't let that make you think that Tiffany doesn't realize that pop band fandoms are comprised of more than just young, cis-gendered women. As the book progresses, she also discusses how excluding large demographics of fans is yet another way that the media just doesn't understand fan culture.

If you enjoy sociological deep dives, are a member of a fandom, or just want to know more about why fans act the way they do, I recommend that you check out this book!

The author has the most 90s name ever, however I suspect she’s a bit younger than I am, because the book opens with a One Direction inside joke. Of course, 1D is also a serendipitously timed phenomenon because of the convergence of Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube all reaching a teenage audience at roughly the same time, so they make for a good example. Nevertheless, as someone who isn’t a 1D fan (I didn’t even recognize the origin of the title on my own), after twenty pages of 1D-centered introduction it was a relief to read that this whole book would not be about them (this turned out to be untrue: it’s about 95% about them). In fact, it purports to attempt to answer two questions: How did fans use the Internet to create and accrue a new kind of power? And, what are the characteristics and limitations of that power? Neither of these were answered to my satisfaction.

Tiffany explores the uplifting and affirming and connective aspects of online fandom as well as the darker sides (taste policing, hierarchies, harassment, threats, and doxxing, to name a few). She also looks at the contradictions embodied and the practicalities (or impracticalities) of being a fan. Take, for instance, the groups of women who refuse to identify as fans because fandom is, to them, a frivolity to be ashamed of. The disdain female fancy and fandom is often held in is discussed in detail, not just exploring historical incidences of frenzy, but also sharing new (to me) thoughts on the idea that men who sing and appeal to female listeners are somehow less manly (an accusation I remember male classmates leveling at the members of Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC when I was in middle school). Given that apparently (white male) Deadheads were some of the earliest adopters of the Internet, and specifically so that they could engage in fannish activities, it seems unfair that figures who garner female attention are held in such low esteem.

Reading this book within a month or so of watching Turning Red very much emphasizes, for me, the singular devotion of fandom, and although 1D is not my fandom and never has been, it was with fondness that I watched the film and (increasingly less fondly) read this book, even when I disagreed with some of Tiffany’s opinions. Through fandom I developed friendships that have lasted for over a decade, and while there was certainly some schismatic ugliness from time to time, my thoughts on the subject are mostly warm and fuzzy, and I think many people who have been part of a fandom, even as a casual fan like myself (or, to use the derisive term, a local), will find this an informative dive into the world of One Direction fandom. The section following the text on ethically citing social media posts was fascinating to me as a librarian who teaches information literacy and research at a college level.

I feel obligated to add, though, that some of what Tiffany writes is deeply personal and uncomfortable to read in a nonfiction book about fandom because it seems to me only tangentially about fandom though, of course, it is clear that all of the experiences she describes are intrinsically tangled up with her fandom. And also that this is really a paean to One Direction fandom, particularly in the United States, and not really a survey of fandom and the Internet in general.

I downloaded this book because I was really interested in the premise. I didn't realize the whole book was about the One Direction fandom otherwise I probably would have skipped it. I was too old when they got big so a lot of this goes over my head. If you're a 1D fan I think you would get more enjoyment out of this.

I was kindly sent this copy by the Publishers for review

(Shout out to Johnathan, the publicist for this title, for answering my request and all subsequent emails about how much I loved Tiffany’s writing!)

Let me set the scene for you. I just finished this book, on a sunny but cold Saturday. I immediately get up and put on a playlist of all 1D songs on. Now I am 13 again and my entire life is a heartbreak but let me tell you one day Harry Styles will come and save me and of that I am sure.

If you don’t get from that little anecdote why I loved this book so much, you should still go read it anyway cause its a wonderful book.

I have followed Tiffany’s writing for quite a while now I have been an avid reader of her articles in The Atlantic and Vox, so I knew her voice and that her research could be counted on from the get go. But when I tell you that this is the beginning of a great nonfiction author I am not exaggerating. One of the recurrent thoughts I had is how I was seeing the first steps of Mary Roach’s successor. I know we don’t like just throwing these “such and such is the new someone” comparisons but I can’t find a better way to tell you how great the writing in this book is. Tiffany is the digital world Roach, she explored and explained such a wonderfully specific world in a way that is extremely detailed and entertaining. I wasn’t in the 1D rabbit hole back in the day, I was only a casual fan, but still this book made me relive some of the most significant cultural milestones I had when forming my personality. The generation that grew up in the internet needs cultural commentary like this that critiques and analyzes all its facets with interest instead of just detached curiosity.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in pop and digital culture. You won’t be disappointed, on the contrary you will be entirely submerged in a wonderful, extremely weird, and sometimes distressing world of what it means to be at the forefront of internet culture. (And all of that through the lenses of the 1D fandom, I mean what else can you ask for?!)

I can’t wait for Tiffany to write more books, my only criticism is that I wish this book was longer!

If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that my love for One Direction is everlasting. Therefore, when I saw the title, I knew I needed it in my hands IMMEDIATELY.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I usually consume nonfiction books via audio, so this was a bit dense to get through as an ebook. For what it’s worth- I think this book needed to be dense to be taken seriously, as awful as that is. Nearly 12 years have gone by since One Direction were formed and not much has changed about how its fans are seen. I don’t think this book will change opinions or even necessarily be interesting to those outside the fandom, but for a specific group of people (myself included), it feels like validation for all those years spent online.

This book isn’t as much about “how fangirls created the Internet as we know it” as I had expected. It’s more a history of the One Direction fandom as a whole and how that specific group came to be while still discussing the precursors to this type of online fandom and how it grew from messaging boards to what it is now. I found this book extremely compelling, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people who haven’t spent 10 years in the trenches of 1D fandom don’t feel the same way.

This book was very cute and funny - I felt like I, as a fangirl, learned some things about the greater social movement. However, it was very 1D centric and would've loved more info about other fandoms and fangirls that are influential.