Borders hopes to hook teen readers
It's hard to argue with the good sense behind this idea: Where once stores sold CDs and DVDs (not much of a lure these days), now there will be departments called , aimed at teen readers. And why not? Revenue from young adult fiction, fantasy, and science fiction is expected to grow by 13 percent this year.
That figure, quoted in an article about Borders Ink in the , is being driven in part by the enormous success of the teen vampire-romance series penned by . So it is not surprising that the Borders Ink departments, which聽 are expected to appear in 80 to 90 percent of the 513 Borders superstores in the US, will stock plenty of Twilight-related merchandise, including items like bookmarks and pencil cases.
(Borders Ink is on as well.)
The Borders Ink concept may not thrill the parents of teenagers, at least some of whom are less than enthusiastic about the degree to which the notion of a vampire love story seems to enthrall their children.
However, for those adults in the "any-reading-is-good-for-kids, just-let-them-learn-to-love-books" camp, the news is all good. Today's teenagers are reading books and doing so with enthusiasm.
And it can only be good for the publishing industry as well. As the Wall Street Journal points out, romance publisher is also hoping to cash in, with its new imprint launched this month, aimed at readers aged 12- to 18-years-old.
If nothing else, for those who worry that teens today spend too much time playing video games, this trend toward books should come as a relief.
