10. ožu 2014.

(Bookish Problems, #3) Recommendations and Hyped Books



      We all at least once find ourselves in the situation like this - we read a book in one sitting, spend next fifteen minutes with our mouth hanging open and no ability to verbalize a coherent thought, then comes the loudest fangirl scream and than we start to hype everywhere we can and  recommend it to our friends.
I have few of those too - I think that people started to hate me because of my obsession with Rainbow Rowell in January.

     Being completely captivated by your recent read to the point that you want to make everyone you know to read it too, is not a bad thing. I live, breathe and blog for those, we want to pick up books that will make us feel and think about them for years. But here comes a problem. What if your friends don't like it as much as you do? When they start to talk about all things that didn't work out for them? Plot inconsistency? Bad writing? Negative morals of the story? Do you start to doubt your initial judgement? Agree with some things they write in their reviews?

     One of the things I learned trough my blogging experience is that  you should never write the review for the book you've just finished reading, especially if you loved it. Do not recommend it to your friends. Why? Because you would be writing about your impressions, your emotional reaction to the book and not the book itself. There is no in-depth interpretation of characters, plot, writing, message of the story. Emotions are important, but you have to take a time to cool off and really think about what you read.
I've made that mistake many times, especially on Goodreads. If I ever decide to revise my ratings, I guarantee you that most of them would be much lower.

     This brings us to the recommendations. How do you decide which book to recommend to one of your friends? Have you ever send a recommendation to all of your Goodreads friends? (I did in the beginning, but not anymore.) Do you have a group of people you trust?
       Tanja and I have similar expectations, but our taste is not completely the same. However, we know each other good enough to know what would other like or hate. Also, there are two other girls we talk on daily basis for the last three years. I used to think that there is no way Zemira could recommend me a book I wouldn't adore or vice versa. Surprise, surprise - it happened. I didn't like The Fault in Our Stars like Tanja did, Zemira wasn't impressed with Between Shades of Gray - Tanja and I still talk about that book. Lately I have a hard time trying to judge what would some of my friends enjoy reading because our tastes changed. That is completely normal thing.

      Reading hyped books is the other problem I have. Last few months I try to avoid reading reviews and comments for books that everyone seems to love. My expectations skyrocket and then it becomes really hard to read a book and not think about everything you heard about it. Sometimes I end up surprised and swept off my feet, but in the most cases I have this constant thought in my head: "When will come the amazing part? I am still waiting." It's the same thing as expectations we have when we go to see latest blockbuster - after two hours we leave with realization that all of the epic scenes were shown in trailer and that you wasted those 3 or 4 euros you had paid for your ticket.

      So, tell us - do you have similar issues? What do you think about hyped books? Last recommendation that disappointed you?


Broj komentara: 37:

  1. Interesting post. I don't really go too much into hyped books, especially because I don't have a lot of time to read the latest novels unless it's something I have to review. However, I think it's easy to love a book and then find other people that didn't and that makes you question things...most of the titles I ADORE, I think I'd always like even if friends of mine did not.

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    1. I agree with you - I still like books my friends didn't find so appealing.

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  2. Absolutely! ALL of my friends LOVED The Winner's Curse, but I thought it was just alright. I definitely think the hype influenced my enjoyment of the novel, though, leading me to expect a better book than what I was given. Often times, when I enjoy a book immensely, I physically am unable to write a review for it - which helps. I also think that when recommending books, I only recommend them to my closest friends, or people I know well enough to be able to decide that they will enjoy or dislike a book. More often than not, I get recommended books I dislike instead of recommending books that my friends wind up disliking, both because I have such random reading tastes and also because I'm much more cautious with recommending. On the blog, and in reviews though, I tend to list qualities in the book that readers may connect with, so if they are looking for similar books, then they should pick up or avoid that particular book. Glass, this is a fantastic, introspective post - thanks for sharing! :)

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    1. Thank you, Keertana. I've been thinking about these things for a while and I wanted to share some of my thoughts.
      I had troubles to write a review after finishing a book I really liked too - I think sometimes we just need to take time to process everything.

