Some books are everywhere.
No matter what you do, no matter whether you want to see them or not, when you’re a book blogger and part of the book blogging community, some books will inevitably be shoved in your face once, twice, a thousand times a day, a month, a year. These are the books that you will see ending up on yearly’s best reads, the books that were on last year’s most anticipated reads and so on. And all of a sudden, you’re finding yourself hyped for them all, adding them compulsively to your TBR and screaming about them with everyone else.
Take Children of Blood and Bone, for instance. I hold absolutely no grudge whatsoever about this book, let me be clear: I read and was astonished by how BRILLIANT this book is. I also learned the author is like, my age and that shocked me, but that’s not the point. This book was probably one of the most hyped books of the year and it all started last year, with most anticipated reads lists and will end this year with most awesome books of the year. EVERYONE was talking about it. EVERYONE has read it, reviewed it, instagrammed it and so on.
Well, almost everyone, obviously. As I’m writing this, I realized I haven’t reviewed it. Seemed useless though, everyone has.
I have tried to ignore it, tried to deny it, tried to cover my ears and eyes, but thing is, when you’re a book blogger, you can’t avoid the hype. No one is immune.
But, Marie, you’re asking yourself as you’re reading this: why the heck would you write a post telling us HOW to avoid the hype and then start by telling us that we can’t?!
When there’s a will, there is a way. You can avoid the bookish hype if you take the easy way and just, well, close your eyes to everything and do this:
- Avoid twitter. It’s well-known that everyone there is screaming about books even months and years before they are even released. Book deals are announced and shared on twitter so all of a sudden a book can get all the hype while it doesn’t even have a proper synopsis just yet and comes out in 2022.
- Avoid instagram and bookstagram, because everyone is most likely posting photos of the same books, over and over again and hype works that way, too.
- While you’re at it, avoid book blogs altogether. You’re destined to see the same books in these anticipated lists, the same books reviewed by everyone at the same time, all year long.
Just close your eyes on everything.
I know. This method might be quite efficient, because that way you’ll never see the same books all over again and you won’t get all excited and hyped up like everyone else is.
I also know that yes THIS METHOD completely sucks and, as a book blogger, you WANT to be part of the community, to read blogs, scroll through twitter and instagram while you should be writing blog posts. You WANT to be part of it all and if you avoid everything, you can’t really be.
I’ll never be one to advice you to moderate your time reading blogs, because I easily spend an hour every day doing so and I love it. I can tell you to moderate your time on social media because it’s better for your mental health and better to avoid the hype a little bit, too.
I can also advice you this REAL method. It’s not foolproof. It hasn’t prevented me from getting hyped up about books. But hell, isn’t that what we, book bloggers, are here for, too? This advice below, though, has helped me A LOT when it comes to… let’s say, moderating my bookish frenzy.
? How to really avoid the book hype (or try)
1️⃣ Take a minute with yourself to THINK.
Before jumping up and down, screaming just like everyone else about the book, frantically adding it to your TBR, buying it or borrowing it, pre-ordering it, asking for a review copy or hitting that request button on NetGalley or Edelweiss….
THINK. Ask yourself if you really want to read this book: does the synopsis really interest you or are you just adding it because everyone else is? Are you really that into it?
It seems simple, but I can’t tell you how many times I had a NEED TO GET A book because everyone had been talking about it, how many books I have on my Goodreads TBR that are there because everyone mentioned them, and I don’t even know what exactly they’re about.
Now, I’m taking some time for myself to think about it. If the book sounds great the next morning as well, if it sounds REALLY cool or if it just sounded cool at the moment because everyone was talking about it. I feel better for it, because I’m hyped for books I WANT TO BE HYPED FOR and not for every book out there.
2️⃣ WAIT.
I know us bookworms are familiar with waiting for these books we have been eagerly anticipating, screaming about them months and months before. Waiting an extra few months sound terrible at times, but let me tell you – some other times, it doesn’t seem so bad.
I waited YEARS before finally reading Six of Crows, one of the most hyped books in the book blogging world ever. YEARS. I’ve seen the hype, the reviews, everyone screaming about it. Yet, I trusted my gut and knew that I wasn’t sure whether or not it would be for me. I am glad that I waited for the hype to die down – or at least, for the book to be a little less everywhere in my face, to read it. In the end, I really liked it, but the expectations and pressure from the community was lessened and I felt better about it.
Also, when you wait, your own expectations for the book might be a bit lower, with time and that’s good. Getting in with too many expectations might be how a book ends up disappointing you.
3️⃣ Just learn to live with it.
