'Watch out Katniss...there is a new kick-butt female on the block"
"This is the next Hunger Games!"
"Harry Potter has competition!"
"The Mortal Instruments is the new Twilight."
"The Mortal Instruments is the new Twilight."
If you follow me on Twitter(@DayDreamsWorld), you may have noticed recent tweets where I have been discussing the way people feel the need to constantly compare books to a novel that has been successful. I know I'm not the only one who has seen stickers on books with 'This is the next Hunger Games!' pasted in a bold-font across it, or taken a look at the reviews to see, 'Watch out Katniss!' When there is a new love-triangle, it is immediately compared to The Twilight Saga and any book with even an element of fantasy or magic in it gets the Harry Potter or Mortal Instruments treatment. Writing-styles are also always called-upon, with comments on how the author creates worlds like Veronica Roth(author of the Divergent series).
This is the one thing about the marketing of books that I let out an exasperated sigh when I see. It's not just the marketing of books though, It's when a film-adaptation is announced and you only open a magazine to see it asking what it will replaced on the popularity-scale. I can't help but feel that there is no need to constantly compare things; especially since it happens so much in society anyway. When you compare a book, I want to see whether it will live up to it. Of course I do - since your gut-reaction is to see if this book is, in fact, better than a series you know is loved by generations. Although, I feel like these comparisons are being over-used. Now, it seems like people are looking to find the success of the books that never really tried at all; instead it just happened. That's the magic of a good book, though. That people fall in love with it because it is original, unique and can't be compared to anything else.
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| Wait - another comparison? OH MY. |
As I said above, I see a comparison and sigh. I sometimes feel it can leave me a sense of not wanting to read it, if it can't stand on it's own. A few months ago, I read Natasha Ngan's 'The Elites' and on the back of my proof-copy it said that it had the 'action and adventure of the Hunger Games' when, I felt it instead stood alone. It had no resemblance to the action and adventure - but, instead, had it's own course. One of my other favourite novels is Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass, which had a big sticker on the front saying 'Hotter than The Hunger Games' - is anyone else noticing they use the recent best-seller to draw people in? I wanted to read this book as I thought it sounded amazing, not due to the fact I wanted another Hunger Games. I experienced that, now I want something different.
Truthfully, I can say that comparisons are a pet-peeve of mine, despite the times where I read to see if it lives up to the said novel. Why can't we accept things for being different? Why can't we read a book and think, 'Wow, this is like nothing I have ever read' - as we all seem to hunt down the similarities! Something I have also noticed is that once an idea is out there sometimes, it's best if that is left to being the only one. This year alone, Beautiful Creatures and The Mortal Instruments lost at the Box-office because they were said to be 'the next Twilight.' I have read both books and disagree with this - especially as they are all very different when it gets into the detail - but, this comparing could easily be the reason for why they didn't do so well. Think about it.
A final point: what if it doesn't live up to the 'Harry Potter' label? Isn't that going to be a disappointment? So, yes, you read it because you see it as a challenge but, most the time readers are looking for a completely fresh idea and premise. Being a book-blogger, this really is something I love to see!
What do you think? Tell me in the comments!