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  3. Such an interesting post, Glass. I think an emotional rating/review is perfectly valid, and I usually enjoy seeing people I know get excited about books, whether I like them myself or not. (Well, there are always exceptions, but I'm speaking generally, hah.) Sometimes as bloggers I think we can get so caught up in being so critical that we lose the purity of that gut feeling--and while I am all for critical reviews, I'm an emotional reader and I respond to honest emotion in reviews.

    I also think it's interesting to see how much hype influences people. I'm usually able to separate good hype and bad hype away from my own reading experience pretty well (I didn't fall for HALF BAD or RED RISING, which a lot of people loved, but I really liked QUEEN OF THE TEARLING, which most of my friends have hated, for example), but I totally get why it's hard to separate yourself from the noise sometimes. I think all we can do is take all reviews with a grain of salt and resolve to find out what we think for ourselves when we've had a chance to read the books.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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    1. That is something I think too - not every rating/review needs to be critical, I'm not even a fan of too "academic" reviews. Most of us are emotional readers, critical part comes much later. Those are some of the thinks I've been trying to teach my students - you can have positive emotional response to the book, but your critical approach doesn't have to be positive too (especially if we are talking about feminism or new criticism interpretation).

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  4. Yeah, I have had that "I want to lower my rating now that time has passed" moment a thousand times, but then again.. some of them have been a year later so no point in holding out on writing a review until then. Plus, some people have bad memories so they can't hold out too long either. For me it doesn't matter because I write down notes and highlight and bookmark a lot and I write a bunch of reviews in on sitting later. Um, the same with me and Nick actually. Our tastes are pretty much the same, but not completely. Like she loved The Burning Sky while I wasn't a big fan. It was just an okay book so I DNF-d for the time being. I still know that when I recommend stuff to her she takes note and vice versa, but we never expect the other to completely love the book, just hope that they will. The hype let-down.. Hmm.. The last one I had was The Bone Season and before that Eleanor and Park. I really do not get the hype for these two and I do feel like my money was totally wasted on E&P which I basically didn't enjoy at all. Idk. Then again The Darkest Minds and Throne of Glass blew my mind so it's not all bad.

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    1. I do the same thing - I have a little notebook for highlights and notes.:)
      You are one of the people I'm afraid to recommend anything, I just can't catch up with your taste.:DD

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  5. I don't often recommend books to specific people (unless it's one of my sisters or my best friend, etc.). I'm hesitant to incur that kind of wrath if someone doesn't like whatever I've recommended.

    As for hype, ye gods. I try, and I try, and I TRY to avoid reviews of books that I'm really excited about, but even if I can manage to not read any reviews, I can't avoid the ratings. And while I don't think hype has a tangible effect on my reading experience, it does emphasize any bad feelings (disappointment, disgust, anger, etc.), if the book doesn't live up to the hype.

    Jessica @ Rabid Reads

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    1. I avoid recommending books lately too, but I guess if someone likes my review, they will be interested in reading a book too.

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  6. Hyped up books are always scary going into them because you worry about if they will live up to your expectations or not.

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    1. That is why I try to avoid status updates, comments, reviews... Anything that could spoil it for me.

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  7. While I typically do write my reviews immediately following my finishing the book (because otherwise, I lose the things I want to say, and even if in 3 months I might not be as enthusiastic about a book as I was when I reviewed it, the thoughts/opinions were true at the time I wrote it:), I do agree completely on hyped books and recommendations. I don't usually recommend to many books to people (aside from putting up positive review on the blog, which is in an of itself a recommendation), mostly because I get so nervous they won't love it as I did!

    Sometimes it does make me second guess myself if a book I gave 5 stars to gets torn apart by someone else, but then I just chalk it up to a simple difference of opinion and keep on loving the book as hard as I did before:) Recommendations and hyped books can be so tricky though!

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    1. Jenny, I can't wait to write review that long too. If I don't write it within a week, I probably won't write it at all.

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  8. Odgovori
    1. *I am so sorry, my comment got pasted twice and looked like an essay (let me warn you, it still does) so I had it deleted. Here's what I have to say:

      Well, let me begin by saying that I am, in general, a very shy person. Except for my best friend and fellow blogger Janhvi, I don't really talk much about books with anyone. But I do get your point when you say that we all have those moments when we read a book, love it and want practically everyone in the world to read it. That's obvious. We cannot deny the fact that we love to share love.

