Play Book Tag discussion

Do you like to read a book when it is recently released to get ahead of the crowd or do you like to wait a while?

Why?

Oh, I think that this conversation was in part started by me! When a book has high high raves, I do try to get to it earlier rather than later. Because when the expectations are too high, it really ruins it for me. I know when a book is highly touted, I have to lower my expectations to not be disappointed. I also think that there are some fantastic books out there that people write really highly and then a couple people nay say it, and that ruins it for me too. I absolutely hate it when a book I’m so looking forward to starts getting banned by people I like and usually trust. My Friends was like that. So I find that when a book is coming out that everyone’s gonna be all over, I have to get to it pretty early before the field becomes too saturated. That happened to me most recently with the correspondent. I saw pretty quickly that I’d better be in the first wave. That happened to me with covenant of water. But because it was a big bucket it took me a long time to get to it. But I still understood I had to be in the earlier wave. There are plenty of other examples. All the Light We Cannot See. The Nightingale. The memory keepers’s daughter. That was the first book that got ruined for me because the expectations were too high. Anyway, you get my drift. Every now and then a book comes out that I can see that I’d better be in the earlier wave…. Otherwise too many expectations and opinions get in my way..

This has been a lively discussion over in a review of The Lion Women of Tehran. I just went there to add to something I'd posted earlier and saw BnB's comment opening it up here. Great idea, BooknBubbles!

I'm sure you have all heard me say that I like books to mature in my TBR for a while. It's largely just because my time is full of so much. But it's also because when I have succumbed to the raves on books that have not necessarily spoken loudly to me already --- for example Wolf Hall and Normal People - I have not just been disappointed or underwhelmed, I've basically hated them, and found them so poorly written that I just don't get it. Dune is another - though that's a life-long one and I only succumbed when Feminerdy selected it as one of the reads one year.

Also with the rise of ARCs and targeted negative reviewing - even if you ignore it you still can't help but hear/see it.

I discovered once I started letting books mature, with rare exceptions, I'm rarely truly disappointed - though it does happen. I get to absorb and enjoy the book in my own little bubble without feeling the press of expectation. For me I'm not smothering the book with expectations other than just have a good read. Works for me.

That wasn't always the case - when I was keeping up with favorite mystery and romance series, and basically not reading much else and certainly not reading diversely (I was in a rut -- bought all kinds of interesting books and read just the next in favorite series), I'd be reading books as soon as they came out. However, as the years passed, and I became busier and busier professionally, plus spending most of my down time, when not out and about doing stuff, pursuing my cross stitch obsession with reading have to make room for that, I got behind. Plus in 2016 I was introduced to the PS challenge, joined PBT in 2018, and in 2019 took on 2 very complex time-devouring legal cases .... I stopped even rushing to buy books I wanted let alone reading them before the chorus of raves or pans rang out.

My reading also broadened and thanks to PS, I started digging out all these wonderful books I'd bought and loaded onto my shelves and TBR Towers. It all works for me.

I rarely read brand-new books except from Audible, where a new audiobook is the same cost/credit as an old one. There are some series (Walt Longmire, Chet & Bernie) that I grab right away. For literary fiction, I know that my library book group will probably read them in their 2nd or 3rd year, once they are more available.

I think it's a toss-up for me between those that lived up to the hype and those that didn't. Sometimes it's because I misunderstood what the book was about. I thought All the Light We Cannot See was about the relationship of the 2 young people,and they literally only meet for one page.

I'm always really late. I hate long hold lists at the library so I tend to wait (sometimes a long time!) for the hold list to go down before I get to a book.

I enjoy being among the first to read a new book, especially for my favorite authors. I read the 13 newish books on the Booker Prize longlist each year.

I follow new releases, request arcs from NetGalley and get on my library waitlist before the book has been released so I can get it before those gigantic waits occur.

It's partly the excitement of being one of the first to read it and enjoy going in without knowing what to expect.

Robin P wrote: "Sometimes it's because I misunderstood what the book was about. I thought All the Light We Cannot See was about the relationship of the 2 young people,and they literally only meet for one page..."

I hate when that happens, it can bring my rating down, but I try to be fair as it isn't the books fault that it was misrepresented.

Joy D wrote: "I enjoy being among the first to read a new book, especially for my favorite authors. I read the 13 newish books on the Booker Prize longlist each year.

I follow new releases, request arcs from N..."

Joy, when ARCs aren't available, how do you get new books? Do you buy them at full price in hardcover? Or get them as ebooks?

I usually prefer to wait a little while before reading a newly released book rather than rushing to get ahead of everyone else, although it does depend on the book. My reading list is already far too long, so I tend to read based more on mood, availability and interest than whatever is currently trending. I also like seeing how opinions settle once the initial excitement dies down because sometimes heavily hyped books turn out not to suit me at all.

