For 'Dawn,' shops burn midnight oil
In Framingham, they are preparing for an influx of werewolves and vampires. In Bellingham and Wellesley, they await a similarly fanged crew. And in Newton, they are prepping for an influx of night owls. Yes, it has happened again. One year after the midnight release of the final Harry Potter volume, another book has readers so anxious to buy it that they can't wait for sunrise - and local booksellers are readying for the rush with release parties and other late-night events.
Seconds after midnight tomorrow, "Breaking Dawn," the fourth and final volume of Stephenie Meyer's bestselling Twilight Saga series, goes on sale. Local booksellers say they are joining stores nationwide in the frenzy, spurred by demand. They report that the girl-meets-vampire teen adventure romance has been racking up advance orders since March.
"At first we hadn't planned on a midnight release, but so many people were ordering in advance and asking if they could pick it up at midnight that we decided to open up for it," said Mary Cotton, owner of Newtonville Books.
Cotton said she plans a low-key event, with trivia games, readings from the series, and outtakes from Twilight Saga audio books, starting at 11:30 p.m. Meanwhile, starting at 10 p.m., Barnes & Noble stores in Framingham, Bellingham, and Newton's Chestnut Hill section have plans for prom-themed costume parties, with prizes for the "Best Vampire" and "Best Werewolf," games, trivia, and photo opportunities, and Wellesley Booksmith is adding a screening of the hugely popular musical episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to its vampire and werewolf "prom" gala, games and gifts.
"We decided a couple of months ago that . . . it was worth being open at midnight because these readers are so eager to get their hands on this," said Alison Morris, children's book buyer at Wellesley Booksmith. "They are not the most patient group."
But not only teens are preordering the book. "There's been an enormous surge in interest in all four books by readers of really diverse ages," said Lynne Nybo, Greater Boston district manager for Barnes & Noble. "Realistically, most are 15 to 24, but a good number of older adults are buying them, too."
Margaret Pickett, who recently put in her order at Wellesley Booksmith, doesn't exactly fit the targeted teen demographic. But the English teacher at Wellesley Middle School is nonetheless a fan.
"In May, the girls in my seventh-grade classes were talking about the series and they were so excited that I decided to get a copy," said Pickett. "To be honest, at first I didn't like it that much, but three hours later when I couldn't get up off the couch to put it down for even a moment, I knew I was hooked."
"Horror and occult is not my thing, but this is really more a romance about Bella, who is sort of an 'every girl,' " explained Pickett. "She's not particularly pretty. She's a little klutzy. But then she meets this mysterious vampire, and Meyer puts a very imaginative spin on their story."
Nybo also has read the first three volumes and is eagerly awaiting the fourth. "Stephenie Meyer has a gift. The books are not about vampires and werewolves. They are about teen angst and she does it so well," she said. "You just really get into the psyche of a teen having a really hard time in high school."
For the mainly female readership, the storyline has visibly hit home. "I had Stephenie Meyer in one of my stores last year and you'd have thought she was a rock star," said Nybo. "There were girls screaming and crying because they were so excited about meeting her."
Meanwhile, the fan base is ballooning as word of the series' popularity spreads. "Meyer is just picking up more and more fans in the wake of the hype," said Morris, the Wellesley Booksmith buyer. "People hear about other people coming out at midnight to buy a book and suddenly they want to know what it is."
While the stores are happy for the increased sales, the midnight release does mean late-night hours for staff and extra costs for events. Compounding that, in September most expect to also hold midnight releases for the third volume in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle. Pressure for midnight sales of "Brisingr" are coming both from the publisher and readers.
"We're really excited about 'Breaking Dawn.' Some of my staff have read it and they're eager to get the book, too. But I have to say, I hope midnight releases don't become too common," said Newtonville Books' Cotton. "For scheduling purposes, with staff having to come back in at night, it's an issue."
Morris, who writes a children's literature blog for Publishers Weekly, doesn't believe midnight releases will become commonplace, though.
"It's the rare book that achieves this level of success," she said. "There are certain books for which kids become just enamored with them, and the series leaves them hanging in such a way that they just can't wait to move on and read the next one. But you have to have a critical mass of readers who all want the same thing to justify being open at midnight."
But bleary-eyed or not, the shop owners say the late hours are worth it, and not just for the book sales.
"There's something really magical about seeing so many young people clamoring to get a book. Usually you see them outside the Apple store waiting for an iPod, but for a book?" said Barnes & Noble's Nybo. "It just gives you a lot of solace to know that you're raising the next generation of people who will be running the country, and they still read."
"Breaking Dawn" midnight-release events, starting at 10 p.m. tomorrow, will be held at the Barnes & Noble stores in Bellingham, 270 Hartford Ave., 508-966-7600; Chestnut Hill, 170 Boylston St., 617-965-7621; and Framingham, One Worcester Road (Route 9), 508-628-5567; and at Wellesley Booksmith, 82 Central St., 781-431-1160. The festivities start at 11:30 p.m. at Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut St., Newton, 617-244-6619.
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