Now, this discussion idea has been on my list for a very long time, but I never wanted to post it because it’s talked about all the time.
But yesterday over on my bookstagram, I asked if there were any topics you guys wanted to see talked about here on my blog, and this answer came up…so here we are!
Hopefully this won’t seem dull considering how much this topic is mentioned. I’ll try to make it interesting 😀
Let’s talk about overhyped books!
What classes as an overhyped book?
Well, pretty much any book that’s talked about constantly on social media receiving amazing reviews, either during the run up to it’s release or after…and you don’t like it as much as everyone else.
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It’s obvious that the main reason for overhyped books is social media. We bookworms love talking about the books we adore, and social media – whether it be Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, anything – gives us a place to rave about them.
But as we all know, this overhypeness (yep, I’m making up words now) can result in us being disappointed if we don’t think the book is as great as everyone makes out.
And then it all feels so very awkward when you post your review and it goes against everything you’ve ever been told about the book.
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But are overhyped books a problem?
Honestly, I don’t think so.
I know it can be disappointing if you don’t like a book that’s been hyped up so so much…but that disappointment can happen with any book. Even if you pick up a book you’ve never heard anyone talk about before, you could still potentially be disappointed by it.
I think the biggest problem it can cause is if people don’t handle the difference in opinions well.
You know, when arguments happen because people don’t respect each other’s opinion. Because people seem to forget that not everybody will enjoy the book. I mean think about it, how extraordinary would it be if one author managed to please absolutely everyone with their words?
But from what I’ve seen, most of the reading community DO respect each others opinions. I’ve only ever seen arguments happen if the person who doesn’t have great opinions on the book starts being unreasonably rude towards the author. I know there are cases where it all gets a bit out of hand for no apparent reason, but like I said, most people just go along the lines of “Oh its a shame you didn’t enjoy this as much as everyone else! Oh well.”
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My opinion
Let’s be real, I’m one of those bookworms that ADDS to all the hype.
I never shut up about the books I love, and most of the time they’re books that already have an unbelievable amount of hype.
Because all those books and series that are hyped up? I usually love them!
All of Sarah J Maas’ books, The Raven Boys, The Lunar Chronicles, and Me Before You are all examples of books that have a ridiculous amount of hype, but I’m part of that hype.
Although I have to say, while there’s not many hyped up books that I don’t like, there’s quite a few that I used to love, but now…not so much. All these books I loved when I read them, but it’s been so long now that I’ve realized that they’re nowhere near as good as I thought they were originally.
And I’ll list them below, because I actually really enjoy reading about unpopular opinions, so maybe you guys will be intrigued too!
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My unpopular opinions
Now, these are either books that I didn’t enjoy as much as I should, or books I’ve changed my mind about. I’ll explain each one as I go:
– All the John Green books I’ve read.
Now, I’ve read most of them. The Fault In Our Stars I rated 5/5 I think, Paper Towns 4/5, An Abundance of Katherines 4/5 I think, and Looking for Alaska 3.5/5. So none of them got bad ratings. I think Looking For Alaska shows just how much I’ve changed my mind about John Green’s books, as that’s the one I read most recently – though you can hardly call it “recently” since it was read last summer. I remember enjoying them all at the time, but now I’m just…“meh” about them all.
– The Divergent series
A series I was obsessed with while reading it. So much so that I HAD to buy the hardcover of the last book because I simply couldn’t wait for the paperback to be released, like I always do. How I regret that decision now because damn that random hardcover is annoying on my shelves. But anyway, now I realize that this series went downhill for me with each book, and think that maybe I’d still have a good opinion of Divergent if it was just that one book.
– The Maze Runner series
Another series I enjoyed when reading. But when I finally got round to reading the second book last year, it didn’t sit well with me. I found it less interesting, and won’t even be finishing this series. I mean, I enjoyed the 2nd film more than the book. Which says a lot when it comes to us bookworms, am I right?
– Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
I read this book last year after seeing loads of hype about it. It’s a book…about books. What’s not to love? Well, unfortunately for me, a lot. I really didn’t like this one, but I know that thousands of people adore it. And luckily for me, no one ripped me to shreds in the comments of my review 😀
– Solitaire by Alice Oseman
This is actually quite a recent one. So so so many people adore Alice Oseman’s books, but I just didn’t get it. I didn’t hate the book, I just found it very stereotypical and I’m not about that life. Again, no one attacked me in the comments of my review so I’m glad for that. And I have no negative feeling towards the author by the way – I actually applaud her for writing two books so young! Good on her!
So now it’s time for YOU to join the discussion and share your unpopular opinions!
Which form of social media do you see the most book hype on?
Is book hype a problem?
Do you usually enjoy the books most hyped up, like I do, or avoid them because you’re usually disappointed?
Are there any books you thought you wouldn’t like but tried it from the hype, and ended up loving?
