Some times one particular book seems to be popping up everywhere. Maybe part of the reason for that is that as a blogger I tend to gravitate towards the blogs of people who I know have a similar reading taste to me. Some times though, that hype is more manufactured that organic and there are times when it isn't easy to tell the difference.
There are times when seeing the same book over and over again makes me want to go out and get it, and read it straight away, but there are times when it has the opposite effect.Can a book possibly be that good? What happens if I am the only person who doesn't get what the attraction is? It's not the kind of thing that I normally read? And yet, if I hadn't stepped outside of my comfort zone, I would have missed out on some of my favourite reads ever. Books like The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon, and just this year The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (the windy theme of the examples given are purely coincidental!) are both books that I wouldn't have necessarily thought that I would love but I did.
The Help then made several Best of 2009 lists outside of the book blogosphere as well, which bought even more attention to it. At the end of the day, the only way to find out for sure is to actually sit down and read the book to make up your own mind, so I think that is what I am going to do this afternoon. Before I do that though, I thought I would ask a few questions:
Does lots of hype around a book make you want to read it, or is it more likely to turn you off a bit?Have there been books that everyone else seems to love that make you go meh?
What's the last really hyped book that you read and loved, and wished you had of read earlier?
Are there any new books out at the moment that are getting plenty of hype that you think people should go out of their way to read?
And now I am off to read.... or maybe sleep. You never can tell what is going to happen once I lay down on that couch!
I loved, loved The Help. Hope you do too!
ReplyDeleteIt depends on where I see it. I trust some sources more than others. Sometimes I'll read an incredibly popular book years after everyone's read it. It makes it easier to get from the library.
I usually try to distance myself from the hype. Sometimes I find that it has the opposite effect on me - I feel like I have to read and like the book, but the rebellious part of me kicks in and fights it the whole way. The Help is currently on my bedside table, and I'm terrified to start it. Can I really just let myself read it without being influenced either way? I'm going to try!
ReplyDeleteOh, and there are plenty of books that lots of people have loved and were super-hyped that I just did not like it all. But the hype did at least get me to give them a shot, when I would never have picked them up otherwise.
Depends on who's 'hyping' as to how much I believe them... But I have to say, The Help is an awesome book. I borrowed it from the library, but if I'd bought it it would be on my keeper shelf, to read another day. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteMalvina
I seem to go "meh" over a lot of books that other people love, but The Help wasn't one of them. I really liked it a lot.
ReplyDeleteI tend to wait until the hype dies down before I read a book, if I'm interested in it. I did go out and buy the Millennium trilogy, but it was a real chore to get through them. I wanted to know what the big deal was, and I'm still asking the same question! That's it for me and bestsellers.
Beautiful Malice, by Rebecca James, has had a lot of publicity because of the publishing deal she scored. I enjoyed the book a lot, and I'd recommend it to others. Well worth a read.
It really depends with me - if there is a lot of hype about a book that is in a genre I typically enjoy, I'll usually go for it. Otherwise, I'm more hesitant. I haven't read The Help yet, either, but plan to listen to it on audio soon.
ReplyDeleteI go both ways, too. I think if it's a book that sounds interesting to me, hype makes me want to go buy it and read it ASAP. If I don't think I'll be interested, hype annoys me. LOL. The Millennium trilogy that Violet mentioned above is one that annoys me. Everyone seems to love it but I'm pretty sure I won't, so I've managed to avoid it so far.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, I haven't read The Help yet either ;) I know what you mean about the hype though. Sometimes it makes me want a book, often it turns me off and sickens me a bit. I'd rather see 2 or 3 reviews and then not hear about it for awhile.
ReplyDeleteThe book I wish I'd read sooner would have to be Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk. It was only hyped by a few, but still, incredible book. And everyone needs to read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese :)
Ditto, haven't read The Help either. I finished up The Swan Thieves this week which got a lot of hype early on and it was meh for me. I will admit to falling for some hype but I try to ignore it if possible but sometimes a book just looks so good I must have it. :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't decided if I want to read The Help or not. I don't care for a lot of hype, nine times out of ten I come away very disappointed. And yes, I've read a book or two everyone else with similar tastes love and I come away scratching my head wondering if we read the same book. That's life :)
ReplyDeleteI read The Help awhile ago, but it helped (pun!) that it was an ARC from Amazon Vine, so I hadn't spent money on it. But I did love it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, depending on who is "hyping" a book, I may or may not grab it.
I'll go out of my comfort zone sometimes, but definitely not vampire land. Not for me.
So if a book everyone loves is from that genre, I just go on about my business, enjoying the books I know I'll love.
My salon:
http://laurel-rainsnowsaccidentallife.blogspot.com/2010/05/sunday-salon-may-16.html
I know how you feel... I actually DO still have to read The Help too. We've all been where you are.
ReplyDeleteMy book club is currently reading The Help. Personally, I loved it. My best friend was reading it on the plane earlier this week. She was sitting across the aisle from me and all of a sudden I looked over and noticed her crying!!
ReplyDeleteMy book club is currently reading The Help. Personally, I loved it. My best friend was reading it on the plane earlier this week. She was sitting across the aisle from me and all of a sudden I looked over and noticed her crying!!
ReplyDeleteMy book club is currently reading The Help. Personally, I loved it. My best friend was reading it on the plane earlier this week. She was sitting across the aisle from me and all of a sudden I looked over and noticed her crying!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm one of those people that hasn't read it either. I plan to, but I just never get to things in a timely fashion.