That said, I do sometimes try to get in early with books that I suspect are going to become very popular, mainly because of library hold queues. If I wait too long to place a reservation, it can end up being months, and sometimes over a year, before I actually get a copy, especially for big new releases everyone suddenly wants to read at once.

Another thing that affects it is the difference between UK and US publication dates. I often hear about books early through Goodreads or online discussions, particularly when American readers already have access to them, but then have to wait weeks or even months before they are available here. By the time the UK release arrives, I sometimes feel like I’m already behind the conversation anyway. Though this does sometimes mean with UK authors that I end up reading a book before it gets hyped up.

Cost is also a big factor. Hardbacks are so expensive now that I very rarely buy new releases outright. Most of the time I either try to borrow books from the library or wait for the paperback edition instead. I’d much rather wait and buy more books than constantly buy brand-new hardcovers the moment they appear.

There are definitely certain authors and series where I will always read the next book as soon as I can, regardless of reviews. With those, I actually avoid reading too much online discussion beforehand because I want to go in with as few expectations and spoilers as possible. Though this can sometimes leave me very disappointed, most recently with The Astral Library. Ironically, it is often the heavily hyped books by new-to-me authors, or writers I’ve only read once or twice before, that end up disappointing me the most. Sometimes the anticipation built up online is almost impossible for the actual book to live up to, which is why for favourite authors, I tend to try to avoid it.

If it is a book by one of my favorite authors, I like to get my hands on it as soon as possible. I call it the 'read on publication list. Guy Gavriel Kay, Richard Russo, Tana French are a few examples of this.

If a book gets a lot of buzz online or on the Goodreads annual popularity contests (booktok, redditt, other) I prefer to wait at least a couple of years or until some of my favorite reviewers here have a chance to weight in. I got burned too many times already by these tentpole runaway hits who turned out to be poorly written and emotionally manipulative.

If a book is part of a series (usually fantasy or SF) I prefer to wait until the trilogy is finished, even when I like the author. I blame GRRM for this, although he is not the only one to leave his readers hanging for closure.

I view my GR friends in my general GR feed loosely as a reading group. They tend to read new releases as they come out and some read ARC's. Sometimes through them, I learn of new books that I had not known about. There are some readers there with tastes similar to mine. I follow these particular readers closely.

I get all of my books through the library. Due to long wait times, I find that if I reserve my books as soon as I hear about them, then my wait times will be shorter. Another plus is that I can discuss the books online at about the same time that others are reading them. I value our discussions - just like I value our discussions here at PBT.

Sometimes, I'll opt to skim reviews or not read them if I think they might give away too much of a book. I honestly don't think hype ever ruins a book for me. I'm more puzzled as to why a book that I dislike is so popular.

While I consider myself an eclectic reader, however while I read a wide variety of books, there are some that really fill in all the blanks for me and others that are a total miss.

Given that I try to be discerning with what I pick, I do like to get ahead and will preorder those that I think will fit the bill. It doesn't always work but sometimes it does. Often, what works for me doesn't work for everyone.

My library is pretty good at getting new books and I've picked up some that were all the rage this saves money and often reminds me why I avoided them. The Astral Library and Theo of Golden were DNF for me and I'm glad they were library books.

Other times, I'm like Theresa and waiting for the right moment. I will say that I have had many times in which I felt, that a book is good but perhaps not as good as all the hoopla.

Robin P wrote: "Joy, when ARCs aren't available, how do you get new books? Do you buy them at full price in hardcover? Or get them as ebooks?..."

I do occasionally buy them as e-books or hardcopies. I usually don't have a problem with obtaining more new releases than I can possibly read, since I don't focus solely on new books and have eclectic taste. I will also use my audible credits on an audiobook of the new release, if they offer one.

There are so many books on my tbr that I really don't make an effort to read new books. I'll likely add a book to the tbr list if a lot of people here liked it, even if it doesn't sound quite up my alley, then decide later if I actually want to read it. When I do read new books it's usually because they happened to be sitting on my libraries new book shelf on the day I was there. That's how I ended up reading Eveyone in this Bank is a Thief and The Weding People this year. Usually I'm picking books off my tbr to meet the tag here or some other challenge.

I don’t buy these books. I just see that they’re popular and I get myself on the waiting list. They turn up a couple of months later. There’s a few I’m on the waiting list for now because they look like they’re becoming popular.

When I worked at the library, as the processing clerk I saw all the new items as soon as they came in. I did read quite a few new books at that time but now that I'm retired I just get to them when it strikes my fancy.

My library reading is exclusively ebooks -- and being in NYC, even though we have 3 independent libraries we join - New York Public covers Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library - and you can literally return physical books to any of them, not just in the borough you borrowed it - it does mean horrendous waitlists on any 'hot new' book. Plus NYPL is open to anyone who is a resident of NYState to borrow ebooks. NYC population is about $9MM, add in the full state and that's $20MM. Waiting to read new books calms it all down to a tolerable level. That's just ebooks. These days it might be easier to get hands on print copies but the nearest branch is not all that convenient to me.

