I hate Harry Potter: the hyping of books

To start the ball rolling I’ll explain the reason for this post. I HATE HYPE. Word of mouth is fine but “word of media” is another. I love traipsing through my local second-hand bookshop or my local Borders and discovering something interesting for myself. I don’t want it rammed down my throat: the more that someone tells me that I must do something; the less likely I’m going to do it. I certainly don’t feel that I have to be seen reading the latest Harry Potter.

I know numerous adults that will only read one book a year, and that happens to be the latest Harry Potter. Yes, that’s a good thing that they’re reading a book, but many are only doing so because the media tells them to, or peer pressure forces them to. That children want to read the book is also a good thing, but will they read anything else? There have been numerous reports of parents being badgered to buy the book by their kids, but that it’s then left on the shelf unread. I would rather instil in my child the adventure of discovery of a book than to feel that he only feels he should read it in the same way that he should be wearing the latest fashions.

Harry Potter is the obvious target, but is almost too easy a target. I started to read Book 1 but found that it was so poorly written that I couldn’t continue. I hasten to add that I picked it up when it was published, after a word-of-mouth recommendation! It’ll probably make an appearance on my LibraryThing book list when I get around to cataloguing it. Certainly, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of books that are more intelligent, better written and have less hype.

Another example is A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Hyped in a different way than Harry Potter but still seen as being the latest accessory to have. I did finish it but found it, surprisingly, badly written with poorly explained concepts: I had gone through a phase of reading books with a similar theme, including Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne. All were of a better quality than Hawking’s bestseller.

I could continue: Lord of the Rings, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, etc. But I’ll leave it up to you, the readers, or possibly non-readers of hyped fiction/non-fiction.

What do you feel about hype and which books live up to, or fall short of, the hype?

I'm not sure when you consider it to be hype and when it is popularity.

I have been reading and re-reading the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit books for over 30 years. I love the Harry Potter books and will read and re-read them. I sometimes rely on the bestseller lists to pick a book that I will enjoy (within my current taste and mood). And if I am trying a new author, I select the most popular of his/her books.

But I think my brother shares your views. He refused to read The Da Vinci Code because of the "hype." I told him I thought it an entertaining action/adventure book worth reading, whether or not you buy into the premise.

I do not always trust award winning books to be as good as the selection committee does.

I'm not sure when you consider it to be hype and when it is popularity.

Signs of "hype":

Ridiculous levels of security surrounding the book's publication. Great swearings to secrecy. PR-generated launch parties. Product tie-ins.

Signs of "popularity":

One friend saying to another, "Hey, you've got to read this! It's really good!" Author reading at small local independent bookstore draws unexpectedly large crowd. Book hits the best-seller list despite tiny (or non-existent) publicity budget.

Good definitions, although it might limit discussion of "hype" just to Harry Potter.

I can't think of any other book release on the same level. Queuing for hours outside bookstores, people who should know better dressing up as Harry Potter, media coverage, etc, etc.

To give another, lesser, example of what I mean by hype (and maybe "hype" is the wrong word): the promotion of a book, at publication time, as the next cult classic or the book everyone's talking about. NO...let me and the rest of the book-buying public decide on that. I understand that these have become throwaway marketing terms but give me some intelligence.

Yes, I think there's a fundamental difficulty in answering the question: if we perceive an advertising campaign as "hype", then of course we react negatively and don't buy the book. Everyone else may be gullible, but we're not :-)

So the only books any of us buy are the ones that we don't regard as hyped. They may well be books that other people consider to have been hyped, but that's another story...

As xorscape points out, you also have books that are perfectly respectable when they first appear, but are promoted beyond human endurance later on in their career because of a film tie-in or whatever. "I read it before all the hype" is a pretty respectable line, as long as the copy on your shelves doesn't have a still from the movie on the front cover!

To be fair to Harry Potter, the first book was a word-of-mouth success, at least in the UK (publicity budgets for children's books before HP were not exactly generous). You heard about it from kids who had heard about it from schoolfriends, well before all the bookshops were plastered with posters. The hype came along later.

