Inspired by Book Buzzers, Book Girls Don't Cry is a weekly feature where we each discuss/vent/advise on the chosen weekly bookish topic. Don't miss Jenni on Mondays, and Amy on Saturdays:
Book Hype: A pro or a con?
We were all, at one time or other, taken over by book hype. A book that is raved about, that has so many fantastic reviews, that you dive into it with such high expectations. And then the crash is hard and fast! I'm sure most of you have a book in mind already, eh?
When book hype is a bad thing:
Did I enjoy this book? Barf! No. I was left incredibly let down when, after all the brouhaha, it ended up being NOT epic. NOT better than chocolate. I will NOT make babies with this book, lovelies! Y'all let me down! But the worst part, if I wasn't expecting such a so-good-you-slapped-your-momma read from the start, I might have enjoyed it more. Never did I think it was a terrible book, sure there are issues that I would have had regardless, but good when you expect good is much better than good when you're expecting something better than sliced bread! Maybe you just don't know how much I love bread? Dude I swear, if this was the problem the whole time... *shakes head* *clings to loaf*
Hype will make us read books we shouldn't be reading! Period! I very rarely like fantasy, I don't like books where I need notes to follow the complicated world, politics or language. I shouldn't have read these books! Although I didn't hate Grave Mercy--3 stars--it's still a far cry from whatever everyone else read. If it wasn't for the hype, I would never have picked these up. I will blame this on nothing other than peer pressure! >.<
When book hype is a good thing:
On the other hand, I would have never read these books if it wasn't for the hype. The Sea of Tranquility is my genre, but that cover would never get me to check out even the blurb. The others: not my genre at all. Fantasy--not me. Angel books--Barf. But these books completely rocked it. So I guess sometimes, hype can be good, or maybe we're just easy to manipulate! ;)
When bad book hype, is badder:
First--note that I didn't dislike any of these books, I just didn't love them--but maybe I could have? This is the opposite of the Mara Dyer situation: bad hype puts a bad taste in your mouth! You start a book knowing your trusted reviewers disliked it, and it makes you pick at every single annoyance that you see. Maybe things you would not have noticed if not for you expecting the awful at every page. You're just waiting for the shit to fly, right? Would I have enjoyed these books more had I not seen all the bitching? Maybe so.
Living up:
Now let's see books that lived up to the hype *claps hands slowly*--though I cannot promise you'll agree (poo to that).
All in all, while some may think hype is a good thing--especially authors are publishers who get excited that their book is taking off at high speed, I have had a lot of bad experiences with it. I also see people--and do it myself--avoid books completely due to the hype that's now given us extreme expectations which cannot possible be met. It's like gambling in a way. You may get screwed royally, but you might also find your next BEST BOOK EVAH! So basically, from my post today, you have learned absolutely nothing! :D
Oh except this: I love bread!
When book hype is a bad thing:
--The coulda shoulda woulda
Did I enjoy this book? Barf! No. I was left incredibly let down when, after all the brouhaha, it ended up being NOT epic. NOT better than chocolate. I will NOT make babies with this book, lovelies! Y'all let me down! But the worst part, if I wasn't expecting such a so-good-you-slapped-your-momma read from the start, I might have enjoyed it more. Never did I think it was a terrible book, sure there are issues that I would have had regardless, but good when you expect good is much better than good when you're expecting something better than sliced bread! Maybe you just don't know how much I love bread? Dude I swear, if this was the problem the whole time... *shakes head* *clings to loaf*
-The shouldn't have been
Hype will make us read books we shouldn't be reading! Period! I very rarely like fantasy, I don't like books where I need notes to follow the complicated world, politics or language. I shouldn't have read these books! Although I didn't hate Grave Mercy--3 stars--it's still a far cry from whatever everyone else read. If it wasn't for the hype, I would never have picked these up. I will blame this on nothing other than peer pressure! >.<
When book hype is a good thing:
-The shouldn't have been, that was
On the other hand, I would have never read these books if it wasn't for the hype. The Sea of Tranquility is my genre, but that cover would never get me to check out even the blurb. The others: not my genre at all. Fantasy--not me. Angel books--Barf. But these books completely rocked it. So I guess sometimes, hype can be good, or maybe we're just easy to manipulate! ;)
When bad book hype, is badder:
-The might have been
First--note that I didn't dislike any of these books, I just didn't love them--but maybe I could have? This is the opposite of the Mara Dyer situation: bad hype puts a bad taste in your mouth! You start a book knowing your trusted reviewers disliked it, and it makes you pick at every single annoyance that you see. Maybe things you would not have noticed if not for you expecting the awful at every page. You're just waiting for the shit to fly, right? Would I have enjoyed these books more had I not seen all the bitching? Maybe so.
Living up:
Now let's see books that lived up to the hype *claps hands slowly*--though I cannot promise you'll agree (poo to that).
All in all, while some may think hype is a good thing--especially authors are publishers who get excited that their book is taking off at high speed, I have had a lot of bad experiences with it. I also see people--and do it myself--avoid books completely due to the hype that's now given us extreme expectations which cannot possible be met. It's like gambling in a way. You may get screwed royally, but you might also find your next BEST BOOK EVAH! So basically, from my post today, you have learned absolutely nothing! :D
Oh except this: I love bread!
What are some books that disappointed YOU based on the hype? And which ones lived up to it?
Also, don't forget to leave suggestions for future topics you'd like to see! :)
You know you love me!
Xoxo, Book Girl!
