Just over a week ago I attended the Breaking Dawn book release at my local Waldenbooks. It’s a relatively small store, tucked comfortible into the corner of the old, nearly empty but conveniently located, Carrs mall. The event itself was probably as wild as the Harry Potter release, but the main difference was that the vast majority were preteens and teens. I don’t turn 21 until next month, but it made me feel old. Especially when they screamed so loud it hurt my ears.
It’s taken me the whole week to read the book. Partly because I read the spoilers that circulated before the book was released so there was no hurry to finish it, and partly because of other demands on my time. I won’t get into it to much here, but I’m… disappointed isn’t the right word. Disgusted isn’t either. But something along those lines. I wasn’t overly impressed with the first book, and certainly not enough to read the next two, but a part of me still enjoyed it. I didn’t enjoy this one at all. Despite the higher quality writing the problems are just too many to ignore.
The thing I find interesting about it is the reactions – the thought provoking campaign to return the books to the bookstores, and the discussions of author responsibility to fans. It’s even provoked some friendly discussion among my friends in addition to the usual rounds of mock we hand out to bad books. What I’m most interested to see, going forward, is what happens now? And what will be the future effects of this book on readers and the industry?