Being a book blogger and being part of this community is BEING part of the hype, too, making it live, really. We’re surrounded by it, we’re swimming in it and even if we want to, there’s no way to avoid it. Sometimes, getting away a bit and focus on our backlist titles we have waiting for us might be good. Some other times, just ignoring the world might work, too.
Yet, the best thing to do with it all and to keep on going is to keep our minds open and alert.
They’re the ones knowing what we really like and which books might be really for us, while others might just be really hyped, but books that we’d never enjoy. They’re the ones knowing that, even if that REALLY HYPED book seems a bit our of our comfort zone, we might really enjoy it and might want to give it a try. They’re the ones knowing the books we WANT to be hyping up because they’re our kinds of books.
In the end of it all, to avoid the hype, all we can do is trust our bookworms minds and hope that they will know the right books to be hyped about, for us.
How do you handle book hype? Do you tend to add all the books everyone’s talking about to your TBRs? (Not judging. I’m doing that too sometimes).
What was one really hyped book that you’ve read and loved? And one you didn’t really liked? Let me know in comments!
I’m a strange case, because the super hyped books generally doesn’t affect me. XD maybe I will add them or read them, but always after months (or years) after the hype. For example, I read Throne of glass only this year. And I haven’t read Children of Blood and Bone!
Aww well that’s nice that you’re not too affected by it all! And it can only be for the best – I find that waiting can be good, lessen our expectations and everything, at least for me 😀
Thank you so much for stopping by, Diana! <3
For me, even though I get hyped up for some books, I stay away from NetGalley and other sites that will allow me to require ARCs. I usually just added the hyped books to my Goodreads TBR list if the synopsis interests me. Another tip that has helped me is to wait until the library buys the books. Since I’m living in Hong Kong, it usually takes a long time for a recently released English book to appear in the library catalogue. By that time, the hype would have likely died down and then I could go into the book with a lower expectation and being less hyped up.
Oh that’s a nice technique! Yes I guess it’s a great thing to stay away from NetGalley and the temptation haha 🙂
It’s amazing that you get books at your library though, even if you have to wait a little bit! At least by then the hype has died down and you can enjoy them better, too 🙂
thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts on the topic! 🙂
Book hype can be insane – and that’s even an understatement? I’ve fallen prey to it more often than I care to admit, but it’s also helped me learning my lesson really.
Every time I browsed a bookstore, I’d see certain books that I KNEW were all over Bookstagram / book blogs and I was like “Okay, I’m buying it” without even knowing what it’s about. Seriously. I did that. Took me a while to get over it [although, admittedly, I did discover some gems that way], but I did eventually.
Nowadays I’m more of a “let it sit for a while”-kind of person. I’ll add books to my “want to read” like a lunatic but once I’m actually book shopping? Sanity is ON. I reread blurbs twice or thrice before I make up my mind, wanting to make sure it’s something *I* would like to read and not something *everyone else* simply loves to hype about.
[In saying that, it also helps tons when it comes to NetGalley because I keep a list with galleys that interest me and once in a while I go over all of them, taking the ones that don’t really interest me at all off. After a couple of days, my list is way shorter and I might actually request the remaining ones.]
Yay for this post! 😀
I can SO relate to that! I don’t have bookshops or libraries close-by with books in English so that doesn’t happen often, but every time I’m in England or in Paris or well, where there are English bookshops… I see all of these books. These books everyone has read and mentioned on their blogs and, even if I don’t get them right away, I TAKE them in my hands and think, damn, I’ve seen that book everywhere ahah. the hype is STRONG.
I think that’s such an amazing method to have and I’m trying to do that more and more as well, even if sometimes… I want to cave haha 😀 I think it’s been good though, I add a bit less books to my TBR and more importantly, I buy books only when I’m certain about them, too 😀
Thank you so, so, so much for sharing your thoughts on the topic! 😀
Exactly! I have two bookstores that have a small English section over here but it’s always paperbacks and.. I prefer hardcovers? Especially if it’s sequels of a series I love so that helps. And, as stupid as it may sound, preferring hardcovers actually makes me buy less books when bookshopping too since it’s all paperbacks everywhere over here. :’)
The one bookstore that has TONS of English books is a two hour drive away so I rarely go there – good thing too or my bank account would kill me.
We did go last Sunday and.. I didn’t even look at the actual bookcase – only the books stalled out on a table – and already had seven in my hands I wanted to take with me. [I was allowed one HUGE splurge one last time so.. yeah. That’s my excuse, haha. I did make a list way up front, but it was a long one and every book I bought was on there. :’)
Sometimes we just need to cave too. Otherwise it’s impossible to keep up the restraint, I reckon. Besides, being impulsive is healthy! Or so people claim?
