We all know that books are magic. Sometimes it’s for good, and sometimes it’s for evil. And sometimes just because it’s fun.
Which makes writers their hunch-backed, coffee-addicted, addle-brained assistants who are forced to stay up all night digging up dead bodies. Again.
… wait. I think I mixed up those metaphors. But you know what I mean.
So where does hype fit into all this? Hype is what wields the magic … sometimes for good, sometimes for evil … You know what? You get the idea.
Hype can be Glinda, or it can be Elphaba. It can be Gandalf, or it can be Saruman. It can be Voldemort, or it can be Dumbledore. Or I suppose it can be Rincewind, just to keep us all guessing, because who knows?
✦ What Is Hype? ✦
To put it succinctly: hype is a creator of expectations and destroyer of souls. Supposing you still have yours, obviously.
A book is considered hyped when it gets a lot of attention, whether that be attention from readers, bloggers, the publishing industry, that guy on the street corner that yells when he talks because his voice modulator is broken, etc.
Like all things that have ever existed and ever will exist, this can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Just like life, it’s complicated.
Some people will actively avoid hyped
✦ Pros ✦
✿ For some reason, writers like to eat … and have their work recognized? Weird, right? I mean, they’ve only slaved away making this baby for years, and probably, at the risk of their mental health and friendships and already tenuous grasp of reality and sanity. This is great for writers, and obviously publishers. It’s basically a dream come true, and that is fantastic. Who couldn’t be happy for someone in that situation?! Jerks, that’s who. Don’t be a jerk.
✿ Other people have read the book! Because, you know, it’s really frustrating when you read something and the only person you can talk to about it is your cat. And not even he wants to hear about that
✿ If you live under a rock or in a cave or away from “society,”
✿ Hey, fangirls/fanboys gotta … fan? Which is so much easier to do when a bunch of other people have read the book and are talking about it. But let’s be honest … even if no one else had read the book, we were going to fangirl anyway. Repeatedly. Ad nauseam. Until someone reads the dang thing. This just makes it easier for everyone involved.
✿ It’s hard to make friends, but hyped books make it just a little easier. Loved a book? Great! Here’s 100 people who also did. Surely one of them will put up with your weirdness. Hated a book? Here’s another 100 people similar to you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bonded with someone over mutual love or hate for a book.
✿ Great for broadening your horizons and exposing you to books you might not otherwise read. I mean, would I have picked up A Man Called Ove had 1,359 people not recommended it to me? Probably not. Would that have been a mistake? Duh. What would my life be without the splendor that is Fredrik Backman?! I don’t even want to imagine it. Sometimes it’s a good thing when people keep pestering you to read a book. Sometimes.
✦ Cons ✦
✿ Not to sound paranoid or anything, but … I’m pretty sure my friends are lying to me. Maybe I need new friends. But gosh, it’s so hard to find new people to train on such short notice. Maybe we read different books. Maybe they’re just pretending to have read it. Maybe they had a stroke while trying to tell me about this super-hyped book and they said all the wrong words. MAYBE THEY HATE ME AND WANT ME TO SUFFER. Because seriously, this book was so not it, even
✿ WHY MUST YOU HURT ME SO? And not in
✿ Sometimes, the hype isn’t because of the quality of the book. It’s because it hit all the right buzzwords. This is a personal pet peeve of mine. There are genuinely good books that feature LGBTQ characters/relationships, minority characters, unique/non-Western settings, marginalized cultures, etc. So why are there so many not great ones getting all the buzz?!
✿ Some people like their horizons just the way they are, thanks. Sometimes you know you’re going to hate a book. You just know it, the same way you know spinach was invented by someone who hates children. Obviously. But you think … well, maybe I’m wrong. I’m not usually, but hey, look at all these people who disagree. This often ends like a bad relationship: there’s yelling, crying, and something’s on fire. Probably your expectations.
✦ Where I Fall On The Hype Divide ✦
Eish. It’s complicated? I am an excitable little ferret with a super short attention span and will infectiously soak up moods from other people. So
I’ve had more bad luck than good in the past with hyped books. Mostly, I find they’re just lacking … something.
