Thursday, November 12, 2009

Bella's Favorite Book

I don't think I've made it a secret that I'm not really a fan of the Twilight franchise. (Yeah, I know. I'm going to probably have my YA Writer card revoked.)

But I thought it was quite interesting when I was browsing the Teen section of the bookstore the other day, and came across this cover.



The version I saw had a sticker that said "Bella's favorite book." I found it very interesting that HarperTeen issued a reprint of Emily Bronte's classic "Wuthering Heights" with a very Twilight-esque cover...especially when you consider that Little, Brown is Stephanie Meyer's publisher (not Harper). But hey, I guess everyone wants to cash in on this gravy train.

(Personally, I think Harper should just cash in on some teen vamps they've already contracted...our very own Mel Francis' "Bite Me" totally rocks. And I'm not just saying that because she's my friend. It really does kick some Twilight butt.)

Anyway, I guess I really shouldn't complain. Anything that gets kids interested in the classics is A-Okay by me.

Hmm...I wonder if one of the reasons I never could relate to Bella was that I always sort of couldn't care less whether Cathy and Healthcliff perished on the moors or not. I know it's probably sacrilege, but I couldn't stand "Wuthering Heights."

But hey, to each her own.

What do you think about the new "Wuthering Heights" cover?

11 comments:

  1. Jennifer Russell8:56 AM

    Like you, I can appreciate that the publishers are attempting to introduce younger readers to classics. But, there is still something that seems not quite right about using Wuthering Heights (& other such books) as a tie-in to the Twilight series.

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  2. I will say I agree with you whole-heartedly that BITE ME! kicks Twilight Booty. hehe.

    Never read Wuthering Heights because it never appealed to me. Honestly, it always sounded like a big bucket of crazy.

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  3. If Bella liked it, I would probably think it's depressing. That girl needed a couple episodes of I Love Lucy and a day at the beach.

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  4. *snort* kristen. hahahaha.

    i kinda feel "meh" about the whole thing.

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  5. The weird thing was, my impression from the Twilight books was that the characters weren't wholeheartedly pro Wuthering Heights... Maybe I'm remembering wrong, of course. But if not, seems to me an odd marketing campaign! :-)

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  6. Amanda Brice3:01 PM

    Cara, I honestly don't remember one way or the other. I didn't even remember anything about Wuthering Heights. But that's just the sticker that was on the book I saw, and you can't deny that it's a VERY Twilightesque cover, at least...

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  7. The ONLY thing I liked about Meyer's books were the covers. So I like the cover.

    And I love the irony of Bella being a fan of the most sickly abusive relationship in classical literature.

    Makes sense.

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  8. Amanda Brice5:09 PM

    Chrissy -- that's EXACTLY how I feel! I honestly wonder if subconsciously that might be why I didn't particularly like either Twilight or WH. I found Bella and Cathy both to be overly melodramatic, not good heroine role models, and, well, kinda crazy.

    And don't get me started on either Edward or Heathcliff.

    I had to read WH in AP English and hated every second of it.

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  9. Amanda Brice5:11 PM

    Poor Jennifer's had to hear my "down with the Brontes" rant probably more times than she'd like to! LOL

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  10. I thought Jane Eyre was pretty good, actually. I like broody men. Just not quite as self-destructive as Haethcliff.

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  11. La Meyer is on Oprah right now. I have to say... every time I see her on camera I get a "snotty girl" vibe.

    *this view does not reflect that of Fictionistas or anyone, really, but she seems like a damned snot.

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