Sunday Salon-Breaking Dawn @ Midnight

It was another major book release reminiscent of the days of Harry Potter. Being the aunt of a teenage niece entering her sophomore year of school has it's advantages. One of which was attending a party and subsequent trip to the a bookstore for the midnight sale of Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer.

My niece had invited six friends. They spent time decorating T-shirts using colored markers, that they intended wearing that night. When I got there they were in the midst of painting pictures and transferring their favorite quotes from the stories onto their shirts. Some had trouble deciding which passage to choose. These teenagers could quote Meyers like an evangelist preacher and locate passages like it was scripture. They would challenge each other to see who could find it first.

They all agreed that Twilight is by far their favorite. The copies I saw around the room were tattered, covers missing and worn out like a high school copy of Romeo and Juliet that needed to be replaced. The reason for the wear was that they all had read the books at least four times. This was so surprising to me, but you should see these books. Each was like their own special teddy bear, worn and loved.

The kids were pumped, loud and ready to burst like a overfilled balloon. This was so much fun for me, as you know I only have fur kids. Seeing the group of seven interact and hang together talking about Bella, Edward and Jacob was a hoot. My sister had candlelight globes, black tablecloths, vampire cheesecake(to die for..made from scratch)and finger sandwiches. It was so much fun especially seeing their enthusiasm for the new book.

Later we left to go to our venue for the evening. We arrived at a major bookstore in a central Connecticut city. I must admit, I expected a larger crowd of people, but was nevertheless overjoyed that it wasn't. In comparison to a Harry Potter release, this was not too crazy. In spite of the smaller numbers, the enthusiasm and noise levels were not diminished in the least. The typical wrist bands were doled out depending on your reservation order in one of two colors.

All that was left was the waiting. For the kids, patience is a challenge in self-discipline, definitely easier for some. What better place to be, waiting for a book release, than to be surrounded by books? Their group began to bounce about with unbridled enthusiasm, looking at magazines, skimming through books, chatting and talking about Breaking Dawn, not knowing what to do next.

I was with my sister but we separated to browse the book stacks. After meeting up and making a purchase,(naturally) we headed to the cafe for a late night latte.

An announcement was made that they would be calling people with red wrist bands, starting with those numbered one-twenty just before midnight. The booksellers also asked that no one be the spoiler and give away any plot. I was happy they made this caveat prior to sales. It proved to be a prescient warning for one member of our group.

Another announcement was made to clarify the store's obligation to hold sales until 12:01. Shortly after that, a collective countdown began, as if all were watching a crystal ball drop on New Year's Eve. As the count ran out, a deafening cacophony of cheers erupted and arms pumped to the ceiling as you saw kids mouth, "YES!". I just love when kids get excited about books. Don't you?

My niece and her friends had a low number with several copies reserved, so we were out of the store before too long. This picture is from the event and my niece is in the middle.

Did anyone else attend a Breaking Dawn release at a bookstore at midnight? What was it like?

Stephenie Meyer's Website