Sometimes it’s good writing. Sometimes it’s good characters. Sometimes it’s a plot in general. But when hyped books, in particular, fall so far from the mark, versus any other book I might pick up, I feel cheated. Because collectively, book society has told me I will love this book, and they were wrong. YOU CAN’T TELL ME WHO TO LOVE!
When I started blogging, I especially fell prey to this, because people love to read reviews about what’s new and hot, right?! Small problem: a lot of these books I read were closer to duds for me. I was always in the very small minority that had a problem with it. There are some super hyped books that I love, of course, but the majority end up being just okay—for me, at least.
The verdict: I, personally, stick to hype from people I know. If someone I respect just can’t shut up about a book, you can bet I’m checking it out. As long as it’s not preceded with, “This book is so bad, you have to check it out.” I’m not here for that noise.
Also, I know how to find them, if they ever lead me astray. Just saying.
Great post–I totally agree with a lot of the points you made! I’m also on the fence about hyped books because the expectations get so high, especially when it seems like everyone and their mother, father, children and pets have read and loved the book (I’m looking at you Daisy Jones)! I always wonder whether or not I should pick it up right away and FOMO always eats at me. It’s a problem 😂 Like you though, I stick to trusted reviewers who have the same opinion as me 90% of the time and so far, they haven’t steered me wrong!
Ugh, FOMO is real. That and peer pressure seem to get me almost every time. xD Because what if this book that sounds meh but everyone says is great is actually the best book everrrr? lol.
There’s something to be said about the power of word of mouth, for sure!
Oh, definitely! FOMO is what always gets to me and about 80% of the time I end up caving and getting the book. Tbh though, I haven’t had any regrets so far, so maybe it’s OK 😛
I mean, if hyped books tend to work for you, go with it! I’m super picky with books, and I know that going in, so I’m really not surprised that I sometimes struggle with hyped books. xD
I totally agree that books that are hitting all the right buzzwords are getting hyped, but that their quality isn’t all that great. I feel some of them are only getting publisher to cash in on the buzzwords or so a publisher can tick a diversity box. For instance, I read Children of Blood and Bone last year. It was good, but not great. I feel it was rushed to print to capitalize on the trend. It had great world building, but the characters fell short as did the writing quality.
But I’ve been afraid to review it since I’m afraid of the negative backlash I might get and name calling that might come my way. Because to some, not liking a hyped book like this could only mean you are one of dozen -ists.
I was so not going to name drop, but now that you mention it … yes, Children of Blood and Bone was one I had in mind. xD I agree that it was good, but if you take away the mention of the Orisha and Yoruba and set it in Europe, it’s a very common cliche YA. That’s not even mentioning that 90% of its plot is ripped straight from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
That’s also true. I’m a daredevil and I reviewed it anyway! I think it’s a shame, though, that people can’t share their honest opinions. Just because you personally don’t like a book doesn’t mean others won’t, and just because others do like it doesn’t make your opinion any less valid.
I know that the Pages Unbound blog had a DNF review of it, and they received some (minor-ish?) backlash from a couple people over it. But there were some good discussions going on there, too.
YES! And Inan was a very poor Zuko rip off. The only character I liked was Amari. The main one was so whiny and spent the majority of the book all “I can’t do it”, in contrast to that opening chapter where she was all “I’m gonna trounce this girl and show how bad ass I am.”
I keep thinking about reviewing it anyway. I’ll have to check their review out and see what they said.
I started out liking Iman specifically because I KNEW he was supposed to be Zuko, and I loved Zuko. But then … it became kind of clear that he was no Zuko. =/
I kept getting so mad at Zelie, because she would constantly do something stupid that would put everyone in danger, and she never took responsibility for it or stopped to think about the effects of her actions. She just did it and oh well if it screwed everyone else.
I’m of the opinion that you should! I mean, there’s a difference between trashing and reviewing, in my opinion. I try not to openly just trash books (pretty sure I haven’t? Or haven’t meant to). But if I don’t like a book, I’m pretty vocal that it’s just not for me, and I had XYZ problems with it. xD