The case in summary Books within the “smut” genre, which contain explicit sexual content, are currently selling very well in Norway. The “smut” genre has grown big on booktok, a part of TikTok that consists of book reviews and reading tips. The more chilli emojis a book gets, the more boring the sex scenes. Booksellers face a dilemma when it comes to selling these books to young readers, and are debating whether they should do more to highlight the sexual content. Some believe that the books can be a more innocent and balanced form of porn. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Pastel colored covers with cute drawings. Summary on the back which tells about romance and love. And a small message that the content is not suitable for people under 18 years of age. We are talking about books within the genre “smut”. The genre that is taking young girls by storm, we are to believe the new book reviews on TikTok and several booksellers news has spoken to. On the cover of one of the most popular books, “Icebreaker” by Hannah Grace, we see a figure skater wearing a glittery dress and dancing skates and a hockey player with an orange suit and hockey stick. But there is another club that gets the most attention among the soft covers. Videos of people recommending books with sexual content abound on TikTok. Selling so much they keep running out “He’s on his knees, between my legs, with a body that seems to have been shaped by God, and a thick, long, hard dick.” This is a small excerpt from “Icebreaker” translated from English. – At Norli, we have registered a strong increase in this genre in recent years, says Caroline Heitmann, marketing and information manager at Norli. A common denominator is that these books are in English and in paperback form. Exact sales figures for English paperbacks are not publicly available. But Norli shares the list of the 30 best sellers. We have to go all the way down to 14th place to find a book that isn’t about sex and romance. Ark’s top 10 list of English literature shows that 9 out of 10 books are in the “smut” category. – English is growing. And when these are at the top, it is clear that they are a strong driver of growth, says Erik Myhre, category director at Ark bookshop. The most popular “smut” books Twisted love Icebreaker A court of thorns and roses It ends with us Twisted games Reckless Twisted hate It starts with us Twisted love Twisted lies A court of mist and fury Source: Ark and Norli According to the experienced bookseller Linn Staven at Ark Brunshjørnet in Trondheim, girls as young as 13-14 come to them to buy this and other books she describes as “porn in written form”. They have set aside a small square in the shop for these books. – Now it is very selective. We sell so much that we don’t have time to refill. Linn Staven is happy that young people want to read. At the same time, she is unsure how booksellers should react when young girls put books on the counter that revolve around sex. Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news Staven only became aware a couple of months ago that the increasingly popular books revolve around explicit and partly gross sex scenes, and that they contain very coarse language. – It was my young colleagues, those aged between 18 and 25, who made me aware of this. The chili barometer 🌶️ Edel at 19 is one of them. She is unsure how to meet this customer group. – At least when there are small children who ask for the dullest books. I don’t know if I should sell them, or if I should speak up, she says. “Smut” is a book genre that has grown big on booktok. So in the corner of TikTok that consists of book reviews and reading tips. One of the recurring themes is the chili emoji. The more chillies a book gets, the better the chemistry between the characters and the longer the sex scenes. What is your relationship with sexy books?🌶️ Big fan – have read several! Curious to test such a book. Sticks to other genres. Show result Staven thinks booktok is fantastic because it obviously contributes to more young people becoming interested in books and reading. Booksellers and others who work to make reading more enjoyable have generally struggled to reach young people, says Staven. Pernille Fjellestad Eikeland was one of those with zero interest in reading. But that time has passed: – Booktok awakened the joy of reading, she states. Pernille Fjellestad Eikeland found the joy of reading in “smut” books Photo: Privat Got the pleasure of reading spicy books The 25-year-old from Vennesla in Agder discovered booktok in the spring of 2023, and since then she has read a tower of books in the “smut” genre. Now she herself regularly posts videos under the username @f.ebookcorner, and almost all the books she reads – and recommends – are books with sexual content. – It has become a small community for me, where I can share and talk about these books. Books with spicy content are still taboo, and I want to have a platform where you can talk about books and sex freely. Sex is a natural part of being human, and many of these books focus on the relationship between the characters, and show sex as a natural part of a relationship. It is not children she wants to reach out to with her tips. She thinks about what she thinks is good for her own 13-14-year-olds to read. – The subcategory “dark romance”, for example, I had never let them read until they were old enough, says Eikeland. She believes it is wise for parents to get involved in what their children are reading and are interested in. On the back of “Icebreaker” it is clearly stated that the content is not suitable for younger readers. Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news A talking point among booksellers The dilemma of young people who want to read spicy books is so new that Linn Staven at Ark does not have a clear answer as to how to solve it. – This has become a talking point. Because it is difficult for us when 13-14-year-olds come and buy many of these books. The tendency is so great that we have started to talk about whether we should do more to highlight that the books have very sexual content. But she has one thing figured out. The most innocent form of porn? – We booksellers should not engage in censorship – we stand for openness. Perhaps the most important thing right now is that we need to get better at recommending and knowing what we sell. Linn Staven says that booktok is the reason why the smut genre is taking off now. Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news But then it is reasonable to believe that the vast majority of young people who come to buy these books are completely aware of the explicit sex scenes. That’s probably why they want them. Staven points out that young people today have easy access to porn, and that the books can therefore be more innocent and balanced. – The advantage of the books is that they bring a wider universe into the discussion about sex. It will probably say, for example, if the characters feel uncomfortable after a sex scene. Published 30.08.2024, at 21.10
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“Porno in written form”, like Icebreaker, is taking off among young people – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