I like the hype.
I haven't read any Potter, but my three kids have. And while they avoided the midnight opening, the new Potter was in their hands by 1P, and one child is halfway through.

Reading is good.

If hype encourages that reading, hype is good.

My getting into Harry Potter certainly wasn't through media hype. Through word of mouth I heard about "Harry Potter books", and thought that Harry Potter was the name of the author! By this time the first three books had been released already. After reading those, I wanted to follow the series to it's conclusion. Knowing by that time that the series would be in seven installments, I think explains a great deal of the interest as it's developed.

I do understand what you meant though. I do get wound up when I'm choosing books to discover that they are on the Richard and Judy Book List, or equivalent, and I know I have postponed my reading of several titles I'd probably very much enjoy because of the hype surrounding them.

In defence of the HP books being bought for children and then being left on the shelf...what's wrong with that? I buy many books at a time that I put on the shelf, not knowing when I'll actually read them, but knowing that they're their when I feel like picking them up is lovely.

I never feel like someone is making me buy particular books though - I have the freedom of choice. And if it's popular, so be it. If it's an unknown treasure discovered in a second hand/charity shop, so be it. If it never gets read, so be it. If I read it and end up loving/hating it....well, I could go on.... ;-)

"thought that Harry Potter was the name of the author!"

There is an expert that we sometimes use in court whose name is Harry Potter. We had been using him before the explosion of the book series, but I did notice that we started to use him less after the success of the series. I don't think it is connected, I think he was retiring, but still . . . just imagine being on a jury and hearing "and our next expert, Harry Potter, will explain . . . "

Re Hype: I have an instant negative reaction when I hear "all" the critics like a book/movie/television show or whatever, and that therefore so should I. On the other hand, I do sometimes like the same thing as the critics, and also sometimes like the things that are "hyped" - therefore I try to avoid professional critics. Not sure how to avoid the hype :)

I do think that hype can influence people's perception of a work, either positively or negatively. I tend to avoid "Oprah books" because she bugs me, but some of them that I've already read, I've liked.

As for Harry Potter specifically, I read them on advice of a friend after the first three had been released. I had heard of them, but didn't pay much attention since I don't normally read kid's books. Although they aren't the best written books in the world, the imaginitive ideas are charming and I was captivated.

The lesson might be that regardless of the hype machine in place, the recommendation of friends carries more weight and should continue to be trusted.

edited for syntax

I DO NOT READ BOOKS BECAUSE OF HYPE... EVER. However, I do read books which are discussed, reviewed, mentioned positively, and pointed out through media, but only when those books appeal to me. I often pick up books I have heard reviewed or the author interview on National Public Radio, but just because a book gets media attention does not mean it has been hyped. Also, just because a book is popular does not mean it has been hyped. Hype connotes an intentional move by publishers. Many books are popular because they have stood the test of time and they are good. Yes the HP books are hyped and so was The DVC. I can't speak as to Captain Corelli’s Mandolinl, but the The Lord of the Rings hasn't been hyped. TLOTR is a modern classic. It has been seen as a great book by un-countable numbers of experts and lay folk alike. It has stood the short term test of time (more than 50 years) and I believe it is likely to withstand the long term (100 years and on).

Now when it comes to adult books, I generally (not always) find quick popularity a very bad sign, but if the book's topic, storyline or other content appeals to me then I will still check out the book. This is means that I read (maybe) 2 big name (outside of classic and modern classics) adult books a year if that. However, when it comes to youth novels, I find that many more of those that become quickly popular are good books. The youth novel world is so transient and quickly evolving that books move in and out of popularity very quickly (like much of youth culture). It's the nature of the beast. Also, the youth novel world (especially teen fiction) is such a young area of writing that it hasn't had time to develop many classics. Therefore, books will come and go quickly until it has time to mature and develop a core of important books to hold the center. All this to say that I disagree with your assessment of HP. The HP books are not the most well written books of all time and they very well may become noting more than a literary footnote in the future, but they are very enjoyable reads. I really didn't want to read the books at all. I was dead set against reading them in fact. I felt that JKR had plagiarized many of her ideas from other others and was surprised she hadn't been sued. My wife on the other hand loves to read the latest craze because it makes her feel more connected to others and our culture. She pushed and pushed until I read the first HP book. I really enjoyed it! Couldn't put it down. JKR very well may not be a great writer, but she knows how to write a story that makes you care about the characters and makes you want see what will happen next. So, has she been hyped? Definitely. Does she deserve the hype? Probably not. But here's the real question, are her books good enjoyable reads which deserve some of their popularity/ I say yes, but then again the critique of a book is always an opinion to a point.