Cost is also an issue -- the initial cost of a new ebook at $15 or $16 for something that will take me at most 3 days to read? I think not. Waiting means deals of the day, ending up on Kindle Unlimited, someone lending me a print copy. I'll wait.

Algernon wrote: "If a book is part of a series (usually fantasy or SF) I prefer to wait until the trilogy is finished, even when I like the author. I blame GRRM for this, although he is not the only one to leave his readers hanging for closure..."

While SFF writers seem to be the ones getting the most press about finishing series - and I'm a huge GRRM fan - they are not the only ones. I have crime fiction and even romance series where the same thing happens. There's one author who seems to have abandonned one of her mystery series at least 25 years ago now, leaving her characters in peril in a cliffhanger. She's written many new series, continued to write in other series, but this one ... I even wrote her probably 15 years ago about it and said she was coming back to it and did explain what the reason initially was for not finishing it but I don't remember what it is.

I have no problem reading a series that's still evolving. I don't binge read series normally any way. It's very rare.

I agree about the cost of short books. I refuse to pay full price for what I call "A 2-hour book".

I normally wait for the hype to die down. There are exceptions to that rule, a special author or series that I adore (Vince Flynn novels and Daniel Silva, too). Most series I wait for, unless it is the final book.

OMG JoAnne - the final book! I still am sitting on final books for a few series or authors (who have died) because knowing it is over just isn't something I can face. I can fool myself into thinking there's another one still waiting for me -- love that.

I rarely read brand new releases because I use the library most of the time. I might be reading one soon, though, because I'm second in line in our library network for the next No 1 Ladies Detective books.

Theresa wrote: "OMG JoAnne - the final book! I still am sitting on final books for a few series or authors (who have died) because knowing it is over just isn't something I can face. I can fool myself into thinkin..."

Agree! A Fantasy buddy and I have been reading a series for almost 4 years now(30 books). We are to the last, and neither one of us wants to pick it up!

If it's a book by a favorite author or in a series I'm reading, I want to get it immediately. But I hate reading a book and no one else has read it so there is little to no conversation.

I don't like to know a lot about a book before going into it for many reasons, but one is to not have too high of expectations.

Like others, if it’s a new book in a favourite series, I’ll want it straight away. Favourite author? Often the same. But otherwise I don’t focus on new books - I have way too many in the ‘owned TBR’ catalogue to deliberately home in on new books just because they’re new. I probably won’t even be conscious of a new book unless there have been a few PBT reviews to make me notice it among the masses of options!

The exception is the Booker longlist - I do notice it and always have excellent intentions to read the lot. But I never manage. It will just need to wait until I retire, sigh.

Things might improve, though, as I’m starting to use the physical library more again (not just the app). As well as the free collections, our library has a really attractive selection of new releases that they charge NZ$4 to borrow for two weeks. A good way to support the library, and the librarians have a good sense of what’s new that is likely to prove popular. Lots of it is not my thing and I wouldn’t bother. But there are some potential gems. I should use the shelf more deliberately.

@Kate, I wish we could borrow books here for $4., as that is affordable. Where I live, we pay a lot in local taxes to our libraries and in the recent past, they had done a good job with procuring plentiful books. There was no need for the nominal fee. However, our national government has greatly reduced what they are contributing to libraries across the U.S. I've noticed that our local libraries are not buying books in the numbers that they used to. :(

I hear you, Holly. In our region we are very lucky, but it isn’t the same everywhere.

In NZ, our town libraries are one of many services supported by local taxes (rates, based on house and land valuation) - they don’t get anything from central government.

Periodically, some muppet of a local council official thinks it might be a good idea to cut libraries back to save money, (ignoring the fact they are social service hubs and so are increasingly important). But in our region we’ve mostly managed to fend off the muppets. I bet there’s a massive amount of invisible effort behind the scenes from the librarians to keep things going though.

@Kate, I'm now trying to borrow (right this second) library books for my kindle and I'm shocked at the long wait times for books. It's bad.

Our current administration here has slashed funding. Some citizens think that they don't want us to be literate and knowledgeable.

I'm glad that your community has been able to fend off the muppets. Wouldn't it be interesting to talk with some of the librarians you mention to learn about their efforts behind the scenes.

I'm amazed at what services our libraries here provide. They're also like social service hubs and community centers. I see the programming for all ages, tutoring for kids, passport photo and application center, and even ladies playing Mahj. My 8 year old nephew goes there to play video games on the computer, because he's not allowed them at home. They are a special treat for him.

Our libraries do a lot of fundraising. Each library has multiple book sales during the year and the overall system does annual events where there are fees for a dinner or dessert including an author talk. Of course most events are totally free. It's a university town so there is a lot of support for libraries. I think it's much harder in small towns.

I think the wait for ebooks has to do with both the publisher's restrictions and costs. It is often faster to get a physical book, even if you have to wait a few months.