You’re welcome! <3
Oh well that’s good, at least you have a way to… somehow make your book buying sprees a bit lower, given that you love your hardcovers 😀
7 BOOKS. Wait. How many books did you get in the end??? I’m curious hahahaha.
Uh, I think I ended up with 11 or 12? But there’ve been some online book buying since and those have been arriving too so.. my last 2018 haul will be HUGE. :’)
Oh wow, wow, WOW. That will be A LOT of books. I can’t wait to see that haul 😛
Pretty sure the BF is ready to kill me right about now.. Two more books showed up yesterday and I KNOW there’s another box on its way and two preorders and oops. ._.
Ooooooh. that’s a lot of books. but well… he knew what he was getting into, he just has to accept it 😛
Exactly what I was thinking! Although I might be pushing it just a LITTLE bit right now. xD
Well… let’s say you get a free pass because… just because you can and should get a free pass every now and then ?
This is the moment where I use the pregnancy card. Every. Single. Time. ?
Well… you’re right ?
I handle hype by being broke. Waitlists for hyped books at the library are long, and I usually can’t afford brand new books. I have to wait for used copies to start showing up online or at used bookstores. I often have to wait months or years to read a hyped book. By then, the hype has died down, and it’s easier to evaluate if I really want to read the book.
Oh well at least this way, you have to wait a little bit and you don’t have a mountain of expectations so that’s all for the best 😀
Thank you so much for your comment!! <3
Great post! I must admit I’m very bad at reading hyped books because I’m just not that into the hype? I don’t have anything against people who are – it’s lovely to see so many people getting excited about books – but sometimes it’s hard, when you’re sifting through review after review of the same book, to figure out if this is actually a brilliant book or if it’s just a brilliant book today because everyone else says it is and, in a month’s time, no one will be talking about it anymore. That doesn’t mean those books don’t deserve to be read, not every book we read has to be a masterpiece that stays with us forever, but I don’t like going into books knowing what everyone else thinks about them, and if people are hyping a book up for months I want it to stay with me for more than a few weeks.
Having said that, I finally read Six of Crows this year (like you, I waited a few years to get to it) and absolutely adored it, so I think I do love plenty of hyped books when I can get to them at my own pace.
Case in point – I still haven’t read Children of Blood and Bone which is crazy, because it sounds right up my street. I love ‘banned magic’ fantasy stories and I love novels set in Nigeria, so an African-inspired fantasy by a Nigerian-American author should be a new favourite, and it’s that pressure that puts me off. I do want to read it by the end of the year, though!
Thank you so much Jess, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Oh I get what you mean – after seeing tons and tons of reviews for the same book, it’s a little hard to figure out whether it’s that good and will be so impactful, or it’s the book of the moment, like you perfectly said.
I’m so happy you liked Six of Crows though! and I hope you’ll love Children of Blood and Bone when you feel like getting to it, it really was a brilliant read. It was hyped really, really, really hyped, but it deserves it all. I hope you’ll love it <3
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! 🙂
Great post! 🙂 I remember reading the Passenger Duology by Alexandra Bracken because it was really hyped but I honestly didn’t enjoy it on the other hand, however, I loved the ACOTAR series by Sarah J.Maas.
But I guess that it’s always better to try and forget the hype while reading the synopsis and decide for yourself if it’s really your thing or not. Everyone in the book community has the right to have a different opinion on a book (even if it’s super hyped) and that’s perfectly fine! 🙂 I’ve read some other hyped books I didn’t like that much and even though I felt guilty about that sometimes I know now that it’s okay. Nobody is going to bite my head off (at least I hope so ?) because I don’t like something that everyone else does.
Thank you so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Agree! It’s hard sometimes to forget about it, that’s why I always try to read the synopsis a couple times to be certain that I’d be interested in it despite of what everyone is saying haha.
I get the guilty feeling too! I feel so strange when I don’t like a book everyone hypes up, but you’re right, we are all allowed to have our opinion about it all and that’s what makes the community so rich, too 🙂
I love this post!! Usually I make a TBR waaaayyy ahead, so I can’t ever anticipate a hype. I’m usually that blogger that reads a book after the hype xD…
Aww thank you, I’m so happy you liked it 😀
Well… it’s good to read a book after the hype, that way your expectations are a bit lower 🙂
Such a fun and HELPFUL post Marie! I haven’t read sooo many hyped books and I feel like if I haven’t read that particular book it will make me a bad book blogger. ?? I hate the pressure xx
Aw thank you so much!! <3
I completely understand, I feel the same way. I'm trying to get better with it all, but sometimes I can't help it ?
