It doesn't take a genius to figure out which books are popular. The books that say "#1 New York Times Bestseller" on the cover. They're the ones bookstores will put on tables near the front of the store. The books that get turned into movies, because if the book already has a big following, then that's a guaranteed group of people that will buy tickets to see the movie adaptation of a book they love in theaters.

Reading what's popular defiantly has its benefits. If a book is loved by thousands of people, then there's a good chance you will like it too. After all, when we go to a bookstore (or browse Amazon, whatever your preference), we want to pick a book we think we'll enjoy, not one that will feel like a chore to read. Also, reading a popular book means that you have a better chance of meeting someone else who has read it, giving you a connection.

When the "Hunger Games" was growing in popularity, more and more people were reading. I was in eighth grade around the time "Mocking Jay," the last book in the trilogy, came out, the trailer for the first movie dropped. My English teacher was convincing everyone to read it. For Christmas that year, my aunt gave me the box set and I marathon-ed the whole series.

A few months later I was seeing the movie in theaters with my friends. The following Monday, most of my classmates had seen the movie. A lot of us had read the book, others now reading it because they had liked the movie so much. Nerds, jocks, drama geeks and artist being brought together by this one popular book.

As great as some popular books are, there are some drawbacks. What about all the lesser known authors who've written books that are just as good, if not (dare I say it?) better than all the popular books. While everyone is talking about all the well-rounded characters in John Green's "the Fault in Our Stars," what about the diverse cast of characters Alice Oseman gives us in her book "Radio Silence?" While everyone is gushing over "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," is anyone else talking about the adorable novel "A Little Something Different?" (one of the viewpoints in that book is a squirrel, tell me that doesn't sound interesting).

As a reader, sometimes I can even feel a certain amount of pressure to read popular books. Sometimes non-reader friends will just assume I've read every book in existence (first of all, that's impossible, I can barely keep up with my course reading most of the time). I regularly watch Booktube videos; a community of Youtubers, who all talk about books they've read. There are certain popular books that I feel like if I don't read, I'm out of the loop.

I also have a certain wariness, where I feel like if I'm not careful I could be spoiled for a book I haven't read yet online, so I feel like I have to read books quickly. Right now I'm two books behind in the "Throne of Glass series," a very popular fantasy series in the Booktube community. I feel like I'm out of the loop, I'm terrified of being spoiled; and with the release of the last book at the end of the month, I feel the pressure to catch up on the series growing stronger. The problem is they are very long books, and I'm a full-time student, majoring in English who always has a million things she needs to read. Plus, there are other things I'm more in the mood to read right now.

Life is all about balance. I'll still continue to read popular books, I like being up to date on new books that everyone is talking about. But I think it's more important to read what I'm interested in, whether it's popular or not.