Here are six overhyped books I've never read
(and probably never will read):
L to R: Three Twilight books;
DaVinci Code; Fifty Shades; The Shack.
And just so you don't think I'm ridiculously negative,
here are some overhyped books that,
in my very humble opinion, are worth the read:
| Overhyped Books | Read? | Worth Reading? |
| Harry Potter | Yes | Yes |
| The Notebook | Yes | Yes |
| Hunger Games | Yes | Yes |
| Eat, Pray, Love | Yes | Yes |
| The Fault is in Our Stars | Yes | Yes |
Do you read books that are heavily hyped?
Are you like me and often feel disappointed by overly hyped books?
Are there any of the six books I listed at the top of the post that I should read? All of the six are listed in PBS' Great American Read, so I am tempted.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, but is now being hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.
It's interesting isn't it? I've read a few of the over hyped that you've read too- and generally enjoyed them for what they are. I read the first Harry Potter and always thought I'd read them with Lachlan, but then he was never interested- it's definitely something I want to get to at some stage. Maybe the Stephen Fry audiobooks will tempt me? I've read The Fault in Our Stars and really liked it. I've read 2/3 The Hunger Games, loved the first one, was a bit meh with the second, and I really don't think I ever did read the third, but I'm a bit like that with series. I've been vaguely tempted with an audiobook of Eat, Pray, Love but was swayed away, now I think I'll give it a go. After all I have just finished Moby Dick, so my horizons are open again... Now there's another kind of overhyped book... Of the ones you haven't read: The first Twilight is a 1001, so I'm sorry but it's in your future sometime! I read The Da Vinici Code when the illustrated edition came out, I'd had zero interest till then, but then suddenly I snatched it off the shelf and actually read it soon after, it's a pretty good page turnery thriller- and it's mostly set in Paris- so you could always squeeze it in next July. I've never even heard of The Shack.
ReplyDeleteFirst, a big congratulations for finishing Moby Dick! Wow!
DeleteI have read the first Twilight, so I feel like I've done my Twilight. Your idea for Da Vinci Code is excellent. That's a great way to squeeze that book in, and I did find a beautifully illustrated version. I'll set that aside for next July, I think.
The second book in the Hunger Games series was very slow (like most second books in a series) but I did finish it and read book three also (very unusual for me to read all the books in a series).
You are right. You have to take popular fiction for what it is. Popular. That means it may be compelling even if is marginal in other ways.
I've read all the Twilight books. If you weren't drawn in by the first, I'd skip the other three. I have also read The Da Vinci Code and was OK with it. I'd liked that series mostly, but don't rush to read them. Harry Potter - love them. I did like all the Hunger Games books. I'm not really interested in The Shack and will not try any of the Fifty Shades books.
ReplyDeleteOverhyped - sometimes I try them, sometimes not. There is a lot of that in the thriller/crime novel area these days. I'm finding that I guess the end so quickly and if that twist is main thing about the book (as in the other writing or story is only OK-ish), I'm easily bored. So, I don't avoid reading them, but I don't always rush either.
I have read Harry Potter (almost; still have to read the seventh book) and I have read The Fault in our Stars, and both were worth it. But I don't generally read a lot of hyped books. The ones I have read, though, have been great.
ReplyDeleteI have read all the Twilight books, Harry Potter and the first two of The Hunger Games. The second book of the Hunger Games was too slow for me and so I couldn't get into reading the third. I don't think that I necessarily pick a book because of the hype, mostly it's because something about the plot interested me.
ReplyDeleteI get so nervous to read books that are heavily hyped because I always worry that I will be disappointed. But, I LOVE the Harry Potter books and also, at the time, enjoyed Twilight. I still like the Hunger Game series as well. Luckily I have all these wonderful book blogs to read so that I feel I am getting an honest hype about books now and not just hearing it "on the streets" (NY Times best seller list) like I did years ago.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you for a lot of the ones on your 'will never read' list. But... if you haven't read it already, even if you don't plan on reading The DaVinci Code, the book that came before - Angels & Demons - is worth the read. It's by far the best in the series.
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
Not read the hunger games, maybe I should. I agree about the first six though my wife had read the 50 shades seres
ReplyDeleteTook me forever to get around to The Shack and then i could not put it down.
ReplyDeleteI usually avoid hyped books because I’m rebellious and hard to please. They rarely live up to the hype for me. That being said, I have read Twilight, 50 Shades, and the Da Vinci Code. None of them are worth reading, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I read The Da Vinci Code when it was new back when I was in high school - and I loved it at the time. Not sure how it would hold up now. :)
ReplyDeleteCheck out my TTT and please vote in my Make Me Read It Readathon poll
This is definitely something I do, too, but then sometimes my curiosity makes me break down and read them. So, I have actually read almost all of these, at least book one, except The Notebook. And you'd have to kill me before I read that one. In my opinion, all the rest are worth reading except The Hunger Games, and The Fault in Our Stars and Eat, Pray, Love are actually really good.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the books on your list being overhyped! I found Eat, Pray, Love one of the most boring books I've ever read. Also the Harry Potter books have a deeper, special meaning to my millennials who love them so that just don't resonate with me. I am going to read the last book though, the one where he is a grown, middle aged man with children of his own, just to get closure on the "phenomenon".
ReplyDeleteI've read four and a half of the Harry Potter books and came to the realization that I didn't like the series. I've read all of the Hunger Games and liked the first two, more or less. The others on your chart I haven't read. I have read The Da Vinci code which is dumb but fun.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any in your top listing, other than The Da Vinci Code. I know I will not read any of the others. The list of the ones you read that were worth the hype, I'm in complete agreement!
ReplyDelete