I love this post, Marie. I remember a time where I was crazy over all the books. But that has definitely changed for me since my TBR is in the 2k, no that’s not a typo, unfortunately, lol. ?
I now really ask myself if I want to devote my limited time to so-so book. Just like you suggested above and it has really helped for me.
I’m also not on social media as much anymore (so harmful for mental health)? I prefer blogs and even if I see that book there, I have to option to skip. The really hyped book that I’ve read was actually Six of Crows and I was lucky to enough not to let the hype get to me and love it. But there have been some disappointments, one being Ember in the Ashes. That just didn’t work for me and ever since then, I don’t pay any attention to hype books and so far so good.
I hope you have a wonderful week ahead and Happy Holiday season
Always, Helena
Helena @ The Life of a Booknerd Addict recently posted:
Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta, Cori McCarthy
OH my god so many books on your TBR how do you do it ? I’d be so anxious about it ?
I’m so sorry to hear about that but I understand, social media can really be the worst at times. Not being too much on it really allows us to avoid part of the hype too, so that’s good! 🙂
I’m glad to hear that you don’t pay too much attention to it all lately, that’s good! <3
Thank you so, so much Helena! I hope you're having a wonderful December so far, love! <3
Well it depends! If the blurb is really promising AND if some of the bloggers who have similar tastes and whom I trust really love it then yes, I will buy. If not hyped and all I’ll pass.
Same here! I always get to my most trusted bloggers before anything else and I know it’s something I’ll have to eventually check out if they like it haha 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment! ❤️
This is a super helpful list! I’m really guilty of buying a book just because it’s hyped and then being surprised when I don’t like it…when I didn’t even like the synopsis. My resolution for the new year is definitely to just read more books I’m interested in regardless of their popularity.
Aww thank you,I’m so happy you found this useful ❤️
I get that feeling – sometimes I feel so compelled to get a book…. just because I’ve heard so much about it, I guess that’s a side effect of being a book blogger somehow? haha. Fingers crossed that new resolution will go well 🙂 x
I confess that I’ve read quite a few books or added them to be tbr simply because of the hype around them. Some I’ve ended up loving, some not so much! It’s near impossible to avoid it as a book blogger, but I think that can be exciting – especially when it turns out to be a book that I love and I get to be part of the hype!
Oh yes I agree, it’s impossible to avoid it, really, but it’s SO beautiful when it’s a book you end up falling in love with. I love when that happens so much ❤️
thank you so much for your comment!! ❤️
Love this post! I don’t follow Twitter too often when popular books are talked about. I’ve been better at seeing a couple good and bad reviews before reading and it doesn’t affect my thoughts too much. But I completely agree with avoiding stuff if it affects you too much. Plus all these GIFs are perfect 😀
Aww thank you so much! ❤️ it’s better to try and avoid it all or just… escape it whenever we can hahaha sometimes 🙂
This is such a wonderful posts! ❤️ I’m going to try to remember your advice and only buy the hyped books I’m actually excited about. It’s so easy to get carried away by the hype and sometimes it’s amazing cause you discover great books, but not always. I think the most hyped books I read this year was Children of Blood and Bone, The Hazel Wood and The Cruel Prince and I really enjoyed all of them, but none of them were my absolute favorites.
Aww thank you so much I’m happy you liked it ❤️
I agree that it’s so easy to get carried away with everyone about some books, even when they’re not really for us. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed these books overall though, that’s good!! 😀
Everything you’ve said is so very true. Things I need to remind myself more often
Aww I’m glad you agree 🙂 thank you! ❤️
I think I have somewhat managed to avoid popular book spoilers, I haven’t been spoiled for any major book releases in while, including the last three Throne of Glass books, and the final two books of The Dark Artifices series.
Oh wow that’s amazing! Spoilers are THE WORST haha 🙂
Thank you for stopping by Trisha! ❤️
I agree, it is really hard to avoid the hype when practically every blog I follow is talking about all the same books! Every once in awhile I will add books to my TBR mostly because everyone else is reading them, but I know myself – I have to be really excited about a book for it to stay on my TBR. I DNFed two books this year that have been very popular around the blogosphere, so I learned my lesson!
I think it’s fantastic that you know yourself this well and your taste in books, I’m really trying to be like that as well. I know I tend to want to add books to my TBR when everyone has read them and talked about them, but in the end, I want and hope I’ll get to the ones I’m really, genuinely interested about 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment Angela! ❤️
It is so hard to escape the hype! Sometimes I just REFUSE to read books that are two hyped up.