      I agree with you on the interpretation front. I doubt any two people will have the exact same opinion on a similar thing- it could be anything. It all depends on perception. I have gone through my Goodreads list plenty of times and I say to myself, "Did I seriously give that book 5 stars? What was I thinking?" But then I decided that, at one point, I did love reading those books and that time, like everything, is now gone. I leave it the way it is and try not to look back.

      Changing tastes is normal, like you said. I experience the same with Janhvi. We know each other inside out and can practically tell from a book cover or title whether the other will love it or no. Our tastes differ. I want to read something that she would never even consider or she wants to read something I'll stay miles away from. But the best part is, we get to discuss our reads and even when we ask each other to read something we personally loved, we never impose or force it. I must say that studying Literature has opened my mind so much and has instilled this urge in me to read non-fiction, which both makes me excited and horrified, but yes, tastes change and that's the only fact that doesn't change.

      Hype books and I seldom get along. I am a rebel so if the whole world is reading one thing, I will read another thing altogether, but then again, like most times, curiosity gets the better of me and I do end up reading said book at a much later time when the hype surrounding it settles down.

      What I do is that I don't take recommendations seriously. I mean, I trust my friends but at the same time, I have a list of books I want to read so the list of books recommended by others takes a backseat for me. Someday, I do hope I read all the lovely recommendations my superb friends send my way.

      You have done an absolutely brilliant job with this post, Glass. It takes efforts to put down your thoughts so meticulously and I admire you for that. Thank you for sharing!

      Sarika @ The Readdicts

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    2. I did notice that two of you have really different taste. Actually, two of you are quite similar to Tanja and me.

      I talked with Zemira once about changing our GR ratings, but we came to thesame conclusion - there is a reason why we gave it 5 or 4 stars. At that time it was great read no matter how much we avoid books like that now.

      I don't take recommendations seriously anymore too - most of the recs I get on GR are mostly *free on Amazon* type. :/

      Thank you! *blushes*

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    3. Okay I'm just going to add more here. YES! Glass, I have realized as well that Sarika and I are similar to Tanja and you. I tend to lean towards HEAs whereas Sarika is more for an unhappy ending. Well, it gives us a variety of books on our blog. Also it definitely helps in broadening reading tastes. I agree with Sarika that once I rate a book I don't look back at it because whatever rating I gave it at that time I enjoyed it in that moment. But whereas recommendations go those feelings should never be considered there. This is a super awesome post Glass! :)

      Janhvi @ The Readdicts

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  9. I've just written a comment and it deleted it. :( So I'll write it again. Oh...My...Gosh! I completely agree with you on all accounts. I have changed the way I read and review book because of the hype. It takes me a while to really read anything that has been hyped. Even if I receive the book, I will only read it if I'm in the mood read to, not if its coming out or because its hyped.

    I will only recommend something that truly is an inspirational read to me and that's only a few. Like Dare You To, the was people less favourite of the series but it will always be my favourite and I do encourage people to read that series despite being so popular. I definitely agree that The Fault in my Stars was probably one of my worst decisions that I made when reading that, because I did go with the hype and I didn't enjoy whatsoever. Even now I look at my review of it and its rating and it could have been much lower I think.

    I think with recommendations and hyped books, I tend it ignore it or prolong it until I read the book. I enjoy reading and blogging a lot more with reading what I'm in the mood for. Brilliant post and thanks for sharing, Glass. :)

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    1. LOL, I am happy that I'm not the only "black sheep" when it comes to TFIOS. Thank you.

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  10. I usually write my reviews shortly after I finish, the morning after. I really don't recommend books specifically to people because I just don't know if they will have the same reaction. I have read countless books that others have loved and I have thought, were not that great. Usually books on the NYT bestseller list don't work for me. Reading is so subjective and it is hard to pick what books will speak to you. Great topic!

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    1. "Reading is so subjective and it is hard to pick what books will speak to you." - This is so true.
      Thank you.

