Listening to "Karma" on repeat as I write this, I have to say *Taylor Swift for Adults: Taking Swift Seriously* is an absolute delight! Kev Nickells has penned a tantalizing opening salvo in the fascinating field of Swiftology – the academic study of Taylor Swift's lyrical genius.

For too long, Taylor’s talent as a lyricist has been overshadowed by the media’s obsession with her personal life. But Swifties know better, and now this book makes the case to the non-believers. Nickells dives deep into Taylor's discography, examining her ten albums with meticulous care. He isolates the tropes, patterns, and styles that make her a beloved lyricist for millions. The book gives shape to arguments that have floated around online forums and YouTube comments for years – finally, someone takes Taylor’s lyrics as seriously as they deserve.

What sets this book apart is its perfect balance of scholarly analysis and light-hearted wit. It’s a serious study, but far from being a boring, dry read. Nickells injects humor and fun, making the exploration of Taylor's poetic scansion, flow, and form both engaging and accessible. The book doesn’t shy away from the cheeky side of Taylor’s lyrics, acknowledging her playful use of swearwords and sex metaphors, which adds a delightful edge.

This is not just for the die-hard Swifties; it’s for anyone who appreciates the craft of songwriting and wants to understand why Taylor Swift stands out as a lyrical genius. It’s the perfect blend of intellect and entertainment – a must-read for adults who want to take Swift seriously without losing their sense of fun.

I enjoyed this book so much that I'm eager to see what Nickells tackles next. If you're looking for a gift for a Swiftie or simply want to dive deeper into the artistry of one of our generation's greatest songwriters, *Taylor Swift for Adults: Taking Swift Seriously* is the book for you. Highly recommended!

I really enjoyed this one! Big Taylor Swift fan and too obvious that I wanted to know and read more about her. I thought that this book would be more facts and information, I like that it was more personal. It felt more intimate and like it really comes from Taylor*s life.

What an incredible dive into the life and world of Taylor Swift. I have never been a huge fan, but this makes me love her just so much more. I am a Google fanatic constantly looking up facts and questions that randomly come to mind, so being able to learn about this artist was so fun!

Diving into her music analysis was also extremely interesting and entertaining.

Thank you for granting my wish!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6637679615?book_show_action=false

Love this book! What a great overview of Taylor Swift's triumphant career. Recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about her!

This book is highly quotable and inherently poetic, with sentences that dazzle and commentary that does justice to the storyteller behind the superstar.

[I’ll preface this review by saying that I am absolutely the target audience for a book like this: an academic Swiftie with a music background.]

Taylor Swift for Adults reads like something you might find in a literary journal - though the tone is more punchy and less formal (and I think more accessible/enjoyable because of that).

Beautifully written.

Sharply argued.

It’s bold to, as the subtitle suggests, “take Swift [this] seriously.” What Nickells attempts is a tall order for Swift’s contemporaries (especially during the Eras Tour "era"): to study Swift out of context. To refuse to let media and fans create a version of Swift or influence how we read her. Instead, Nickells wants to quiet the noise around Swift’s personal life and professional presence and study the lyrics Roland Barthes style.

I think a book like this—a field of academic discourse like what Nickells terms “Swiftology” — was inevitable.

Someone had to say it. To try it.

And I really enjoyed reading it. (Also, I’d attend this conference panel.)

In what its author terms an “academic first draft,” Taylor Swift for Adults tackles many, many topics/songs/themes - and it does so very quickly, which may be problematic for some. But, ultimately, it starts a conversation we’re invited to continue.

Taylor Swift for Adults casts a wide net, to be sure. But in so doing, it creates space for continued discourse in nearly every direction.

Did I agree with every reading of Swift’s lyrics here? No. But I found myself wanting to sit down and write after reading this, and for the first time since joining NetGalley, had more to say than word count allowed on some platforms. And that is the five-star energy.

A deep dive into Taylor's songs & lyrics - a great book for the hardcore swifties! An impressive analysis of Swift's discography and songs - well done.

Lots of information in this book! I enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Taylor Swift. Thank you for the early access!

Thank you so much for granting my wish :)
This book is perfect for Swifties like me! Even if you're not a swiftie, this is a great look into the songwriting and art which Taylor puts out - explaining the meaning behind lyrics and how songs are developed. I also like that it isn't focussed on 'who' the song may be about, this is focussed on the actual writing and the meaning behind the lyrics.

If you are a Swiftie or at least admire Taylor Swift’s musical genius, then you will enjoy this book. It delves into a thorough discussion of her music, breaking down her lyrics over the years in a comprehensive study. The author is very thorough. If you’re wanting more on Taylor’s personal life, then that is not what this book is for. Perfect for any Swift fan!