It is THE HARDEST, I agree haha. Sometimes it’s good to get away and… try to ignore the hyped books for a little while. Even if I’m bad at doing that haha 🙂
Thank you for your comment! ❤️
This is such a great post, Marie! Not being able to resist hype is like one of my biggest issues when it comes to books ? I even find myself adding books to my TBR that I know aren’t my usual genre because everyone is talking about them. I think it comes from a place of my need to be involved with what everyone else is getting excited about because I don’t want to feel left out. I’m trying to get better at realising that it’s okay if I don’t read something everyone else is though. I sorta do it with genres too. When I first started blogging I was reading A LOT of fantasy just because that’s what was popular and I was neglecting the genres I loved the most (thriller/horror) because it wasn’t something that was really talked about? I think when I first joined the community I was really nervous admitting I didn’t like a book everyone loved (I think the first time I really did this was for A Court of Thorn of Roses), but now I’m just like ?♀️ and don’t let it bother me anymore!
Oh I 200% get that, I also get a bit scared of missing out and it’s a bit stressful at times. I guess it takes a bit of time to realize that it’s okay to miss out on some book we’re not really interested in in the first place, or that just isn’t for us 🙂
I think that’s SO great! I really hope to get to that point someday. I know I got into fantasy a lot more because of blogging and, if I’m appreciating the genre more than before, I’m always a contemporary marshmallow at heart hahaha 🙂
Thank you so much Lauren! <3
I’ve learned over time to mostly wait. It’s fine to add to a Goodreads TBR (I use it to note that I had an interest) and keep an eye out for it at the library. I certainly don’t need to run out and buy the book immediately unless it was something I was actually looking forward to and was determined to read soon, though I’m not always good at it. It’s easier to do as I remember that I don’t necessarily agree with the hype when I follow it and that I don’t have the best track record with loving ARCs of books.
I’m so glad to hear you have a strategy that works out well for you! more often than not, waiting works out great and it allows us to just… well, realize whether or not we’re that excited about a book or not 🙂
thank you so much for your comment Carrie! 🙂
Oh yes I am always in with the hype ? I don’t mind though! I feel like that’s half the reason bloggers are here (definitely not the WHOLE reason and one should always blog about what they *want* to first of all). But I love being able to help hype books! And I know like what the book community hypes can sometimes be very different to what bookstores hype, but blogs can be a great visual too to show authors we’ve noticed their work.? Howeverrrr I get very very sick of seeing the same books ALL the time, when some really excellent ones get really ignored?! And if you hate the hyped book (like me @ SJM books?) it just gets so annoying seeing it everywhere. Haha.
Anyway, I definitely looooved THUG (so worth the hype) and didn’t, unfortunately like Furyborn.
I agree with you! I LOVE being able to hype books and I love feeling part of a book’s life that particular way, too <3
I understand though, there are some underrated books that really feel like they deserve ALL the hype and… well, it's kind of frustrating sometimes.
Oh I agree, I LOVED THUG, such a good book, deserving all the hype and love for sure! <3
Thank you so much for your comment Cait!! <3
Great post! I loved Children Of Blood And Bone too!!! ?
Thank you so much Shannon! I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
I really loved this post, like I usually do when it comes to your posts, but I really loved this one! It’s hard to stay away from the hype. I’m like you though I wait a little while till the hype dies down then I read the book. Never waited six years but still the same idea. This past year I read a really hyped book right away and didn’t enjoy it at all. This actually happened to me like five times this past year so I just stopped reading them right away. Great post!!!
Awww thank you so, so much, that means a lot! <3
I think it's always good to wait a little bit, the books won't go anywhere and we might enjoy the books more, too 😀
I’ve kind of just accepted helplessly being swept away by the hype. 😀
I get what you mean though; with Children of Blood and Bone I was dragged alongside the wave of hype and I expected something that would completely blow me away, and while it was a great read and while I am really excited for the second book, it wasn’t as good as I’d thought it would be.
I’m not on Instagram or Twitter so I guess I kind of already avoid some of he hype, I think maybe waiting before I read some of my really anticipated releases would help going forwards. It seems like when books are first released they get mountains of reviews but soon they start fading away, and then I can read them and form my own opinions rather than my hyped ones. 🙂
Great post Marie! 😀 <3
OH I get that. We can’t help but have sky-high expectations for some books, when everyone is talking about them and… we can’t help being disappointed, either, that makes me so sad.
Yes exactly! Waiting a little bit until the reviews and conversations about it fade away is always good to be able to fully embrace the book for what it is 🙂
Thank you so much! ❤️
Part of me wants to say that’s what I’ll do going forwards, but already there are some highly anticipated releases of mine I know I’m going to have to get around to the second I have them in my hands. 😀
That’s all right. 🙂 <3
Haha I get that, I’m the same way. There are books I will just HAVE to read right away no matter what haha.
