On the day that the movie trailer for “Where the Wild Things Are” hit YouTube, I watched it six times. Then I sent it to my staff to post on our web site. When I arrived at the store, the books were prominently stacked next to a nice, framed movie poster. That very day (in the off season, no less) we sold out of WTWTA in paperback and hard cover. We ordered some more. We sold out again. We ordered again. And the hype continued.
We all know that making movies out of books is a good thing for book sales, publishers, and arguably, for the books themselves. Film adaptations breathe new life into backlist titles and can resurrect obscure authors. They bring the reading experience to a wider audience without much effort from booksellers. We sell stacks, we reorder, we ride the wave. But in some way, movies can also cheapen the effect of books and fragment the characters which once lived within their pages.
Box office success can mean that characters like Pooh and Piglet are turned into empires of licensing, their delicate identities turned over to the whims of marketing directors, producers and animators. And as we know, sometimes authors don’t like that.
Most agree that of all kids’ books made into movies, WTWTA has the chance to do good by the author. Sendak carefully chose screen writers Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers. Thoughtful and methodical, both are known for some of the most honest work in their respective industries. Sendak had oversight and veto power when he wanted it. And the film looks absolutely fantastic.
However, there are signs that our beloved Max is on the prowl, making appearances in coloring books, puzzles and a movie storybook from Harper Festival. Jonze and Eggers are also hoping to profit from the rights to Max. In separate private enterprises, Jonze figured out a way to sell a limited edition skate sneaker via Lakai with WTWTA art, while Eggers penned a young adult novel that imagines Max growing older through his McSweeney’s lens.
Will the two-dimensional Max persist? Yes. Will our opinion of him change? Probably. But will Max ever be free from outside interpretation again? Not a chance.
Perhaps, then, Salinger is on to something.
-Nicole Magistro, The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colorado
Ah, to go back twenty years to that golden era of
bookselling. Neighborhoods each had their own bookstore, newspapers did
extensive book reviews, Amazon was a big river, Barnes and Noble was that huge
store you visited in New York City and the internet ... just a twinkle in Al Gore’s
eye. But it isn’t 1989. Never will be again and the book industry
as we knew it twenty years ago, let alone last year, no longer exists. Mega-stores,
Kindle, POD; a whole new lexicon has appeared. And, I’m afraid, we are heading
towards the abyss of exclusivity. Here is my personal story in that realm.
Just in the last six months publishers including Chelsea
Green and Globe Pequot Press signed exclusive agreements with Amazon.com to
release both fiber-based books and e-books. We independents were aghast, the
ABA wrote letters of protest, bookstores boycotted Chelsea Green. Where’s the
level playing field we asked (as if it has ever been level?), how can we
compete? These were political titles, with short shelf lives and at least in my
corner of Utah, there was NO demand. No big deal but a warning shot across the
bow. What will we do when Stephanie or J.K sign an exclusive?
Robert Fulghum (EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN) lives in Moab part-time. He’s sold over 7 million books. He’s a
big deal and he only writes non-fiction. Or so we thought. About 5 years ago
Robert plopped down a tome in 5 volumes, “Read this, let me know what you
think? It’s a fictional piece I’ve been working on.” About a month later we
talked. Third Wish had it all. Compelling characters, a love story,
culinary, fine art and musical treats, a tour of three cultures. “Robert, this
will be a tremendous Book Club pick. Women, especially will love it! When does
it publish? How far apart will you publish each volume?” I gushed. Silence. “Well,
actually my publisher won’t publish it,” Robert replied, “I’m insisting that
the artwork is in color and that a CD of the music is included. So I’m going
with Amazon.” Long silence. “Becker and Mayer, they published those Griffin and
Sabine books originally is designing it and Amazon will publish and exclusively
distribute it, both in hard copy and on Kindle.” Longer silence. Visions of
book release parties go flying out the window. How can he do this to ME, I
mused. I took it very personally and told him how upset it made me feel.
“Well,” he quietly replied, “I did write into the contract that you could sell
the book.” “What’ya mean I can sell the book,” I asked. “What about all
the other independent bookstores in the country?” “Queen Anne Books in Seattle
can sell it too,” he boasted. After I calmed down a bit, we talked more about the
whys and whatnots and he explained that he saw this as the only way he could
publish the book the way he wanted it published, save self-publishing it.
But it put me in a quandary. Should I sell the book? Should
I go ahead with a release party? What do I tell my peers in the book world? What
do I tell Robert?
Ultimately we did a release party. Robert read, Cosy
Sheridan (who wrote original music for the book) sang and Peg Dougherty
(artwork) explained her process. Coming in at 6.2 pounds it is indeed a
tome---and still very good. Robert says Amazon is going back for a second
printing. And most of the United States knows nothing of the book ... unless of
course, you’re surfing the net ...
We all live in the West, probably because we are drawn to it. From the open spaces, the smell of sage after a hard rain, the too-short glimpse of a cactus bloom, the ancient layers of desert canyon rivers, soaring lonely peaks, dark and loamy pine groves, or the simple act of waving to a passing neighbor, the West supports a lifestyle unlike any other. Rare is the voice that can truly capture this mysterious … something.
Rarer still is the opportunity for publishers and booksellers to team up in a concerted effort to let the world know about such reads. MPIBA’s new Reading the West program is geared towards this specifically. Selected books will be supported by promotional materials and more widespread author tours, making it easy to display these titles well with the end result of, hopefully, selling some really great books that might otherwise be overlooked.
One of the great challenges in the book industry is simply getting attention. It’s extremely difficult to get a book to rise above the noise, especially when that noise is thousands of other great and, let’s face it, not-so-great books. This program is geared towards getting a few of these books a bit more attention, maybe that extra shove a great read needs to garner the readership it deserves.
The titles selected will fall into one of two categories: books whose subject matter deals with our region and books written by authors who live in our region (content doesn't have to be regional). The goal is to have one adult title and one children's title each go-round. The big publishers, small indie presses, self-published, whatever. It’s all eligible … it just has to be great. One of the nice things here is that it doesn’t take much space to set a book apart. Pictured here is a quick endcap display I set up. Nothing fancy. Simple but effective. You can, of course, make it as
simple or elaborate as you want. Please send in photos of your
displays! It’s great to see how other stores are using the same
materials in different creative ways, and will be a wonderful way for us to
see your store. Our region is so vast that it’s impossible for us all
to visit each other. Use this opportunity to introduce us to your store!
All that being said, Reading the West has a lot of potential to help us all -- publishers, booksellers and readers -- discover and help others discover a few good reads. Stay tuned for more details and more great selections. Remember, if you have a suggestion just e-mail Lisa (lisa@mountainsplains.org) and tell her about it.