> 7

I buy many books at a time that I put on the shelf, not knowing when I'll actually read them,

Oy, tell me about it! I don't even want to think about how many books I own that I haven't gotten to yet. And more to come, with the Newberry Library sale this weekend.

11> I love library sales and book used book sales but . . .. I literally have bags of books sitting around my floor waiting for me to put them somewhere. The bags, at least, keep the giant piles of books sitting in neat piles. Outside the bag, the books would probably topple over and spread across the floor. I'd come home someday to see a sea of books. And I'd be happy, but I do not think anyone else that shared the house would be.

#10

Hype connotes an intentional move by publishers.

If I were an author, I would definitely want my publisher to make "an intentional more" to publicize my book. How do you think books get reviewed, talked about on NPR, placed where you can find them in bookstores, etc.? That's all because of the publisher's publicity department.

Now, if you're talking about "excessive" publicity, that's just the capitalist world we live in. The more the publisher expects the book to sell, the more they spend on publicity.

Of course, if publishers put more money into publicizing, say, first-time authors without big contracts, more authors might get more publicity and might even sell more copies. But they might not, so most publishers shy away from the risk. And it becomes something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, and a vicious circle too.

#1:
This doesn't really answer you're question, I know, but I began reading Harry Potter at the advice of one of my sisters who thought I would enjoy it. Hype did not matter to me, nor did the popularity of the series. :)

#13
I'm aware that publishers are intentionally promoting their books, but hype is more than just promoting. It's an attempt to make something excessively big. Publisher don't do this with very many books. Most of the time you only see it connected with names that are already big ( a movie star's memoir and such) or around topics they know will be easily sensationalized (i.e. 911 or OJ Simpson). My whole point in talking about NPR was to show that I have nothing against a publisher (or author) trying to make us aware of a book and trying to produce some interest in that book. In fact if you read what I said carefully you'd see that I don't even really care about hype all that much. I'm interested in what I'm interested in and just because the book is or isn't well known doesn't tend to overly effect my reading choices.

Here's a good example that goes right along with HP. Stephen King. I read a few of his books when I was younger. He's not my favorite author, but like JKR I can see why people read him. He's very good at creating characters which are real and that you want to get to know. He's also good at creating stories which draw the reader in and make him/her want to read more. Those facts stand regardless of his excessive popularity and the crazy hype which used to surround the release of his books not that long ago.

Harry Potter is a once in a thousand year phenomenom. Rowling is still the only author to become a billionaire and will likely remain the only one adjusted for inflation in the future. The series moved beyond hype into something else. If it was just hype then publishers would replicate it weekly. They try but it doesn't work. Nobody involved with Harry Potter knows exactly why it became a phenomenom. Even JK. There are about 17.3 million reasons that people claim was responsible for its success but I'm convinced that no one really knows.

Sorry... I can't pass this up....

#1 the more that someone tells me that I must do something; the less likely I’m going to do it.

Breathing is absolutely necessary, batdog. You have to do it. You must. ;)

LOL. :)

Please, JPB, tell me NOT to breathe...(FACE TURNING BLUE)...(HAND SMACKING TABLE)...(TEARING COPY OF Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone IN TWO)...(COUGH)...(SPLUTTER)...

Batdog:

Whatever you do, don't breathe!!! That's an order!

At the risk of also turning blue in the face, I'll also admit to not wishing to read a book or watch a movie* once the 'hype machine' is telling me to.

Actually, I think over the years we're all more cynical about media hype and have developed more conscious filtering mechanisms. My personal bugbear is co-workers etc who proudly say they don't read/can't find the time to read selecting the hyped book and telling me how good it is and that I should read it. Like I trust their judgement!