The author very much wants you to know that they are British, and that they know more about what America than Americans. If you know a lot about music production, you may like this. If you get annoyed by authors who try to convince you of their spectacular insights by using "it's worth noting" every few paragraphs and making "amusing" asides that allow him to make degrading slurs against women, then this book is for you.

This is such a fun book for the casual Taylor Swift fan. It removes the artist's personal life from the music and examines the lyrics from a technical standpoint. There's no lore to know beforehand, it's just a casual fan's guide to the songs. I love it.

A fresh take on Taylor Swift and her music. If you’re looking for a celeb memoir or autobiography or the like, this isn’t it. I was a little bamboozled by the title and cover because I don’t believe it matches up well with what it truly is but I should have read the synopsis a little closer. The author apparently feels her life has been “covered to death” already. I’m a sucker for anything T Swift though and got too excited with that request button!

This reads like an academic opinion/theory piece and is heavily focused on analyzing the music itself. I would recommend to people who are formally trained or educated in music who can appreciate the points the author tries to make, which unfortunately isn’t me or most of Taylor Swift’s fan base.

Thank you for the opportunity to early read!

If you are looking for a book about Taylor’s life, drama, personal life, this is not the book for you!

I loved this so much! This was a deep dive into Taylor’s albums, song by song, interpreting them. I loved reading about my favorite songs. It was so refreshing to read a book about Taylor’s music, rather than just her personal life.

Taylor Swift For Adults by Kevin Nichols is a book that strips bare the gossip and other unnecessaries to tell the story of Taylor Swift through her songs what Mr. Nichols believes them to mean why she reproduced her old albums and much much more I was excited to read this book being a big-time Swifty fan embarrassingly enough even at the age of 52 I have a Lotta respect for Taylor Swift and no every album and almost every word to every song… Again I confess this chagrined OK now that we’ve got that out the way I was confused as to why he delved so deep into what country music is about because with the exception of 1989 Taylor hasn’t released a country album despite writing songs she’s given to country singers and performers she doesn’t fall under country at least not in the US and I don’t believe in other countries either. So I was confused as to his big essay on the topic of country music in the beginning of the book. I did find some of his analyzing of the songs sounded more like a fans guessing at her intentions like with the whole color thing and although I’m always interested in what others think of Taylor and do believe Mr. Nichols did her do justice with this great ode to such a brilliant woman A lot of the things in the book I already knew but as I said I am a Swifty and a lot of people will not. This is still a great book the have if you’re a fan or you’re not but want to know about her. I want to thank Pen and Sword Press for my free Arc copy via Annette galley. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

“You’re not meant to break your listener’s hearts on the regular- but this is Taylor’s country music, and she does.”

I really enjoyed that this book focused on her actual musical and lyrical talent rather than her love life.

It was really interesting to see how the author tried to view her songs in an objective manner. It also made me think about some lyrics in a different way. Some interpretations were really interesting, but others i did not agree with. For example when talking about the songs on folklore he totally ignored that Taylor Swift told us about the teenage love triangle that some songs are about.

From the structure it was very simple, but i wish the albums were actually separated by page and didn’t just look like the next song was about to be explained. Also the way lyrics were quoted bugged me, because sometimes in was in a separate paragraph and other times mid sentence.

The author tried to put a separation between the narrative of the song and Taylor Swift, but he sometimes used them interchangeably whilst talking about a song so his intention seems a bit unclear to me.

I also found it funny that the author mentioned in the end that there might be one or two albums out by time of this being published and he was right. We got a double album even. I’d also be interested to see him decode “The Tortured Poets Department”.

Wow there was so much to this book. As an OG Swiftie of 17 years, the depth of information on the lyrics and songwriting was amazing. Finally someone that's not focused on her personal life and wants to showcase what an amazing poet and businesswoman she is. I'm totally here for this book! Hope others enjoy it as much as I did.

I was so lucky enough to be sent Taylor Swift for Adults by Kev Nickells through NetGalley as Pen & Sword publishing granted my wish for access to this book.

This book is an excellent book for Swiftie fans out there. It is loaded with so much about Taylor and a great insight especially if you want to know more about her life, her music, etc and it takes you into a deeper look at her 10+ albums to isolate what makes her a beloved lyricist for millions of her fans and new ones.

It was an interesting read and a great book for a Swiftie fan.

There are tons of books and documentaries out there about our beloved Taylor Alison Swift but this is such a unique take, focusing solely on her music.

This is a deep dive into the lyrics, patterns and poetry that is some of the biggest hits in music history. This read more like a school syllabus and I’m okay with it. I really enjoyed the deconstruction of the songs and I think other swifties will too

As a huge Taylor Swift fan, this book was fantastic and I loved it. Very interesting and nicely written. Recommend to any Taylor Swift fan

If you're looking for an in-depth song-by-song look at all of Taylor Swift's music (through Midnights with no vault tracks), this book is for you. Really interesting to read through. Nickells could probably use this as a dissertation for a master's degree in Poetry.