I came across this article yesterday and honestly didn’t know how to react. Do you think having a book jacket like Twilight’s could entice teens to read classics like Wuthering Heights?
The publishers definitely think so. If it does make a difference to teens, then well and good, I’m all for it. But I’m not so sure. What about you? The covers look pretty though.
Oh and by the way, the jacket even has taglines like “Bella and Edward’s Favorite Book” and “Love Never Dies”.
Note: I loved the Twilight series. I have read all except Breaking Dawn.
Book-Shelved 
I don’t know…but I’ve mixed reactions after viewing these covers. The covers are pretty, and I think it’s good to entice young readers into reading classics but it’s the endorsement that makes me skeptical about the whole thing.
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Yes, the taglines are very in the face and besides If I remember correctly Edward did not even like Wuthering Heights.
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I think that any teen buying Wuthering Heights on the basis of the cover is going to be disappointed. I hate it when book covers don’t reflect the contents. I read books according to my mood, so if I was in the mood for a light, vampire book then there is no way I’d appreciate a heavy, depressing book set on the Yorkshire moors. They might sell more copies, but may put teenagers off buying more books in the future.
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Wuthering Heights is really depressing isn’t it? I couldn’t even read the whole thing.
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I don’t know what I think. There’s a part of me that thinks that whatever makes a teen pick up a classic and read it is worth it. That being said, those covers for Wuthering Heights are pretty awful.
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To be honest, I don’t like it. Wuthering Heights isn’t a favourite of mine but I don’t like the way they’ve done that. It’s kind of frustrating because Twilight mania’s getting kind of old hehe. It’s not so much the covers, it’s the “Bella and Edward’s Favorite Book” that makes me sigh.
And I think it definitely works. If I saw a cover very very similar to one of my favourite books (like TTTW), I’d probably stop and pick it up.
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I think The Twilight mania will take hold again when New Moon releases 🙂
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I have mixed feelings about this. First of all, I’m sad that they would use something lesser to promote something so classic. On the other hand, I’m enticed by covers and book jackets all the time. Who knows how many great books I might have otherwise overlooked were it not for cover. I wouldn’t buy an edition of Wuthering Heights with a cover like that, but hopefully it will turn younger people on to some great literature.
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Hmm, I don’t know. I generally read books for what they are not for the cover art. The cover may attract me to pick up a book but not to buy it unless I like the story…. unless they use subliminal messages, of course. 🙂
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I know it will get more readers for the books, but I can’t help thinking it’s grotesque. And the covers just aren’t that great. IMHO, Twilight had the best cover of the lot.
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I feel a bit torn about my feelings for this one. I certainly see the publisher’s point of view and if a person who liked Twilight picked up and ended up liking Wuthering Heights, then I suppose I feel really good about it.
On the other hand, I do get tired of the copy-cat mentality of book publishing. I mind less because this is a classic book that has already established itself and doesn’t need an association with Twilight to make it a best seller. No doubt other, more recently written books, will be made to look like, sound like, or be compared to Twilight and that bothers me to some degree because the book doesn’t have a chance to sell on its own merits.
In the end I’m sure authors want to see their books sell and so they probably don’t care what the association is as long as it gets their book into people’s hands.
A complicated issue, to be sure.
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I’m repulsed by it. I’m no Bronte fan personally but it’s still a classic work of literature and I think it’s cheapened by being associated in this way; Twilight is just the latest in a long line of teen fads which I can’t see standing the test of time.
I just really wish people wouldn’t try to in some way trick people into reading classics; they’re monumental books that stand on their own merit, that is the reason they’ve lasted this long and it’s the reason in 100 years time when we’re all gone people will still know those books. Yes, present them well and in a fitting way for great works but I don’t think they should be sold off the back of some here-today-gone-tomorrow fad.
If people aren’t mature enough to see that a book can be amazing without having a teenage-marketed cover then they’re probably not mature enough to enjoy the book anyway.
(Sorry, I’m an absolute book snob. It’s things like this that are making me enjoy bookshops less. It’s all style over substance now.)
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I can totally understand why you feel that way Pete, but then I’m not really sure how the teens would feel about it 🙂
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Oh don’t get me started on teens if they were all locked into boarding schools we’d not have to care what they thought any way 😉
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First thing first, I’ve enjoyed all the Twilight books. 😀
About the book covers, they don’t really matter to me but I think they somewhat influenced my decision to buy them (although not much). I’m not too happy about the copycat syndrome but still, there are bigger things to worry about than this.
I’ll go for the book content anytime over the cover.
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Gosh! I am not sure! come on… if teens want to read it they will read irrespective of the cover 🙂
I am not sure if this will work 😀
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I don’t mean to sound cruel, but that’s ridiculous! Wuthering Heights does not need to bow down to the Twilight series on any account! I read Twilight and enjoyed it as much as any other person, but it seems preposterous that they must be subjected to copying a book that, frankly, will not mean anything two-hundred years from now while Wuthering Heights itself is immortal. Goodness, I sound cynical. It just seems so idiotic. Team Wuthering Heights all the way! The minute I see someone walking around my school with a Jane Eyre mimicking Breaking Dawn, I’ll tear my hair out.
Please excuse my absurd rudeness! I’m not typically this nuts. There’s something about the whole thing that gets to my. I suppose part of it is my love for classics. I’m excited to read more of your blog, by the way. Haha, there’s the normal me!
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Welllll, I don’t know about this, to be honest. Wuthering Heights and Twilight have completely different vibes to me, so I’m not sure marketing the former to Twilight fans is a genius idea. And the “Bella and Edward’s favorite book” endorsement just makes me giggle. I do like the new covers, though–I might buy one just for myself. 🙂
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Eeks…what a terrible idea. I don’t think it would even work, because it doesn’t mean that just because someone loves Twilight, they would automatically like Wuthering Heights.
The 2 books are so completely different!
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