*My personal movie-going philosphy has been to not go to any movie which has a burger named after it. So far has worked well.

While I do often resist books or movies that I feel are being excessively pushed I don't let it prevent me from enjoying those things if I have a sincere interest in them. To me that's just as sheep-like and reactionary as doing something simply because of the publicity.

And nothing is preventing persons from trying other books or movies if they care to.

The Historian - now that is a book that fell flat on its face after all the hype, because it was not a very good book, and word spread pretty quickly. And yes, I read it. And I am someone who has avoided DVC because of the hype (and because by all reports it is the type of book I am sure I would not like).

Unfortunately, the publishing world is becoming more like the movie world - publishers want 'sure hits' and would rather sign up five new authors for a lot of money and then spend ridiculous amounts on hyping a book to try and make it a surefire seller (which often it is not) than take a chance and sign up 50 new writers for the same amount in the chance that a few of them might be money makers (let's leave out that unquantifiable 'but are they any good' just for the moment).

(Scene, a pub in Southwark; date, 1599) Language modernized.

"Have you seen the posters for Shakespeare's new play Henry V? There were sell-out crowds for some performances of the earlier ones in the tetralogy, and I hear that this one is the best of the series."

"Bunch of bloody hype! I haven't seen any of his plays"

"Why not?"

"If so many people, especially the groundlings, like them, they can't be any good."

>23 ForrestFamily: fell flat on its face

Weird. The Historian easily became one of my very favorite books. I couldn't put it down.

I'm not saying no-one liked it fleela, just that I sought out professional reviews, reading group inputs, word-of-mouth etc. and the general word was, nup, didn't live up to the hype. I am sure that there are many here who would say they loved a booked that was panned by many.

#24 myshelves:
Clever post. I like it. :)

#21 (after #24):

So you would avoid the Coriolanus Burger?

:-)

Ok if that play had a new hollywood treatment, was hyped to the extent that international food promo deals were done
(just picture it: "Coriolanus Happy Meal)
.... I reserve the right to change my mind, not only stand in line at the movies & watch it, but also go to the fast food place and eat one of those meals.
Out of morbid curiousity :-)

I started the mental rule after watching Dick Tracy at the movies and the group of us ended up at a McD's eating Dick Tracy McMeals whilst agreeing that we'd seen better movies than that.
I've caught some like Shrek on DVD later but still don't think I've missed any 'fantastic movie-going experience' through using the burger assessment.

I guess I have a different take on this in that I read what I want to read. If it's something that's hyped by the media, so be it. If it's something I found while browsing in a used bookstore, great. I would never consciously avoid something because it's hyped or popular. I never even heard of the Harry Potter books until the fourth one came out in 2000. That was the first hype, as far as I know. So the first three must have been selling on word of mouth. I've read the first one, and when the last one is out in paperback next year, I'll read the rest of them. Not because of the hype, but because I enjoyed The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia , so I figured I would enjoy this series as well.

There's also different types of hype. Based on the critical reviews and awards the Harry Potter books have won, I'd say the hype is justified. But then some publishers will try to promote the "next Harry Potter" without any word of mouth from the public and it will fail, giving credence to the perjorative "all hype is bad."

Thinking of it in movie terms: There's Something About Mary and My Big Fat Greek Wedding were small (very small in Greek's case) comedies not expected to due anywhere near as well as they did. But the public liked them, word of mouth spread and eventually the media noticed and the hype machine took over. Compare that to the typical summer movie which is hyped to death before anyone has even seen it. That's the difference. Harry Potter earned its hype.

It's wrong to think about the Harry Potter phenomenon as relating to books, HP has more in common with "Titanic" or "Thriller" - it appeals to a great number of people who want to believe they are in "the in-crowd", who will jump on any bandwagon going. Many of the people who bought HP will probably only read one or two books a year - the big breakout books. (As stated above and on other threads, HP has not resulted in children reading more, or book sales rocketing). To critique them as books is pointless (although I can't accept this argument made by the Two D's - Based on the critical reviews and awards the Harry Potter books have won, I'd say the hype is justified - if the popularity of HP was based on reviews and awards then they would have sold moderately well), it's best to view the HP circus as a modern form of mass hysteria.