ReplyDeleteHype really has no impact on my interest, except it maybe brings something to my attention. I read what I read because I think it sounds interesting.
I also react to hype in different ways. If it's organic hype, then it definitely gets my attention, particularly if it's a book people with tastes similar to mine like. However, if it's "forced" hype, via blog tours and the like, then I usually don't like it.
ReplyDeleteI also try not to read books too soon after hype because I feel like I have unrealistic expectations for them and then nothing can really live up to those.
When I said I was the last person to read The Help, I got at least 10 comments from others who hadn't read it. :)
ReplyDeleteHype cuts both ways for me. Sometimes I want to be in the know and read what everyone is reading. Sometimes I want to be reading something on my own.
1) I find there comes a point where my interest in a book dissolves into disinterest when it comes to books being discussed at the same time on multiple sites (difference between 5 sites and 10 for example), and after I've read one or two posts I won't read the others.
ReplyDelete3) I really enjoyed Twilight, for all it's problems. I had been thinking I'd find it just about ok. And I missed the boat on that one, I hesitated before posting my review because overall discussion of it had moved on from reviews.
I tend to avoid hyped books because I haven't had the best luck with them. Some examples would be The Glass Castle, Eat Pray Love, Water for Elephants, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and The Hunger Games. I could recognize what other readers might like about them, but they just weren't my style. One book I read due to hype and ended up loving and continuing with the series was The Lightning Thief.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only one who sometimes was drawn to a book because of all the hype but then turned off by others, fearing they couldn't be that wonderful. It's so contradictory but there you have it.
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few books I've read that had gotten rave reviews, some I loved and some I found a little disappointing. And then many I have yet to get to but I do hope to read one of these days.
I hope you have a great week, Marg!
I'm one of the ten that is going 'The Help'? Never even heard of it! But I do know what you mean. The recent Persephone week had everybody gushing over them, and, not having access to any but wanting to gush over the seemingly lovely Persephones myself, felt a little left out.
ReplyDeleteI'm not that adverse to 'hyped' up books from fellow bloggers, more specifically those I follow regularly and know that we have similar tastes. Hype from bestseller lists, etc have the opposite effect on me and I stay away for a long time. There have been several hyped up books that I only started reading towards the end - Harry Potter (well, I started when they released the fourth book) and recently the Larsson books.
Personally though, regardless of where the popularity is, I prefer to find something more unique for myself.
I haven't read The Help either, although it is on my wishlist because I've heard so many good things about it.
ReplyDeleteI recognize your hesitation when a book gets a lot of attention and rave reviews. I think to me it really depends on who the blogs are that recommend certain books. There are certain bloggers that I know I can trust blindly when it comes to books, so if several of them rae about a book, I know I have to get out and buy it straight away.
I do have a copy of The Help on the shelf, but haven't yet read it. I am a little weird, in that if I see too much hype on a particular book, I tend to avoid it. I am not sure why that is, but most of the time I tend to get burnt out with the book in question.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this one yet and of course I want too! :)
ReplyDeleteFor me if I see a book all over the blogosphere and it's something I would like, I do put it on my list but tend to put it off for a while until the buzz dies down a bit. I figure that way there will be less build up and hopefully I won't be going in expecting the best book ever! Sure chances that then I'd be disappointed you know.
Anyway, hope you are enjoying you read!
Well.. I just read Saving CeeCee Honeycutt this weekend and like it. But... I expected more. And the reason for that was the tons of raving reviews I read about the book. I realize now what everyone was raving about, but that still doesn't help it. Sometimes, I keep putting off reading a book because it is hyped up. Sometimes, I go and read it right away. Most times, I go in without any expectations. Just this one time, I expected the novel to be more than it was, and while I liked it, I couldn't feel the magic.
ReplyDeleteI tend to shy away from books that have too much hype surrounding them. I will read them eventually but I will wait, sometimes for several years. I don't know why I resist them but I usually do.
ReplyDeleteFor me it depends on where the hype is coming from. If it's from trusted friends or bloggers then I'm usually eager to take their suggestions. If it's from someone who has different tastes, or from a major media outlet then I'm less apt to jump on the bandwagon right away.
ReplyDeleteCase in point - Twilight. It seemed like I had heard a million recommendations coming at me from all sides saying how wonderful it is. But they weren't recommendations from anyone who has similar reading tastes, and I just don't like vampire books anyway. I waited a while and sure enough those people whose opinions I value didn't really care for Twilight either.
One example of where I was wrong about a book was Harry Potter. I didn't read the series for years because I'm not into magic stories in general. Once I realized what fantastic fantasy they were I was hooked.
Oh, and it took me a while to read the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness, but I'm loving it.
I hope you like The Help! I thought it was great!
* Ooh these are fun questions!
ReplyDeleteDoes lots of hype around a book make you want to read it, or is it more likely to turn you off a bit?
* Neither - it'll still come down to whether it sounds interesting to me.
Have there been books that everyone else seems to love that make you go meh?
* I thought The Gargoyle was TERRIBLE. Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was alright, but I didn't understand all the excitement around it.
What's the last really hyped book that you read and loved, and wished you had of read earlier?
* Can't think of any.
Are there any new books out at the moment that are getting plenty of hype that you think people should go out of their way to read?
* I really enjoyed Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It's an unusual romance, which is something I enjoy a lot.