Book 1 Project: Fan Experience

Book 1 Project: Fan Experience

 To expand a fan’s ability to interact with Jay Asher’s novel 13 Reasons Why, Monet’s  Garden Café & Coffeehouse will be opening in late September so that the fans can go and see where Hannah spent the majority of her time as well as order her favorite drink, hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows floating on top.  You don’t have to be a coffee drinker to enter; you just have to be a friend to others.  Hannah said it best, “Neither of us were coffee drinkers, but it seemed like a nice place to chat” (Asher 58).

Out of all of the settings in this book, I chose to highlight Monet’s Café because it was Hannah’s safe place freshman year when she was new to Crestmont.  Hannah would meet with Jessica and Alex there and talk about their troubles and how school was so nerve-racking when you were the new kid.  On side A of tape 2 Hannah comes out and says that “Monet’s Garden was our safe haven (referring to Alex, Jessica, and her).  If one of us had a hard time fitting in or meeting people, we’d go to Monet’s.  Back in the garden, at the far table to the right” (Asher 62).  I wanted to focus on the happier parts of the novel since the whole story line was dark and depressing, so I chose to focus on Monet’s Café because I know Hannah was comfortable and happy there. Setting played a huge part in the novel because of the map that Hannah left behind for Clay to follow. There were more than thirteen settings throughout the novel, but Monet's Café was definitely one of the settings where happy memories were made.

 There are great descriptions of Monet’s Café in the book so I know exactly how the Café will look/where everything goes. There will even be special drinks to order named after Hannah and Clay.  There will also be a book shelf with scribble books where fans can write about why they love the novel and what they thought of Monet’s Café and if they think it turned out the way they pictured it.  The fans will also get to see what Jessica, Alex, and Hannah wrote in a scribble book that was mentioned in the novel. Clay found the scribble book that they wrote in and in red ink near the top of the September book they wrote “Everyone needs an Olly-Olly-oxen-free” (Asher 91).  It was signed with three sets of initials: “J.D. A.S. H.B. Jessica Davis.  Alex Standall.  Hannah Baker” (Asher 91).  Fans will get to see the infamous photo of Hannah and Courtney Crimsen that was in the year book as well as left behind in a scribble book at Monet’s.  There will be quotes from the novel in this scribble book as well. 

There will be cassettes at each table and fans can rotate around from table to table to hear the tapes that Hannah left behind.  They can try to experience what Clay and the others had to go through and bond with all of the other people at the Café so they don’t have to feel alone like Hannah did.

I think this idea will work because the book is all about setting and it would be nice for the fans of the book to actually be in a place where Hannah considered her safe haven, and now the fan cans can consider it their safe place too if they are going through a hard time.  All of the people that will go to Monet's have a similar interest in the novel so everyone can connect and make new friends.

Images and descriptions of the Café:

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Here is the garden that is a few steps away from the patio of Monet's. "Around the garden, to keep the atmosphere relaxed, the lights are kept low" (Asher 73).

This is what the inside of the building will look like.  It has warm colors and fun decorations to make it a comfortable place for everyone to hang out at.

This is the patio behind the cafe. It has a few tables including Hannah's signature table. The patio also leads out to the garden.  

This table is modeled off of Hannah, Alex, and Jessica’s table.  It is “back in the garden, at the far table to the right” (Asher 62).  You can sit here and try to understand what those three were going through once the cafe opens.

There will be a pour-it-yourself bar just like mentioned in the novel. The image above is how it will be set up and what it will look like.

This “heavy wood-and-glass door” is the front entrance to the café.  There will be a grand opening sign on the door in a few days (Asher 68).

Post 2: What is a book?

I agree with Joe Meno when he said "A book is a place".  People read books so they can be transferred into a new world and experience new and exciting things.  When I read a book I feel as if I am in the place where the book is playing out.  It's good to throw yourself into a book and pretend as if you are a character because you will be more excited to read it and will understand the book in a better outlook.

I don't care whether I am reading on a kindle, iPad, phone, or reading from an actual book.  Like Joe Meno said, the "idea of the book is more important than the actual form it takes".  The message is more important than the form the book comes in.  People should start saying don't judge a book by its form because it’s not how the book comes that matters, it’s the content.

Now, if I had to choose whether to read an actual book or an eBook, I would still choose the original form because I get more into the story that way.  I feel more involved when I can flip the page instead of swiping a screen.  The only time when I purchased a book off of my phone is when I finished the first book in the Hunger Games Series and couldn't wait any longer to read the next book.  I wasn't patient enough to wait for my mom to run me to a bookstore so I downloaded it immediately since it was such a good book and I wanted to find out what would happen next.  However, I know society is becoming more warped into technology and eventually eBooks will be a bigger hit than a physical book.

It is sad to me that bookstores are going out of business because I did go frequently as a child and was usually allowed to pick out one book I really wanted almost every time I went.  It always excited me that I had that book all to myself and no one was allowed to go in my room and read it without my permission.  It’s sad and pathetic that my sisters and I fight over using the computer and borrowing each other’s cellphones instead of fighting over each other’s books on our bookshelves.  Another faint memory I have is that there were book fairs every month in elementary school and I always looked forward to that day.  My mom would always send me off with money and I would always find a book to spend it on.  It’s sad how old traditions are fading out, but I'm sure new ones will be made with eBooks.  As long as reading is still around in a few years I won't mind what I am reading off of.