Hyped Books and Why I No Longer Want to Find Them

As a person who likes to take part in the bookish community, I follow the hype quite a lot. When I see a book that has been given so much praise and been loved by many booktubers and book bloggers that I could trust more than any random recommendation – I want to read it. Usually without even reading the synopsis.

Having read many books due to the hype this summer, I have started to question whether the hype surrounding some novels is such a good thing. A prime example of this is The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey. I read it this summer and although it was good, I genuinely don’t understand why so many people have liked this novel as much as they said so. I know we as bloggers have a huge difference in opinion at times but for mine to be so different to that of a huge crowd kind of bugged me a bit. Is it me, is it them? Then, I realized it was me.

While reading and listening to the fabulous reviews people had given this book, I didn’t realize that I, myself had put the book on a huge pedestal. Being told so many times what the book is about and how people liked it meant that I already had formed a preconceived idea about the book and loved it without reading a single page. This proved dangerous as when it came to reading it, I loved the idea of it that I had formed far more than how good the book itself could ever be. Then when I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, in a very warped way I began to resent it. I was supposed to like it, I was told I would like it and I didn’t. A very warped sense of injustice indeed. This is probably why why TBR is so huge. I love the ideas I have formed on those books and IF I didn’t like them when I read them those very Ideas would be tainted. Meaning that I would end up disliking something I have liked for so long.

If this summer has taught me anything it is to take all reviews/hype with a pinch of salt. Even though with many of you I have over 50% of books read in common,this doesn’t mean that I will like you next favourite. On a last note, hype has worked well for me sometimes. I have read amazing books such as Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. I will probably never disregard hype completely, I will just proceed with caution. Also, I would like to start finding my own gems. No need to follow the crowd all the time, right?

I would love to know what you all think about the hyped up books. I think sometimes I should form my own opinion after I have read a book, not before.

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Do Reading Slumps Really Exist?

My most recent tbr pile.

“I am in a really bad reading slump” is a phrase that I use all too often lately. As many of us probably do, I go through a bout of books about 11 long and then I can’t read another book for at least a week or in the case of this summer, I haven’t read a book in over three weeks.

I recently watched a video over on one of my favourite booktubing channels, Reading With Jack. In this video, he questioned whether reading slumps actually existed. This, as many things do, got me thinking.

Unlike many people in the blogging community, I didn’t pick up reading until later on in life. Don’t get me wrong I have always read, but that was mainly for school and not for a hobby. I didn’t actually serially read until my GCSE English teacher told me to. This means that there was a period of time in my life where I didn’t read. This personally for me is where I thought my reading slumps steamed from.

Reading slumps are something that we all suffer from (I have yet to find someone who hasn’t had one). This says to me, that they are more natural I first thought. Having watched Jack’s video, I realized that my reading slumps aren’t necessarily “slumps”, but more breaks.

My theory is that we take on so much when we read a book, whether it be the feels (my favourite internet phrase ever) ideas, new opinions or different points of view. We take on so much that it gets to a point where we can’t take on any more and we need to take a break – something that I used to call a reading slump. In said breaks (especially the ones I have) I literally can’t get in to anything, regardless of if it is an old favourite or if it is a new book that I have had on my wish list a while.

When I previously had my reading breaks I would try all of the books on my shelves t no avail. Now I realize that this just prolonged the agony and I should have just waited them out. Nowadays I do wait them out and in the end coming back to my books fresh and ready is very therapeutic – but that’s just me.

What do you guys think about reading slumps, do you think they actually exist or are they more natural than we think?

Side note: This has been published in many places including my old blog and my tumblr.

My Thoughts On Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter Chronicles, Sequels and Prequels

Is Cassandra Clare going too far?

With two New York Times Best Selling series under her belt (The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices), The Dark Artifices coming in 2015 and talks of a new series (update: it has now been confirmed) set two decades after The Infernal Devices called The Last Hours, some people are beginning to say that Clare is bleeding the Shadowhunter world dry and taking it for what it is worth.

Talks like have resided on the internet ever since The Mortal Instruments was extended from a trilogy to a six books series and have becomes increasingly abundant since the announcement of The Dark Artifices.

What do I think of this matter? Is Cassandra Clare taking The Shadowhunter Chronicles too far by creating so many books set in that very world? In short, No.

If Cassandra Clare can create a world that is so profound and imaginative that she can get four or forty series out of it, good for her. Long may she reign and long may she write. As long as she keeps writing great books day in and day out, I will keep buying.

On the other hand, I do understand some people scepticism. When a series grows from three books to six, essentially doubling it and then adding a prequel and a sequel series, it will ignite the cynic in many of us. It had that effect on me before I read the series.

I am a huge fan of the series so for now I don’t mind that Clare has quite a lot to write in the shadowhunting world. I don’t know about any of you guys, but or me it will be a sad day when Clare leaves the Shadowhunter world behind.