The prompt for this week was “Books I Read/Avoided Because of the Hype” and I was planning to cover both. But first it was much harder to think of ones I’ve avoided as they aren’t in my list of read books nor my TBR, and second, there were quite enough books I read because of the hype to fill the weekly quota. So here they are!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Most of these turned out to be wonderful and well worth the hype. Some I enjoyed at the time (Divergent) but now looking back I don’t think I’d enjoy as much if I read them again. One I didn’t love – People We Meet on Vacation – but it was okay, just not my thing. Some have become favourites: A Man Called Ove, Legends & Lattes, The House in the Cerulean Sea, Snapdragon, TFIOS, Eleanor and Park. There’s only one book I can think of that I read because of the hype and hated – The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. It was not a success, and I will neither recommend it nor read anything else by this author based on it.
What about you guys? Have you found any favourite books based on hype? Have you read any duds that were raved about? Are there any you’ve avoided because you fear disappointment?
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.
I generally avoid overhyped books, so it took me until last year to read A MAN CALLED OVE. Surprise! I LOVED it. I now list it among my favorite books of all time. I also read LEGENDS & LATTES finally because of the hype. I liked it, didn’t love it, and probably won’t read more in the series. My reaction to DIVERGENT is the same as yours – I enjoyed it when I read it years ago, but I don’t know what I’d think of it now. Interesting how our reading tastes change over time, isn’t it??
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Me too! I loved Ove so much when I did read it. I enjoyed Legends & Lattes. I would read a sequel, but the prequel didn’t really interest me. I am not interested in the fighting and stuff that came before, just the calmer portion of the story! Yeah, my tastes definitely change. I’m also realizing that my concept of a book I read years ago might not be accurate at all, and if I re-read it it might be a totally different thing now!
I tend to avoid hype when possible, but it’s great that you enjoyed so many of these! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
I get that. Sometimes hype just kills it for me! I’m trying not to get books solely based on hype, but only if I would want to read them and am interested in them without it. I often wait a bit and see if I’m still into them when the excitement has faded!
Both Legends & Lattes and The House in the Cerulean Sea felt like nice warm hugs. 🙂
You are so, so right!
I’ve read a few of the books from your list, and a couple others are on my TBR. I have a tendency to buy books because of hype/name recognition and then not read them forever, so I forget what the hype was, which probably helps me overall enjoy the books. I hope you have a great week.
Hahaha! That sounds so, so familiar! I’m trying not to succumb to the hype as much, but to wait and see if a book still appeals to me months after that initial excitement. Then I’ll give it a try if the book itself seems to be one I am interested in!
I’m glad Legends & Lattes lived up to the hype! I think it’s been bagging several awards too recently
It was so good. Glad to hear about the awards!
I’ve been debating reading Snapdragon! I will have to read it.
I really enjoyed it – didn’t take long, but had a lot of depth. I loved the characters and relationships, as well as the story!
Yoooo, Legends and Lattes is on my list as well! And thankfully I also enjoyed it when I gave it a shot 🙂 I’m not surprised to hear you’re not big on Grady Hendrix as I feel like he probably has a fairly polarizing style. I have also avoided reading anything by him as I just don’t think it’s going to work for me either 😅
Here’s my post for this week as well!
I loved Legends & Lattes! Ugh, yeah, I didn’t like what he did with the story, how he treated his female characters, and that the book did not end up at all like it appeared based on the description. It felt like a bait and switch, which I never like much, but then added a lot of problematic elements as the cherry on top. I hated it.
The only books I’ve ever read because of the hype was the Harry Potter series. And honestly I read them much later because my grandkids were reading them It was so worth it to me.
I’ve seen a few of these but not read them.
That’s a great reason to read them! I read them in my 20s, and they were good, but it’s so much better reading them with my kid!
From your list, I’ve read Legends and Lattes (yes, due to the hype) and A Man Called Ove (before the hype really hit) and loved them both. But overall, I tend to avoid books that are hyped a lot because they don’t hold up for me.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/lets-hype-these-books-ten-books-deserving-more-hype/
I get that! I have been known to succumb to hype and then either buy a book and never read it, or start it and realize I wasn’t ever that interested other than the hype. I try to wait out hype these days, and really put some thought into whether I’m interested in the book aside from the buzz before I get it! It’s so disappointing when a book is getting praised all over and just… isn’t all that.