A mysterious book topping the best-sellers list in recent weeks was driven there by Swifties and BTS fans battling it out in pre-orders.
Many Swifties speculated that the July 9 release date for the book would coincide with the release of her upcoming album. The speculation was fueled by a TikTok video posted by the owner of the Good Neighbor Bookstore in Lakewood, New York, sharing the fan theory that it was Taylor Swift’s memoir.
The untitled book scheduled for release on July 9 was described as a “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023” in book store releases, convincing Taylor Swift fans that the book would be hers. They pre-ordered the book in masses, driving it up the Amazon and Barnes & Noble best-seller lists.
A Macmillan spokeswoman has confirmed the book is about the K-pop boy band BTS and celebrates the 10th anniversary of the group—which formed on July 9. Macmillian says it expects to print a million hardcover copies of the 544-page book celebrating BTS for BTS ARMY fans.
The owner of the original TikTok video that sparked furor among Swifties has taken down the post at the request of the publisher. He says he stopped taking preorders for the book after he had gotten over 600 requests—then cancelled all of them when he began to doubt the book was a release from Taylor Swift at all.
“We connected the dots, but I feel like we connected the dots wrong,” says Bob Lingle, owner of the bookstore in Lakewood. Lingle says he began to lean toward the BTS side of the argument when he learned the significance of the date to the BTS ARMY fans.
“What’s the most unhinged thing you’ve done because of Taylor Swift?” asked one fan on social media. “I pre-ordered a book I know nothing about on the SLIGHT chance its her memoir,” the fan continues, showcasing just how rabid fans became online over the possibility of a memoir.