I was just talking about this yesterday after looking at the Goodreads award winners and the Epic Reads Awards nominees and just feeling SO BORED about it. One of my least fave parts of the book world is how everyone jumps on the book train on such few amounts of supposed “cool” books. It’s like Six of Crows decided to wear army pants and flip flops so everyone has to wear army pants and flip flops?? I tend to stay away from stuff like that because the rebel in my heart won’t let me, and I get so sick of seeing the same 5 books by the same 5 authors every year. Yes, those authors are talented, but there are SO MANY talented authors besides those 5.
Okay, done ranting. It just irks me I guess.
Oh you’re always welcome to rant Michelle, feel free to! 🙂
I understand what you mean, sometimes it gets a bit tiring to see the same books over and over again. I know I’m more often than not following the trends and trying to be “up to date”, to feel more included, too, but I appreciate discovering hidden gems so, so much and always wish and want to highlight them in posts, too. they deserve all the love and nominations too 🙂
thank you so much for sharing your thoughts Michelle! 🙂
omg this post is HILARIOUS! i’ve given up on the idea of not buying into the hype bc its just TOO HARD to avoid and i mayyy be guilty of wanting ALL the books! lol
a lot of the time if a blogger/reviewer i have similar tastes with loves it and i KEEP hearing amazing things and tropes that i love, my chances of picking up the book is really high. and youre so right, sometimes you just have to wait for all the hype to die down and then when you pick it up, you can enjoy it for what it is rather than the hype surrounding it
i seriously love your discussion posts, theyre always so fabulous!
Hahaha I get that, I’m guilty of wanting ALL the books a lot of the time as well haha. It’s just… well we’re bookworms so we can’t help it 😛
Awwwwww thank you thank you thank you SO much, you’re always way too sweet with me, thank you!! <3 <3
I’m very sceptical of hype now. After All the Bright Places, I don’t just pick up contemporary books because they hyped. Contemporary is a genre I either devour or find boring. I actually think now. But I’m not someone to pick up most books the second they’ve dropped anyway, so I sometimes just get them out of the library. They’re less disappointing then. :’)
I think it’s best to just really ask yourself if you want to read that book, especially if the genre isn’t your favorite one to start with. It’s the best to avoid disappointment 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment! ❤️
Such a great post, Marie! ?I really try to do what you suggested and think about if the book would be for me before getting all excited for it! That has worked out pretty well for me as I tend to only add books to my TBR that sound truly interesting to me and like something I would enjoy ? Waiting for the initial hype to die down a bit is also an excellent idea !
Thank you so, so much Caro! <3 I think that's so great, I'm always trying to do that as well. Sometimes I tend to get swept away by it all, but in the end, before getting a new book, I always debate a lot hahaha.
Thank you!!
This is such a helpful and much-needed post, Marie ? How do you always know what to post when I need it?? There’s been so many wonderful news about 2019 releases that I can’t help but get hyped about with everyone else, but it’s also pretty stressful to stay up to date with everything, especially since I still need to get caught up with old releases. ?
I definitely think learning to relax and think more about it takes the stress away. I also recently requested an ARC for a hype release on Netgalley. I didn’t expect to get accepted because I’ve only ever reviewed 1 book, so I knew it’d be almost impossible to get accepted for a highly anticipated release. Still, it hurt to be rejected. It made me feel very behind on everything, but I love how your post really stresses reading them when you’re reading <3 AMAZING POST!!!
Aww you’re way too sweet,I’m glad you enjoyed this post! ❤ Oh I so get that, I’m hyped and hyping up new books as well, but on another hand I’m so late on so many older releases, too… it’s endless haha 🙂
I completely get that feeling, it’s so frustrating sometimes, but I guess we’ll get to them when we can and that’s what matters 🙂 ❤
thank you so much!! ❤ ❤
How I handle the hype depends on the kind of day I’m having, haha! If I am in a bad mood, I might be so annoyed by seeing the same book everywhere that I’ll decide NOT to read it :p And then… Sometimes I just give in and embrace the hype. Although after three years, I’ve learned to be patient and try to prioritize!
