Books I Read Because of the Hype

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The meme was originally the brainchild of The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Books I read because of the hype.

Books I read because of the hype

So let me just start by saying that I never read a book just because of the hype. There has to be something about the book’s description or the reviews that appeals to me, and it has to be in a genre I enjoy. Publishers could hype a horror book from here to kingdom come, and I would not read it. And to be honest, sometimes I even find myself avoiding a particular book because I feel it is over-hyped. (Hello, Fourth Wing.)

But what hype can do is bring books to my attention that I might not have noticed or picked up otherwise. The books below fall in that category. I might have found some of them without the hype… but I might not. The hype got my attention; the book’s description (and, I admit, sometimes the cover) sold the deal.

Of course, not every book lives up to the hype… but these seven have.

Books I read because of the hype… and loved

Listed alphabetically by title.

84, Charing Cross Road (Helene Hanff). Hype about a book published in 1970? Definitely! I can’t tell you how many people and articles and blog posts recommended this book to me over the years. All I can say is, they were absolutely right. I loved the entire book, and was devastated that Helene and London bookseller Frank never got to meet. And yet, they became such wonderful friends through their correspondence; that friendship shines through in their letters over the years. Hanff is an excellent writer, with her own distinctive voice that owes much to both her New York City roots and the era in which she came of age as a writer. I can’t praise 84, Charing Cross Road enough, and it has become one of my comfort books… especially the marvelous audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblat and John Franklyn-Robbins.

Cinder (Marissa Meyer). I’m not sure how much of my reading this was due to the hype, how much was due to the frankly awesome cover, and how much was due to the concept. (Cinderella as a cyborg in a post-apocalyptic world… falling for the future emperor of China? Let me at it!) All I know is, the book was a heck of a lot of fun, and I’m not sure why it hasn’t been in my rereading queue in the decade since I read it. It’s time I remedied that, I think. (You can read my review here.)

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Heather Fawcett). I would probably have read this book without the hype if I had come across it, because it’s the sort of thing I really enjoy, but the hype and the cover art (both US & UK) got my attention, so I requested the ARC. And I was really glad I did. Emily and Wendell are such delightful characters—the grumpy/sunshine trope describes them to a T, and yet does little to explain what makes each of them so much fun to read about. And Fawcett’s imagination and descriptive writing bring the creepy-but-enticing world of Faerie to life in beautiful and frequently chilling detail. It’s a marvelous book; I’m so glad I read it. In fact, I loved it so much, I ordered a hardcover copy for my shelves. (I reviewed the book here.)

Legends & Lattes (Travis Baldree). Let me tell you, this book deserved all the hype it got. I devoured it in about two gulps, and was utterly enchanted. Cozy fantasy at its best, with charm and humor and just enough tension. It’s [gestures] *chef’s kiss.* (And speaking of chefs, I really, really want a recipe book to go with this series.) I won’t say more about L&L here; just check out my 5-star review.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Becky Chambers). I suppose I should probably put The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet here instead, because having read that book, I would have picked up A Psalm for the Wild-Built regardless of any hype. But the “hype” I saw around The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was mostly just several small- and medium-scale SFF bloggers that I follow quietly raving about how wonderful it was, several years after it came out; reading it felt like taking the advice of my friends. On the other hand, the hype around A Psalm for the Wild-Built was first generated by the publisher and then underscored by (lots of) glowing reviews, so it felt more like legitimate hype to me. Regardless, A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a fantastic book: warm-hearted, soothing, hopeful, and thought-provoking. I love it so much that I have given it to at least 3 or 4 people in my circle of family and friends. It’s now one of my comfort books, and I particularly love the audiobook. I really owe both books a review.

The Siren of Sussex (Mimi Matthews). This is the book that got me into Mimi Matthews. I love her meticulously-researched portrayals of 19th-century Britain, in particular the fact that there were, in fact, people of color in that world. (Not that that aspect shows up in every book, mind you, because it’s also true that there was significant prejudice against people of color, which meant there were some strata of society in which POC were neither welcome nor present.) Matthews also explores class differences with sympathy, sensitivity, and understanding. I’m so glad I’ve discovered her books. )To my shame, I haven’t written a review of The Siren of Sussex yet.)

The Spellbook (Sarah Beth Durst). It came within a hair’s breadth of living up to the hype, and I really enjoyed it. (Just not quite as much as, say, Legends and Lattes.) The main character is very relateable, especially to all of us avid readers. I absolutely love Caz, the sentient spider plant, and his sidekick, Meep the cactus. The romance is charming; the overall village vibe is heartwarming; and the characters are marvelously diverse in ways both human and magical. I love the merhorses, too, but I admit I was hoping for a little more about the winged cats. (Also, I really need to write my review of this book!)

So, which books have you read because of the hype… and did they live up to it?

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