Friday, October 9, 2015

Killed By The Hype Monster

If you know me, then you'll know that I'm not someone that really lets the hype for certain books get to her. I avoided City of Bones until the series was finished. I'm still avoiding Twilight and John Green. But that doesn't mean I'm immune to hype. Especially when fantasy books (aka: my bread and dairy-free butter) are the ones getting hyped.

This year I have been making it my goal to read all the books that I've bought that were released this year. That's a lot more than I was expecting and mixed in with some 'eh? what's that?' books have been a few that were hyped.

Let me clarify that. When I say hyped, I mean HYPED!!


BECAUSE YOU'LL LOVE IT!
So, I pick up the book and start reading and...it's good, I guess...I mean...I don't hate it...but I'm bored. (Seriously, happened to me with one of the most hyped fantasy books of the year.) Everyone has read the book and loves it. People that don't usually read these types of books are saying it's the best ever. (That should be a pretty big red flag warning right there.)

I'm not saying I regret reading the book. Not that at all. But I am wondering if maybe the book hadn't been so hyped if I would have liked it more? I was expecting it to be awesome - because it sounds awesome and everyone says it's awesome - that my expectations were built up to such a degree that I wonder if it could have ever met them.

Hype for a book is a great thing. It catches people's attention and makes everyone excited for the book. But I kind of wonder if hype might be bad for the book. I know getting burned had made me a lot more cautious about hype surrounding certain books. And also made me have more reasonable expectations for books.

Sound off. I'd love to know what you think about hype and your experiences with hyped books.
credit to here for picture