The internet has a huuuuge influence over my reading choices. I’ve been a life-long reader and book lover and YES I was that child who won the libraries’ Summer reading challenge every year. But whilst I might not read quite as much as I did when I was 10, I’m still always engrossed in books and looking for new ones to add to my shelves. And the internet comes in REAL handy for that!
We could delve into the argument of whether bloggers or internet personalities actually have any influence and the answer is a resounding YES. For me, I’m very influenced over what other people are reading. If I see a book featured on more than 2 blogs in the space of a week, I instantly make a mental note to add it to my TBR list.
And when it comes to books in particular, I very much trust the opinion of other bloggers and would much rather buy a book based off of what a handful of bloggers I love are thinking rather than a random review in a newspaper or from a critic.
For that reason, most books on my bookshelf are ones that I’ve heard about online and decided to try for myself. Do I enjoy all of them, even the ones that have been monumentally hyped up? No way. But nonetheless, the internet well and truly made me by them. Here’s 8 books that fall under that category.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
I’m a big fan of Michelle Obama and I loved her Netflix documentary “Becoming”. But I honestly don’t think I would have felt the need to pick up the book and read the more in-depth story of her life and journey into the White House if it wasn’t for the hundreds of reviews I saw online. But I’m SO glad I did. I only finished reading this book in September and it was a stunning read.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
This is a book that I saw occasionally on my travels; in the Tesco book section or in Waterstones but never felt the need to even pick up and look at. UNTIL I saw everyone talking about it online. My Dark Vanessa is an uncomfortable read and covers some heavy topics, so reading people’s reviews and opinions of this one was interesting and instantly made me want to try it myself.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Funny story. Years ago now, I was sent a book subscription box to review which included this book in it. This book was published in 2014 might I add and at the time, I had heard nothing about it. It didn’t sound like it was for me, so I decided to give it away to someone who would enjoy it. Fast forward to 2020, year of the pandemic, suddenly everyone’s talking about it and I decide to buy it again.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
This is 100000% not a book I would have picked up had it not been for everyone and their Nan raving about it online. The cover is beautiful and whilst I might have been initially drawn to it for that reason, I don’t think I’d have felt like this was a book I’d enjoy. But thanks to everyone’s reviews I read of this, I did decide to read it and whilst at first I didn’t think I’d like it, after a few chapters I was hooked.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Woah okay we’re going back a good few years here but before I even really started blogging, the internet 100% made me buy this book. Everyone was sharing photos of this book on Instagram and saying how profound it was, with everyone’s bio reading, “we were infinite” and everyone was getting infinity symbol tattoos. I needed a slice of that pie. Simpler times.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
I haven’t actually read this one yet, it’s still sitting on my bookshelf but I’m hoping to get around to it before the end of the year but the internet definitely made me buy this one as I saw it featured on so many different blogs and YouTube channels and have heard generally very good things.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Again, let’s rewind a second here. If you WEREN’T influenced to read The Fault in Our Stars back in the day and then spent your whole life saying “Okay? Okay” to your best friend then what on Earth were you doing? Although after this read, I did become a big fan of John Green’s work and whilst TFioS is by no means by favourite book by him, it still holds a special place in my heart.
Fun fact: To this day, this is the ONLY book my boyfriend has read. When we first started talking, I posted by copy to him (because he lived in Lincolnshire at the time and I was in Essex and we hadn’t yet met IRL) and he read it, even though he’s not a reader. Proud.
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
And finally, a little bit of a cop-out this one because I didn’t buy it but I got it from the library but the only reason I did is because everyone was raving about it. Andddd I didn’t like it one bit. Usually, I tend to jump on the hype train but I just couldn’t with this one.
So tell me, which books did the internet make you buy? Did you enjoy them? Loathe them? Let me know!
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