43
HarperCollins releases ‘Mockingbird’ sequel ONE for the BOOKS
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
In the Youngstown area, demand was brisk Tuesday for Harper Lee’s novel “Go Set a Watchman.”
Barnes & Noble booksellers in Boardman opened at 7 a.m. – three hours earlier than normal – in anticipation of buyers wanting to buy the book on its first day of release.
“We’re having a great day with it,” said Kerrie DelGreco, store manager. “There wasn’t a line waiting outside for us to open, but there were a couple of people there when we did, and we had a quite a few people in here between 8 and 10 this morning to buy the book.”
Those early shoppers were taking advantage of a special at the store: a free cup of coffee and tote bag with each purchase of “Go Set a Watchman.”
Barnes & Noble does not release sales numbers as a matter of policy, said DelGreco.
“We did have a very large number of preorders for the book, going back for three months [when the release was first announced],” said DelGreco. “Sales were brisk today and we continue to take calls about it.”
The last time a book caused such a heavy demand on release day was the last “Harry Potter” book. For that release, Barnes & Noble opened at midnight.
“We got a few calls from people wondering if we were going to open at midnight [for ‘Watchman’], but this is a bit of a different demographic,” said DelGreco. “They are not going to come out at midnight to buy it.”
Nevertheless, the new book, a sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” has caused a stir at the store.
“The original is iconic, and we weren’t expecting a sequel,” said DelGreco. “Our love of the written word makes this a big deal for us.”
In the new book, Scout, the young girl who was at the core of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” returns home at age 26 to visit her aging father, Atticus Finch.
Demand for “Watchman” was also strong at the library, according to Janet Loew, marketing director for the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
At the Main Branch on Wick Avenue, for example, there were 119 “reserves” – requests from people who want to check out the book – for the 40 physical copies that were available, as of Tuesday.
The larger branches of the library system – Austintown, Boardman, Newport and Poland – each have two copies of the book.
The Main Branch also has six audiobooks of the title, with 17 holds, said Loew.
“Go Set a Watchman” is not the only title — book or movie — at the Main Branch that is in high demand.
DelGreco said there are 128 reserves for the 40 copies of Paula Hawkins’ “The Girl on the Train”; 70 reserves for the 55 copies of James Patterson’s “Truth or Die”; and 123 reserves for the 45 copies of the DVD of the film “American Sniper.”