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  11. Girl this post is outstanding! :D I totally agree with every sentence you wrote. It's really hard to go and read a book that's so hyped and before I though I'd never ever dislike a book you girls recommend but it's happening. I remember reading The 5th Wave recently, and I was like reading and reading and suddenly I was at 95% of the book and nothing happened. I mean everything happened but my emotions were no where to be seen.

    Amazing post, love! :)

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  12. I'm don't really give recommendations unless someone asks me what books I like or what some of my favorite series are. I know that not everyone has the same book interests as me so I don't like recommending books just in case the person doesn't like it and then I'd feel bad. And I tend to avoid hype books until their not so hyped anymore lol if that makes any since. I still haven't read the fault in our stars but I've had it since it released and there are a lot of other hyped books that I haven't read and don't really know if I am. This post is awesome!

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

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    1. My favorite scenario is when I read a book among first group of readers and hype comes much later.
      Thank you, Janina.

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  13. Wow! You hit it right on its head. I've had reviews where I'm just overly emotional and I never really say anything substantial about the story. The review turns out more like crazy ranting and you can't really make out if readers will like what you say.

    There have been a bunch of hyped up books I've come across but they fell flat. I'm kind of good when buying books because I usually will do extensive research to see if I should buy it. I'll end up buying it if my gut tells me I should. But, I've felt the sting of a bad book that is supposed to be so god. I think if we anticipate a book being fantastic we overly analyze the story. Lovely post (:

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    1. Trust me, I have my fair share of emotional rant reviews. :)

      One of the books I'm afraid to read is Gone Girl and Tatiana and Alexander trilogy. Recommendation + hype = bad combo.

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  14. As much as I want to recommend books, sometimes I just control myself. I end up suggesting it. I have experienced reading hyped books that I ended up not liking too much. Some just felt flat. Some just weren't my thing. This is a really interesting post :)

    Dre @ Sporadic Reads

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    1. Thank you, Dre.

      We all have those issues, but I think that experience is a key solution - with time you learn to recognize bad and good hype.

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  15. I love Wendy's comment, and I agree. I judge books based on my emotions and reactions to it. That's just the type of reader I am. I think, for me, it's less about avoiding hype and more about who is doing the hyping. If it's a reader I have similar tastes to, i believe it. If it's a reader I do not, then I move along.
    Thanks for the discussion!

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    1. That is a best scenario - but even than I am afraid of reactions like "Is this girl crazy? 5 stars? Did she even read this book?"

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  16. I usually wait 24-48 hrs after finishing a book to let the words sink in and let my emotions settle down. But there are books that touch you and tickle you toes and I confess I don't think I could not tell everyone and fangirl them. It is always disappointing when someone doesn't adore a book or find it as bloody brilliant as you did. As you know my tastes in genres are very diverse from dystopian to chick-lit and with mixing genres and well age..I have learned we approach a book differently and live in my happy little fandom. When a book is being hyped and it is one I think I want to read I usually read the first review and skim the rest. One, so someone doesn't spoil it for me by telling too much and two, so that I go into with lower expectations. Great post!

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    1. I know, an I like you because of that - I am the same.:)

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  17. What a fascinating post! I am definitely wary of hype, and I try really hard not to let it seep in before I read a book, but it's hard because I read so many blogs every day, and I don't always read a book before my blogger pals, so if a book is getting crazy positive or negative reviews, it's hard not to let that seep in, and it does kind of ruin the experience. This is SO true. ---> "My expectations skyrocket and then it becomes really hard to read a book and not think about everything you heard about it." But on the other hand, many times I would never have read a book if it hadn't received multiple positive reviews from friends, and I can count so many instances of being introduced to a hyped book and loving it, so I guess all in all I don't mind hype. :-) Wonderful discussion post!

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  18. Agreed, it's one of the reasons I wrote my latest discussion post about changing older ratings. Sometimes I rate higher and when I look back, I honestly don't know why I liked it so much. Recommendations SCARE me. I've had some good feedback from my sister for books I liked too, but my favorites feel like 'my precious' and it's scary to recommend them.

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  19. The overhyped problem occurred when I read Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. It has such great reviews, and I read the book and I didn't like it. I even tried re-reading it recently and I just couldn't. Most of the time hyped books are decent, maybe even amazing, and sometimes they fall short, but everyone has different tastes!

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