*Top Ten Tuesday* Popular Books that Lived Up to the Hype

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This weeks theme is popular books that lived up to the hype. Now I don't end up reading a whole lot of "popular" books before they release, so I at least have that going for me here. However, I don't read a whole lot of "popular" books after they release either because they usually cost more than I actually want to spend on a book (and I'm anti-going to the library). And by the time I find the books on sale and then finally get around to reading them (usually about 2-3 years after I initially buy them), I've forgotten all the hype surrounding the books in the first place, if I was even aware of the hype to begin with. So let's see what I can come up with to fit this theme.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James - While I feel like this book has some problems surrounding the overall plot (it wouldn't be romantic if Christian wasn't rich for example) I feel like most of the hype surrounding the book was about how descriptive the sex scenes were. It seemed to be the first mainstream book with open door sex. And on that score, it absolutely lived up to the hype.

The Shining by Stephen King - Now I'll admit that I actually saw the made for tv mini-series version of this (not the movie starring Jack Nicholson) before I read the book. And the book is old enough that the hype existed before I did, but I can say that the book far surpassed the expectations set by the tv mini-series. 

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman - This has been made into a movie so I have to assume that there was a fair amount of hype surrounding it. I know I absolutely devoured this series when I read it because it was just so good and so engrossing. I definitely recommend it. 

The Immortal Life of Henreitta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - I don't know how much hype there was surrounding this book before Oprah turned it into a movie, but I read it when it was only around a year old so before that. And like with The Golden Compass, since it has become a movie, I assume there was some hype involved. While this is non-fiction, which can often be very dry, and about science stuff which is just not really a passion of mine, I found this story incredibly engaging and I read it much faster than I had anticipated. 

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - I know y'all didn't think I was going to forget about Harry Potter. It was pretty much a no-brainer for my list, because I absolutely love the books (and the movies) and am just a wee bit Harry Potter obsessed. It definitely lived up to the hype for me. 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - This book has so much hype surrounding it and in my opinion it lived up to it. I found the story engrossing and heartbreaking, just like it was supposed to be.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - I don't know if there is a lot of hype surrounding this book or not, but I've definitely seen it mentioned by other bloggers a fair amount, so I'm assuming there is. I absolutely adored this book and wish Le Cirque du Reve was a place I could actually go. 

So I'm finding it more and more difficult to find books on my read list that I feel fit both qualifications for this weeks theme, so I'm just going to pretend that seven is the new ten. 

What are some popular books that you feel lived up to the hype? - Katie 

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and check out your list.*