Share your unpopular opinions! Which popular books didn’t you enjoy as much as everybody else? Don’t worry, I won’t hold a grudge if it’s one I love 🙂
Are there any books you’ve changed your mind about over the years, like I have?
Join the discussion in the comments!
Until next time…
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Come and visit me!
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A frolic through fiction 
Book Hype itself isn’t a problem, but it can definitely be really frustrating when you end up hating a OH’d book & can’t find too many people who feel the same you do.
I think Ready Player One and Fates & Furies are two of the most overhyped books of the past couple years. And it’s so rough when friends that have read these books told me how awesome they were & that I would LOVE them (especially with RPO) and they ended being….well, not good to me. I really wanted to like em, but I simply cant.
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It’s always worse when it’s your friends that have an opposite opinion to you! But at least with the books we don’t end up enjoying as much as we thought, we can get a better idea of what books we’re likely to enjoy in the future.
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I completely agree about John Green’s books! I really liked The Fault in Our Stars and thought Paper Towns was a lot of fun … but I couldn’t stand Looking for Alaska.
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I feel like Looking For Alaska has the most hype as well, if you don’t count the movie hype from The Fault In Our Stars. Everyone seemed to find it amazing, but when I read it I couldn’t help thinking “Is this it?” I could tell WHY some people might like it, but for me…not really my cup of tea.
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My main problem was that I couldn’t stand the characters. I found them annoying and pretentious.
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All John Green’s characters just seem the same to me. I remember saying that in my review at least.
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I agree 100% with your feelings on the divergent books, in fact pretty much the exact same thing happened to me.
In the end I just decided to sell my books because I’m not a fan of having books on my shelf that do not represent my actual reading taste.
This was a great post I really enjoyed reading it! 🙂
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I’m glad you enjoyed this!
I feel like the movies really didn’t help either. I know to keep the book and movie separate, but I feel like if I liked the movies, I’d have been more forgiving of the books…but I don’t like the movies all that much either!
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Me either they are not very good at all
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I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of overhyped books. It’s not that I think they’re all bad, but I’ve had such a bad experience with them that now when I hear about hyped books, I’m so so cautious about them. I read all the reviews I can, and practically look out for the bad reviews so I can make sure it’s not just me. But some books are of course well worth the hype. I’ve only read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and really liked that one 🙂
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It’s understandable to be cautious. I mean, it can be hard not loving a book that everyone else loves. But like you said, some are worth the hype. It’s all about spotting the ones that are good for you 🙂
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I really despise John Green’s books, I was fine with The Fault in Our Stars, but it didn’t really upset me. I barely got through both Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns with each a 2 star rating. I just always found them odd and the characters TOO quirky. I really loved Ink and Bone but I do see how some people couldn’t like it. This was a great discussion 🙂
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Thank you! Glad you enjoyed reading it!
I think John Green books are a bit hit-or-miss when it comes to whether people like them or not. It doesn’t seem that bad to not like them anymore, whereas when TFIOS was movie adapted, I swear people would rip into you if you said you didn’t like it! Dear me.
And I’m glad you enjoyed Ink and Bone more than I did! 🙂
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I agree, I don’t think book hype is an issue unless your opinions are trashed by people who DID love the book. I’ve not actually ever come across this in the book blogging community though, so it’s all good! 😀 I totally agree with you on every series you’ve mentioned: Divergent and The Maze Runner were both big disappointments for me, and I’ve not read another John Green book since finishing TFIOS. Oh well! 🙂 x
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It’s a shame when you don’t enjoy books everyone else seems to love, but it can’t be helped. It’s lucky that no one has ever argued with you about it 😀
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Haha! I don’t have many bookish friends, so I’ve never had an in-person argument about a book. Other than when I try and get my non-reading sister to read ANY book haha! It is a shame, but it would be boring if we liked all the same books, so it’s probably a good thing. 🙂
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We’ve said this before, but we’re so sick of hearing people rave about The Grisha Trilogy. It was such a weak collection of books💀
Also that Laini Taylor series….the Daughter of Smoke and Bone books. We barely made it through book one.
Our only real problem with over hyped books however is that from what we’ve seen a lot of the adoration and love and all that pushy positive stuff doesn’t come with adequate back up. There’s no real reasoning or breakdown of why these beloved books are so, well, beloved.
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With the Grisha Trilogy, I did enjoy it but I don’t think I even fawned over it as much as everyone else seems to. And now that I’ve read Six of Crows (which is SO MUCH BETTER!) I look back and wonder if I should’ve rated the Grisha trilogy lower.
I’ve not yet read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but I feel like I’ll enjoy it. We’ll see though 🙂
And yeah, it’s quite annoying when people are raving none stop about how much they adore something, but can’t actually explain why. Sure, it can be hard to explain – lord, I know that from some of my reviews – but you could at least try.
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An attempt at breaking down all the reasons one loves is a book is all we ask😂 Six of Crows is definitely amazing. All those schemes and twists and all the faults of the wonderful characters. Beautiful!
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