OH yes that’s such a good argument actually, I never thought of that but… when I’m in a bad mood I can get a bit annoyed seeing the same book everywhere, too, hahaha 🙂
Being patient and prioritizing is the best thing to do for sure 🙂
thank you so much my sweechie!! ❤
I love this post, Marie! I have a huge problem with hype. As a really optimistic glass half-full person when I hear buzz about a book I expect it to be even BETTER than good. I want it to be GREAT — a magical mind-blowing experience. That means I’m often disappointed by books that are really good (like Children of Blood and Bone, which I agree was fantastic but it didn’t life up to the monstrous hype.) And I haven’t read Six of Crows yet. If it weren’t for hype, I would have never tried a lot of books, but it is really overwhelming. Thank you for sharing this post. I think I definitely need to be more intentional about which books I’m picking up and reading. 🙂
OH I get that feeling so much. I guess when a book is really hyped, everyone is talking about it and loving it, we can’t help but have these massive expectations building up in the back of our mind. The book can rarely live up to these expectations haha 🙂
It is overwhelming, at times, but at other times it’s incredible, too: the hype allowed me to discover incredible books, too 😀
I hope you’ll be able to work on it a bit better to find the right books, too! ❤ thank you so much Madeline! ❤ ❤
This is a great post, Marie! Loved it! Book hypes are so tempting! They’re very hard to resist. Avoiding Twitter and Bookstagram are the only solution to avoid the book hypes and also book spoilers.
Ugh yes spoilers haha sometimes they are the worst! I agree that avoiding social media can be good every now and then haha 🙂
thank you so much!! ❤
This is such a great post, Marie, and kind of funny because I was just writing a post for next week where I talked about how I hyped MYSELF on a couple of next-in-series books and am basically afraid to read them now.
Your tips though, especially thinking about if this is something that you would like, is such a good one. Waiting also is good. There are plenty of books to read in the meantime…
Ohhh well I’ll be curious to read that post! I get that feeling, it’s so hard NOT to hype yourself on book series and sequels, especially when the first book was amazing.
Agree, there always are plenty of books to get through so… we can keep ourselves busy for a while haha 🙂
thank you so much!! ❤
Okay, not only is this post brilliant, but so is that GIF from The Good Place. I LOVE THAT SHOW. SO. DANG. MUCH. Anyways, this is such a relevant topic because, um, THE HYPE IS REAL. And sometimes that damages my opinion of a book. A book I might have liked just fine without all the hype becomes a let down when it doesn’t blow my mind. Thanks for such a wonderful post, Marie! I always get excited when I see a new post from you pop up on my feed 🙂
AHHHHH you love The Good Place too, AHHHH. I love this show SO much, one of the best, really ❤
I agree, the hype can definitely make us feel… worse about some books when we expected loads from them, and that’s too bad. I can’t help but think that without the hype, sometimes, we might get to experience books so differently, too!
Aww thank you Kat, you’re way too sweet!! ❤ ❤
Close your eyes to everything xD xD xD
Lol I love that rainbow GIF xD
Actually, I guess I just use the “roll your eyes at it” method xD I just roll my eyes, think it’s just hype and just let it go xD
Ahahah well letting it all go that easily, that’s amazing, you have great talent, I envy that for sure 🙂
thank you so much for stopping by!! ❤ ❤
Very true! I for one am usually “late to the game” when it comes to hyped books, so I don’t think it affects me quite as much as the next person…but if a hyped book genuinely catches my eye, I’ll snatch it up just like everyone else. ?
I guess we can’t help it, everyone is talking about it, we can’t help but be curious, too, haha 😀
thank you Megan!! ❤
I’m not really one who is always up for hyped books. I’m more of an underhyped-books-reader. ?
Aww well that’s amazing, I am certain you have TONS of incredible and unique recommendations then!! 😀
Thank you! I am hoping to make more blog posts and recommendation videos on YouTube featuring underrated and indie books!
Yay that’s such a good thing you’re doing 🙂 ❤️
I try to read a range of genres, so that helps. I also read a lot from the indie and self published market, so they have little hype.
I’m not completely deaf to popular books, though. Of course in the past I’ve read all the Harry Potter books. One book I tried and can’t get on with is, Practical Magic.
Oh yes reading from different genres and from self-published and indie authors is great and a great way to avoid hype too!
I guess we can’t really ignore the popular books sometimes, but in the end we really should follow our hearts 😀
thank you so much for your comment!! ❤️
I think some of the hype is actually quite deceiving. I follow a lot of blogs and every now and then my wordpress reader is filled with the same book. I see them every day for maybe a month, and often i get really interested. I keep thinking “wow, what a popular book, i need to get it as well”. But of course i’m not willing to pay full price, so i wait. Not one of these books went on sale within 3-4 months. Only then i realised, other than those bloggers, probably nobody else read them, cuz they had less than 300 ratings on goodreads and only a handful of reviews 😀
Oh I get that! It’s so strange sometimes – we see the same book everywhere for a while, then slowly, it disappears, or we realize that… by some kind of chance, these bloggers just read it at the same time, but not everyone did haha 🙂
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Norrie!❤️
Hello Marie!!
