Kateland Dittig
Equinox Staff
Rich Shapero’s new novel “Too Far” about two Alaskan children living with troubled home lives confusion and sparked interest came about as two individuals handed out free books and CDs to passersby in front of the Mason Library. On Tuesday Nov. 15, 2011 two members from the publishing company Outside Reading were partaking in a large-scale promotion of the new book, “Too Far,” by author Richard Shapero. Over 700 copies were given out to Keene State College students within a few hours. Curiosity spread throughout the campus and the group ran out of books and music very quickly.
Due to it being such a hit, the pair came back the next day to dispense even more. The story is about a young boy and girl who live in Alaska and become inseparable after meeting each other. Both come from a troubled home life, which leads them to become even closer. To escape from their realities they craft adventures in their heads. The dynamic duo creates an imaginary world filled with forests and mysterious creatures. The two children embark on journeys, but eventually are forced to choose between reality and their fantasies.
Freshman Meccah Hummell said, “Just from reading the summary on the inside of the cover, I feel like I’m really going to get lost in it. It’s about an imagery world, the plot kind of seems like the ‘Bridge to Terabithia,’ but I’m still excited.”
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Hummell couldn’t wait to start reading, saying that she headed straight to the library to read her copy. Freshman Gabriel Belluscio agreed that it reminded him of “Bridge to Terabithia” as well.
He claimed to have read the first few chapters and it was similar in that two kids go into the woods and used their imaginations.
He stated that it is different as it talks about their parents breaking up and their worlds crashing down around them. Belluscio said, “It actually seems super gloomy and I’m not sure if I want to read it because I don’t want to get depressed.”
The second distributor of the novel, Lydia Esrig, had a different point of view, as she said, “I loved it, it was a really fun book, it’s a kind of carefree, childlike type story, but not necessarily for kids. It’s more adult-themed with kid characters.”
Along with the 244-page novel came a soundtrack. The CD was a collaboration between Rich Shapero and Maria Taylor. It included 12 tracks that go hand in hand with “Too Far.” The songs suggest 12 scenes from the book and try to catch an essence of the overall story. The music itself is a part of the whole project. It paints a picture of the mood and messages being portrayed as the children characters make discoveries.
The associates are traveling from Boston to all the major liberal arts colleges on the East Coast and passing them out to students. Every semester they do promotions coast to coast. Distributor James Therrien spoke of the struggling publishing industry and how reading isn’t the same as it used to be. Therrien said, “We’re trying to get people who normally wouldn’t go to Barnes & Noble to pick out a book, but might be interested in certain topics and bringing the stories to them.”
Many who walked by were perplexed as to why these strangers were handing out goodies. Freshman Samantha McCloghry agreed as she said, “I thought it was extremely generous and I was a little surprised that they would be giving out a bunch of CDs and books because it is expensive.”
Junior Maggie Murphy was able to snatch a book before they ran out. Murphy said, “It’s a wonderful idea to send literature to students and any chance they get, they should be trying to hand out free books.”
Students were grateful that they didn’t have to pay for the merchandise.
The sad reality is that people don’t read as much as they used to.
With things like the Internet, television, and other media-based mediums people have become lazy.
It is hard to find the time to actually sit down and read a book with busy schedules. College students are already swamped with projects and other homework, but hopefully this free book and CD will allow them to get away from their hectic lives and get lost in a stimulating and exhilarating story about innocence.
Kateland Dittig can be contacted at kdittig@ksc.mailcruiser.com