Entertainment ranging from a wide variety of movies, television and music are recognized each year with glamorous award celebrations, while books only make lists and the few notable ones win a Pulitzer.
The book lists, such as the well-known New York Times Bestsellers List, provide readers insight to books are considered to be the "it" books each time that the list is published. Just because books don't receive the kind of glamour that other forms of entertainment receive through high-profile celebrations doesn't mean that the published works of fiction and nonfiction go unnoticed.
It may not have made the top 10 of 2008 in The New York Times Bestsellers List, but the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer swept away millions of readers across the country telling an unconventional tale of vampire love. A recent article by USA Today reported that Meyer's series sold approximately 22 million copies in 2008.
Darren Jones, general manager of Borders at the Huntington Mall, said that he didn't have a complete list of the top bestsellers for the store but the most notable sellers were books from the "Twilight" series, especially during the Christmas season.
"I think the entire country was reading Stephanie Meyer," Jones said.
Empire Books and News general manager Jessica Messinger said that people of many ages would come in to purchase books from Meyer's series.
As the popularity for Meyer's series grew and eventually sparked a movie, Marshall University students took notice.
"I see a lot more college students coming in for them than I used to see, and then they also start buying other books," Messinger said.
Katie Stewart, freshman biomedical science major from Ironton, Ohio, said that she loves to read and tries to read at least one book a month. Stewart said she doesn't typically keep up with any particular bestseller lists but did read the "Twilight" series and Meyer is currently her favorite author.
"I started reading them after seeing the movie ("Twilight"), and I'm completely into them," she said.
Eric Stanley, junior forensic chemistry major, said he usually reads multiple books a week or a month, and he has four or five favorite authors. Stanley didn't acknowledge any particular styles of books he likes to read other than what is generally fiction.
"It's there, so I read it," Stanley said.
Stanley is another student who can be counted in to the mass of people who read the Twilight series.
"I saw the movie first and wanted to see how much the books differ from the movie," he said.
The movie "Twilight" made $70.6 million opening weekend, according to a report from the New York Times.
Even though "Twilight" may have captured the imaginations of many students, there are still other books not to be forgotten.
Max Nolte, who works on the circulation staff at the Cabell County Public Library branch in Huntington, said he has not noticed as many college students looking for Twilight. Nolte said that the biggest age groups interested in "Twilight" included teenagers and middle-aged people. Most notable of the books sought by college students were those written by Richard Dawkins, and "2666: A Novel" by Roberto Bolano.
Nolte said that most students usually seek out politically and environmentally-minded nonfiction books.
While many students may take time to read leisurely outside of class, there are some students who don't have an interest in reading.
"I don't read a lot," said Kemberlee Dent, sophomore communication disorders major. "I can't really stay focused. I haven't found a good novel to keep focused on."
"I'm not much of a reader. The only reading I do is what's required (for school)," said Mike Cleage, sophomore business management major.
Nolte mentioned that the library does see an increase in college student readers when classes are in session, but that number of students tends to drop off during the summer because students go home.
Kelly Christian can be contacted at christian55@marshall.edu.
source [ marshallparthenon.com ]Labels: news, twilight
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