Monday, July 30, 2012

Would you read Jane Eyre if the cover looked like Twilight?

Inquiring minds want to know.

We were recently interviewed on Fox 9 News about the marketing of classics, such as Jane Eyre and Romeo and Juliet, to appeal to the new teen reader. Is it working? Are kids lured in by the gothic covers of young girls in billowing dresses standing on a cliff?

Our very own, Aaron, says no.

"From our experience, I don't think the repackaging really makes much of a difference," said Aaron Rosenberg. "Our customers come in and buy used books and new books."




Marketing has definitely worked to boost the paranormal and dystopian genre within the young adult world. But I think content rules out. Teens want a good story, with characters they can relate to. And to most teens, reading is serious business and a serious passion.

If they want to read Wuthering Heights, they'll read it. Putting a Robert Pattinson-like boy on the cover, brooding and handsome, won't affect the serious teen reader too much.

What's your opinion, dear readers?








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