So this is my first time ever participating in this. I’ve seen the hop around the book blog-o-sphere, but I’ve never participated (I can be such a lurker online!). Anyhoo, on to the purpose of this post:
When a book goes “viral” (Hunger Games, Fifty Shades, Twilight), do you rush out to read it like everyone else, even if it’s not in your typical genre?
Wow, what a good question. And one that I can easily answer. Nine times out of ten, I will do everything in my power to avoid books that go “viral.”
Back in 2008, I read Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and New Moon. As a general rule, I do not like vampire books. Actually, Im not a big fan of paranormal in general. I can say that I read them. But I obviously didn’t like them enough to read any further. And I’ve only seen the first movie.
I bought the first Hunger Games book on my Nook last year …. And still haven’t read it. I bought it when it was on sale, but that’s as far as I ever got with it. I have no immediate plans to read it, either.
Fifty Shades … Oh my. What can I say? First of all, this is not my genre of choice. Not even close. And while I have to admit that I’m more than a little curious, I have no intention of ever reading it.
So this question got me very curious about what other books I’ve read that have been hyped up. I looked back at what books I’ve read since I started my blog and made a quick list of “viral” books.
- Chelsea Cain’s Heartsick – I remember enjoying it okay, but not being overall thrilled. However, I did like the subsequent books much more.
- Tana French’s In the Woods – I didn’t like this book very much at all. And I haven’t read anymore of the books in this series either.
- Kathryn Stockett’s The Help – Okay, so this one may be an exception. I LOVED it and still would recommend it to anyone!
- Chevy Stevens’ Still Missing -Well here’s another exception. I enjoyed this one as well.
I also have to mention Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code and The Lost Symbol. I loved the former, but ended up not being able to finish the latter.
I honestly believe that I have some kind of an aversion to hyped up books. They just don’t do much for me as a general rule. However, I will say that I have Gone Girl on my library’s waiting list and am dying to for it to be in my hot little hands.
Anyone who follows my blog regularly knows that I read a lot of older books. Actually I read more older books than I do newer ones. I’ve always been that way. There’s no real reason as to why, other than the fact that it’s what I have on my shelves. And the fact that I have an aversion to buying new books when they’re super expensive. I read too quickly to spend a lot of money on one book. So I guess it’s really not a big surprise that I don’t read a lot of the hyped up books.
But I don’t want my sole reason for picking up a book to be because it’s the hot thing to do at the time. That’s not the right reason to read.
Tales of a Book Addict 