#28

I'd avoid the burger, but go to the play because of my opinion of the author, even if Ben Jonson or someone panned it. I'd be disappointed, but that happens.

I suspect that there are many more unread or unfinished copies of books by Umberto Eco and Sir Salmon Rushdie and other "must read" authors sitting around than there are of all of J. K. Rowling's books combined.

I tend to avoid hype, but I'm glad that I decided to join in "making a statement" in the case of The Satanic Verses. I didn't expect to enjoy the book, but ended up discovering one of my favorite authors. I'm also glad that I finally gave in after an older friend who read mostly history and biography, and didn't even like fantasy, urged me to read the Potter books and handed me his copies of the first 4. The books are great fun.

(Edited for touchstones.)

Hmm, this calls for a list.

Some of these might not have been hyped in your country, but they were all definitely hyped where I was living at the time (which can vary from book to book). I don't mind reading hyped books, I read fast so I can take my chances. If I read more slowly I probably wouldn't read hyped books at all, and wouldn't read really offbeat titles either, only the less risky ones, like, say, Hugo or Nebula winners. In fact I've recently realized that I read too few of the less risky ones, and now I'm trying to read the Hugo/Nebula list ;)

Hyped books I liked:
* The Lord of the Rings (read it for the first time ~15 years ago, it wasn't hyped back then, so maybe it doesn't count)
* Persepolis
* A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (this was REALLY hyped in Austria, to my surprise, bookstore stands etc. it was everywhere. So I bought it)

Hyped books I disliked/couldn't finish/etc:
* The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Narnia 1)
* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter 1)
* Coelho's The Alchemist (AUUUAAAUUUGGGH this was really bad!)
* a large amount of P. K. Dick novels (but I did like an other large amount of them, and some of those are my favorites.... Dick is Uneven Output incarnate) - in Hungary it's currently very fashionable to read Dick, especially in literary circles (!)... he's definitely a great writer, but some of his books are really awful. But all of his books sell like crazy. (Which is good for me personally, because I really like the publishing house releasing his oeuvre, and I'm happy with their successes... but I'm pretty sure quite a lot of titles only sell because it's trendy to read Dick.)

I generally tend to like the hyped nonfiction I read (I even liked The Emperor's New Mind, though now I disagree about many of Penrose's positions), I can only think of Putin's Russia by Anna Politkovskaya that I found badly written (I'm still trying to convince myself to finish it). Get yourself shot and people will have huge promos of your book, stands in stores, posters etc? No one cared about the book before Politkovskaya was killed, and I got the impression that it was for a reason. Even though that feels like a nasty thing to say *sigh*

There are also hyped series that I liked in the beginning, but the later volumes I found increasingly awful... The Anita Blake books are probably the best example. (And I even bought the T-shirt! Talk about hype, book-related clothing items. They also sell Dick T-shirts in Hungary, LOL.)

If you see someone wearing a "I like Dick" T-shirt, do not assume that they mean Philip K. Dick. They might mean Dick Francis.

Not sure if A History of the English Speaking Peoples Since 1900, was "hyped" but I had the impression it had been before I bought it. Somewhat less well-written than I expected. Interesting, but . . ..

If you see someone wearing a "I like Dick" T-shirt, do not assume that they mean Philip K. Dick. They might mean Dick Francis.

Or not be referring to any author at all . . .

I used to have a t-shirt from my trip to see the Reduced Shakespeare Company with a picture of Shakespeare that says "I love my Willy"....

Yes, I added that Dick Francis line after I had almost pushed the submit button.

By the way, considering that Dick can be a nickname for Richard, is it widely understood among non-native English speakers the non-person's name meaning (similarly, the non-person's name meaning of Willy)?

Reminds me of that episode in The Simpons (sorry, yes I also watch television) where Bart's nemesis said (and not exact quote) - no, I did not say Die Bart Die, I said The Bart The.

LadyN, made me laugh and giggle...

And dick is German for fat.

In fact Philip K Dick named his narrator in his novel VALIS "Horselover Fat" based on his name: Philip comes from the Greek for lover of horses.

#39 - Tee hee! ;-)