|
Book hype vs reality - when books don't live up to expectations
|
I've been thinking a lot about book hype vs reality lately. Social media has created this phenomenon where certain books get so much hype that it's almost impossible for them to live up to expectations.
I fell for this recently with a booktok recommendation that was everywhere. The hype was insane - people were calling it life-changing, the best book they'd ever read, etc. So I bought it, read it, and... it was just okay. Not terrible, but definitely not the masterpiece I was promised.
This experience made me wonder about other books that didn't live up to hype. Have you ever been disappointed by booktok recommendations I disliked or bookstagram favorites I didn't enjoy?
I'm starting to think we need to be more critical of book hype and manage our expectations better.
Book hype vs reality is such a real phenomenon these days. With social media, books can go from unknown to everyone is talking about this" overnight. The problem is, the hype often creates expectations that no book could possibly meet.
I had this experience recently with a booktok recommendation. The videos made it sound like this life-changing, earth-shattering read. People were crying over it, calling it the best book they'd ever read. So of course I had to read it.
And... it was fine. Not bad, not great, just fine. The characters were okay, the plot was predictable, the writing was serviceable. There was nothing wrong with it, but there was nothing exceptional about it either.
I've learned to be skeptical of extreme hype. If something is being called "the best book ever," it's probably just okay.
I think social media has completely changed how books are marketed and consumed. With booktok and bookstagram, books aren't just books anymore - they're aesthetic objects, personality signifiers, social currency.
The problem is, this often has very little to do with the actual quality of the book. A book can have a beautiful cover, a compelling premise, and good marketing, and become a huge hit even if the writing is mediocre.
I've been burned too many times by bookstagram favorites I didn't enjoy. Books that look amazing in photos - pretty covers, aesthetic layouts, etc. - but are actually poorly written or derivative.
I've started following reviewers whose taste aligns with mine, rather than just going by what's popular on social media. It's made a huge difference in my reading satisfaction.
The book hype vs reality disconnect is real. I think part of the problem is that social media encourages extreme reactions. Everything has to be the best thing ever" or "the worst thing ever." There's no room for nuance.
So when a book gets popular on booktok, it's not just "this is a good book" - it's "this book changed my life" or "this is the greatest book ever written." Of course it's going to disappoint when you actually read it.
Another issue is that social media hype often focuses on superficial aspects - the romance, the drama, the aesthetic - rather than the actual quality of the writing or the depth of the themes. So you get books that are great for creating content about, but not necessarily great to read.
This is such an interesting phenomenon. I've been thinking about why certain books that didn't live up to hype become so popular in the first place.
I think part of it is that social media creates these feedback loops. Someone makes a video about a book, it gets views, so more people make videos about it, which makes more people buy it, which makes more people make videos... and suddenly you have a phenomenon.
But the actual quality of the book is almost irrelevant to this process. What matters is whether the book is good for creating content about. Does it have dramatic moments that make for good TikTok videos? Does it have romantic scenes that people can gush about? Does it have an aesthetic that looks good on Instagram?
Books that are quietly good but not particularly dramatic or aesthetic often get overlooked in this environment.
I've completely stopped paying attention to booktok recommendations I disliked. The last three books I read based on booktok hype were all disappointing in different ways.
One was a romance that was praised for being spicy," but the actual relationship was toxic and the writing was terrible. Another was a fantasy that had beautiful world-building but terrible pacing and flat characters. The third was literary fiction that was all style and no substance.
What I've realized is that my taste just doesn't align with what's popular on booktok. The books that get hyped there tend to be heavy on drama and romance and light on actual literary quality.
I've found much better recommendations from friends whose taste I trust, or from reviewers who actually analyze books rather than just gush about them.
|