You are so right that it is hard to avoid hyped books if we want to keep in touch with the book blogging community! It seems like it is just part of the blogging experience haha 🙂
I agree with all of your tips, especially #1! When I read loads of positive reviews for a book, and it also happens to have a glowing rating on Goodreads, I just want to add it to my TBR right away! (Because of this my TBR is overflowing haha….) However you are right that we should take a step back and read the synopsis and see if it is the type of book that we are usually interested in 🙂
I had the exact same experience with Six of Crows! I remember seeing it everywhere but didn’t pick it up until very recently, and I enjoyed every single page of it 🙂
Great post Marie <3
Yes exactly! It seems like a must to really be in touch with the community and everything that’s happening, too. I guess we can’t help it haha and it also feels kind of nice, being part of that 🙂
But yes, waiting sometimes is best to make sure our expectations aren’t too high and for us to enjoy the books better. I’m glad you ended up liking Six of Crows as well 🙂
Thank you!! ❤️
Hey lady!!!
What an interesting discussion! For me, I tend to wait on hyped books for the most part. One of the issues is that many of the super hyped books are YA, and I have become very picky with which YA books I pick up these days. I typically will wait until a trusted blogger friend (whom I usually have similar reading tastes in) will read it and review it before I attempt it. I almost NEVER buy these books. I typically will get them on Hoopla (a free digital database through the library) or wait until my library has the book.
I feel like resisting the hype comes with experience. When I was new to the book blogging community, I picked up all kinds of hyped books, even the ones I wasn’t really interested in reading. Don’t get me wrong. It has been positive to expand my reading comfort zone, but I am more selective now.
Aww thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! ❤️
I so agree that it all comes with experience, too. I’ve been blogging 4 years and I’m not entirely immune to the hype, but I am a bit more selective, too and really trying to think about the books I really want to read, too. It just makes it a better reading experience overall for me too and that’s what matters 😀
Ahhh, this is a great post, Marie! I’ve definitely read more than a couple books and not enjoyed them, but chose them because of the hype! I feel like I’ve gotten better at not falling prey to it by making sure I read the synopsis of everything, and it’s not just because of all the noise in my ears that I’m reading something.
Oh thank you so much Vicky! ❤️
I think that’s great, I’m really trying to do better as well and to really focus my attention on the book before hitting that buy button or something hahaha, to make sure it’s something I’m really interested in 🙂
Those are some great points to stay clear of the hype! Personally I love hyped books and just take a look at them and go ohh well. If you wanna get in my TBR you need to pass the blurb test.
Because no matter who, even if God screams in my face to read a book I will always check the blurb first 😛 It’s the safest way 😉
Ahah yes, agree, it really is the safest way to make sure we’re really interested in a book. I know I tend to read it a couple times, too, because I might read it one time and somehow convince myself that it’s incredible, only to realize it’s not really for me on the second read ?
thank you so much for your comment! <3
Some nice advice, thank you. In all honesty, every time I pick up a book that was over-hyped, I really end up not liking it. But it is very difficult not to succumb to this temptation. I end up writing bad reviews on popular book and this way I can also alienate people.
Oh you’re so welcome, I’m glad if this could be useful 🙂 I get that, sometimes we can’t help but… well, fall for it and end up disappointed. It’s important to think a bit and wait too for the hype to die down 🙂
I rarely read books that are hyped as my taste is quite different from the Twitter world. And when I finally reached a point that I stopped worrying about the hype. Great post.
That’s so great for you! When you don’t worry about it anymore, it’s the best haha 🙂
Yup, that was one incredibly hyped book. It’s impossible to avoid the hype, I think, but it is possible to combat it with the ways you say. Mostly, my tactic is not to read new releases on release, btu to just wait and see if I can forget the hype. With it my expectations lessen a little bit, and then I get to enjoy it more 🙂
This is such a good strategy! I try to do the same thing most of the time, that way my expectations aren’t that big and it’s always better! 🙂
Ah I totally relate to this- sometimes books are super hyped and there’s no escaping them, whether you want to read them or not. hehehe I totally agree that just switching everything off isn’t really the best solution 😉 I do think moderating social media helps. I definitely think taking time and waiting can really help overcome hype. hehe sometimes it is just best to learn to live with it though 😉
Brilliant advice!
Agree, best thing to do is to learn to live with it all, even if sometimes it gets really hard ? moderating everything a little bit and really thinking about everything helps, too, I think 🙂
thank you so much! <3
I don’t even try to escape the hype anymore. Usually I just let it happen and try to temper my expectations. It doesn’t always work, though.
Oh I get that, that’s what I try to do, too. It doesn’t always work, but at least we’re trying 🙂