The Trouble with Hyped Books | Guest Post
Hey everyone! So I was a bit quiet in the month of March and there’s a very good reason for that. As you may know if you follow me on Twitter – I’m launching my own Bookish Gifts and Jewellery shop! It’s called Literary Galaxy (naturally) and I’ve been spending most of this month getting to grips with things ready for the launch in May!
Anyway – that’s not what this post is about, you can find Literary Galaxy on Twitter and Instagram if you want more info until I write a post about it.
Today I bring you an amazing guest post by the lovely Hannah from A cup of Wonderland!
Hyped Books
When Jenn approached me about discussing the topic of ‘hyped books’ on her blog instantly there were at least 5 what came to mind. But what also came to mind is my apprehension about ‘hyped books’ which it appears I have developed over the past few years.
I know prior joining the BookTube and Book Blogging community, I found ‘hyped books’ to be an exciting experience and a chance to engage with so many others over a shared interest of that particular book. Probably because the only way you could tell a book was hyped was what had its own table in a bookshop stacked high as it could be and generally the booksellers would be talking about it non-stop as soon as you got to the counter. However, recently I’ve begun to feel more negative towards hyped books, not because the books are bad but more because of the expectation which surrounds them.
Or when you’re at school, one person read a book then passed it onto a friend who passed it on to another and that book ended up all the way through the school. Looking back when I was in junior school and the brink of starting senior school, books such as ‘Angus Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging’, ‘Twilight’ and anything by Jacqueline Wilson were the ‘hyped books’. Even if we didn’t completely understand the context of them when we read them back then compared to our understanding of them now.
The reason behind my negativity of ‘hyped books’ most likely stems from the bookish community which I love being apart of. Unfortunately though, sometimes because of ‘hyped books’ the book community turns into a negative space or it could be the opposite way around. Often I find that there is either judgement if someone hasn’t read a particular book – that it means that someone less of a blogger for not reading it. That if you haven’t picked up a certain book and read it then that somehow makes you a ‘bad blogger’ and inferior to your blogger peers. Of course, judgement of peers I think is a common fear for a lot of people – not just in the book community. The idea that because we haven’t read a book and that our peers will then judge us for it can actually be quite terrifying because it’s a natural feeling of not wanting to be the odd one out.
But, maybe I should have started off with this, what makes a book ‘hyped’, why those particular books? When I looked up the definition of hyped through a quick google search the definition which appeared was: ‘promote or publicize (a product or idea) intensively, often exaggerating its benefits.’ Is it the publisher which really decides whether a book is going to be ‘hyped’ or not? After all, you can look at book campaigns and often be able to see from a campaign of a ‘hyped book’ will be completely different to the one which is less known? Publishers certainly have the ability to determine if a book will be ‘hyped’ through it isn’t the only determining factor. Afterall, like at school word of mouth is always going to be a huge factor in a book becoming hyped – bloggers for instance for me and seeing what others are reading, can help make a book become ‘hyped’?
For me, due to this ever-growing pressure of reading particular hyped books, I thought that I’d write about some of my own personal reasons why I don’t always read them or why it takes me longer to get around to reading them.
– The fear of being disappointed. I think this is a big one for me, I see my friends and peers talk so passionately about a book that I begin to fear that I may become the odd one out and find it to really be disappointing. I think it is because the book is hyped I then have a huge desire to really enjoy it. An example of a book which was hyped and I found disappointing was Nicola Yoon’s Everything, Everything. It was a book with a premise I really liked and everyone I knew on Booktube was talking about it but for some reason, I just didn’t have that connection.
– Sometimes with a hyped book, I hear so much about it that it gets to the point where I feel I don’t have to read it since I already know everything about it. To the point, I’ve even engaged in conversation about those books to a detailed level despite not actually having read them. One which springs to mind is The Hate You Give and The Girl on the Train. I’ve actually since read Girl on the Train but beforehand I was happy to just talk to people about it completely.
– The hype, sometimes that just what puts me off. Knowing a book is so well known and loved – it turns the reading experience into something else I think. For me, when I’m not reading texts for University, reading is very much a solitary experience and that’s what I enjoy. But when I’m reading a book because it has been ‘hyped’ with so many of my friends pushing for me to read it too, I don’t know but it feels like the experience isn’t mine anymore. Plus there is an expectation that you are going to like it – you have to like it.
But even with all that said, ‘hyped books’ aren’t all that bad! After all, the majority of the time the hype is there for a reason and it’s truly well deserved. Last summer, for instance, all I could see on my twitter timeline is discussion and conversations about Lauren James’ latest book a psychological thriller set in space, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe. It arrived in the mail one day by an unknown sender and I began to read and couldn’t put it down. It was phenomenal and I enjoyed being able to talk to so many people about it. After all, a positive about ‘hyped books’ is that you will always be able to find someone to talk about it with, which sometimes is difficult to do with a less known book.
What’s your opinion on hyped books? Are they good or bad? Are there pros and cons to them? Will you only pick up a book if it’s hyped or not?
Thank you, Jenn, for letting me write this post on your blog! It was an honour, especially since it’s on a topic which we’ve talked about quite a few times in the past. It’s a topic I could honestly go on forever about!
Thanks Hannah! Such an interesting topic and one I have to agree I have some trepidation about! I’m so glad that you got to read The Loneliest Girl in the Universe though as that was honestly one of my favourite books of last year!!
What are your thoughts?
If you’re interested in doing a guest post for my blog – let me know and we can sort something out!
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8 Comments
A very good post and so relevant! I frequently see people commenting that they are scared to start reading a book/series because it has been so hyped up and they are worried that they won’t like it. It makes me so sad as their worry is usually based on what people will think of them and not their own personal enjoyment. I enjoy the buzz around hyped books because it makes me even more excited to read. It does lead to disappointment sometimes because you inevitably have a higher expectation of hyped books but that’s ok. It’s worth it for the times you love the book and have so many people to share that excitement with. My hope, as always, is that people will read what they want to read and not read books because of peer pressure. Having different tastes and opinions is what makes both life and reading interesting!.
This is a very interesting topic! I have a tendency to avoid books that are hyped because 8/10 times, they fall short of my expectations. But I always give in and read these books … sometimes I find myself pleasantly surprised!
Great post!
Usually when a book or show is hyped up, I make sure to stand clear of it until the hypes gone down or away. This happened with me with Fifty Shades of Grey. It was so hyped up and I ran…..ran I tell you to the nearest book store and picked them all up. I finished them in one weekend and then sat down confused. They were entertaining , yes, but poorly written and somewhat unedited. So what gives? Since then I’ve tried not to react and instead wait, so I’m not shelling money out on books that I’m going to be disappointed about.
Oh I definitely agree!! I’m very into the book community on Twitter, and get carried away with the hype sometimes – the hype causing us to sadly have high expectations of a book. I wish I could stop hyping it up, but what the heck – it’s still fun 🙂
This is exactly how I feel about hyped up books. I find that I always push those to the back of my list to read because I’m so afraid that I won’t like it. At least reading it after the initial hype makes it less scary. Great post! 🙂
So far every time I’ve read a hyped book I’ve been disappointed but I keep falling into the trap again and again. The only hyped series I’ve enjoyed is ACOTAR. Other popular series I didn’t know where hyped I’ve found and enjoyed on my own and I think that for me is the best way to go.
It’s so hard isn’t it! I have enjoyed hyped books but there’s just no way to know which it’s gonna be haha.
im always v hesitant w hype books and i do my best to not get my hopes up (i do this w movies too and avoid watching trailers so that it can be my own opinion)
thank you for a great post!