What is it with “Band Wagon”, and why does everyone seem to jump on one at some time or another?
I generally fight literary bandwagons when the come along. You know …. When “everyone” is tell you to read such-and-such a book. Nothing sends me further away from reading a book then when someone tells me I’ve gotta read this one, or that one. As if my life would not be complete if I didn’t follow suit.
I never did “The Da Vinci Code” bandwagon. I didn’t get on “The Shack” wagon. And there always seems to be a “Christian book of the month” I must read. I admit that I did read (ravenously so) the Harry Potter books, but … to be fair I read the first one well before it became the craze. I was tickled pink to be ahead of the game on that one.
More recently though I succumb to a bandwagon I had been adamantly opposed to – both reading the book, or see the movie. As I mentioned in an entry last week – when dreaming about Vampires - I admitted to reading “Twilight” at the time. Hence, my dream.
I didn’t want to read the book. I didn’t want to see the movie. It had no appeal to me what so ever, but a co-worker (a man) talked me into it and in turn leant me his copy. Now … 10 days later I confess that I have read book 1 through twice, watched the movie between the two book sittings, and am now half way through book 2 – New Moon.
I must also further confess that I have ordered the complete set in hardcover from Amazon.ca just this morning.
I’d like to justify my behaviour by thinking that the bandwagon passed me by many months/years ago, and I am now just picking up the fall out. No fault of my own. But I gotta tell ya folks – I’ve loved every blinking word that I read! I can’t get enough. I am sickly addicted. I believe I’m endangering my job because I take sneak reads when its slow and there’s no one around to catch me (yes, I know that God is always watching).
But this albeit belated “bandwagon” has been a joy ride – almost better than a screaming roller coaster. Hand up in the air and screaming with excitement over the next hill.
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7 comments:
I refused to read Harry Potter simply because everyone else was on that bandwagon. Now I'm listening to the audio books. It makes me more willing to run boring errands (I want to be in my car!!)
I was into LOTR way before the movies came out. I finished Return of the King just before they announced the trilogy. I was pleased.
I think avoiding the band wagon just to avoid the band wagon is just as bad as getting on as you are still NOT doing something due to other people's influence. If you "loved every blinking word" then who cares if the rest of the world is reading it, too? Personally, if the rest of the world is reading it then this is a good thing as you can discuss the book and get other people's insight. More fun, don't you think?
Good for you! A little teenage drama/romance is good for the soul! My favorite thing about these books is that they've managed to bring so many people to reading...without using sex for foul language. We watched the 2nd movie last week. It's so good!
I'm a bit like you, not wanting to go along with the crowd 'just because' and it makes me very resistant to bandwagons, and advertising, too (which is a good thing!), but if someone hands you a book which they think you will love, you'd be a fool not to at least try it, wouldn't you?
I think we 'resisters' have to be a tad careful not to be so addicted to resisting that we miss out. I loved Twilight, too, by the way, but I'm still resisting .. the last one isn't out in paperback yet and I refuse to buy the hardback. The darned things are just so heavy!
I fell victim to the Twilight bandwagon myself.
It's hard to resist some of these trends. You feel like it MUST be good if everyone else likes it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Twilight series and Harry Potter.
I wonder what the next Big Thing will be?
... you neglected your John Grisham long term band wagon. not that you have been all that impressed of late, you still read everything he writes. so you are technically 'bandwagoning' ... just sayin'
Just like You I usually never reeds books just because "I have to". But I must admit that I fell for the Harry Potter boks like a tree in a storm :-) But to my defence I started before "every one" else did too. I was so qurious about this book that children around me couldn´t stop reading. I had to know what it was and got cought really bad :-) :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.
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