Sitting in the movie theater recliners with an Icee on one side and a popcorn bucket on the other as the lights dim and the trailers begin is a feeling of anticipation like no other.

When that movie is an adaptation from a book, if you’ve read that book, it’s as if you’re in on a secret — part of a special club that, in theory, knows what’s going to happen in the movie. Yet, like all moviegoers, you’ll still leave the theater discussing what you liked and didn’t like.

Book to movie adaptations have been popular for years and have spawned multiple movie franchises. “The Maze Runner,” or “Divergent” being some that may spring to mind.

“I’m sure there are other movies that are based on books, but ’Harry Potter’ was the only adaptation that I was aware of before ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ got popular,” Ted Connelly, a Eugene resident, said. “My kids were really into those books. I remember when the movies came out they begged me to go see them.”

If you’re a fan of adaptations, or want a movie you can get a sneak peak on by reading the book, here are a few to keep an eye out for that are hitting the big screen in the upcoming months.

“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” (based on the book by Helen Fielding) and “On Swift Horses” (based on the book by Shannon Pufahl) both had theatrical releases in the past few months and are now available to stream. “Jurassic World Rebirth” is set to be released in July, which incorporates parts from Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” books.

“The Life of Chuck” is a movie to highlight. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024. It will be theatrically released on June 6. The film is based on a story in “If It Bleeds,” a novella by Stephen King.

Readers follow Chuck, first seen in adulthood and dying in a hospital, through the story and it ends on Chuck as a child with a love of dancing, who sees himself as an adult with a brain tumor.

The movie stars Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill and Karen Gillan, and is directed by Mike Flanagan. Flanagan has experience with popular adaptations such as “The Haunting of Hill House.” At the Toronto International Film Festival, it won the People’s Choice Award, which is known as an Oscar’s bellwether.

“The Long Walk” is a movie based on another work of Stephen King’s, a book of the same name. The movie will be released on September 12. The book is set in a dystopian alternate universe following a group of 100 teenage boys who participate in a televised contest where participants walk until they can’t anymore, with deadly consequences.

Ben Wang, Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson star, with Francis Lawrence directing. Lawrence has directed four of the five “Hunger Games” films and “I Am Legend,” all movies based on books.

Moviegoers may be familiar with the name “Wicked: For Good,” a movie set to come out this November and a follow-up to “Wicked,” which came out last November.

Both “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good” (and the eponymous musical) derive their stories from the book “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire. Maguire’s book in turn is based on Frank L. Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” In other words, the story has a long literary history before it made it on screen.

“Wicked: For Good” adapts the second act of the musical in which Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (Ariana Grande) becomes the Wizard’s spokesperson as Glinda the Good.

But what is the process behind these adaptations? How did these stories make it from page to screen? The first step is optioning a book, which means a studio buys the rights to the book from the author with the option to make the book into the movie; it does not guarantee that a movie will be made.

Choosing which book to option is strategic — “certain authors are cautious about what you do with the content of the book,” Adam Fields, a movie producer, said. “Most authors have a hard time adapting their book because they might have spent 300 pages describing something that in a movie could be one scene and that’s really hard sometimes for them to let go.”

Fields optioned the books that were adapted into the movies “Vision Quest” and “Great Balls of Fire!,” both of which he produced. He also attempted to option a Stephen King book — “Gerald’s Game,” which he managed to get an early look at.

“I thought, ‘this is an easy book to adapt, we can shoot it primarily on a soundstage,’” Fields said. “By the time the paperback came out, I could be in the theaters, and you’d have the muscle and the marketing strength of the publisher and studio.”

After a lengthy back and forth between Fields and King’s agent over whether or not the potential movie would have Stephen King’s possessory credit (ex. Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game), Fields let go of the project.

Even if a producer options a book, that isn’t a guarantee it’ll be made. If the optioned book does go into development, a range of things happen during this stage, including finding a screenwriter, getting financial backing, and putting the team together. Hopefully, this stage ends with a greenlight to go into production.

If you’re interested in book to movie adaptations, and want to appreciate the aforementioned process, consider going to see those movies soon — and if you want a sneak peek, read the books!

“Adaptations are really about finding that book that has a great story and that lends itself to a cinematic adaptation,” Fields said. “Movies aren’t just about great stories but great entertainment.”

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When picking out a book at any bookstore — from Barnes & Noble to an indie bookseller — readers are familiar with the words “New York Times Bestseller” plastered across the front of a book.

But what does that mean? And how does a book become a “bestseller” on any list? It’s a much more strategic process than meets the eye — like a game of chess.

The New York Times best Sellers list, like other similar lists, uses a software called BookScan to gather data confidentially from a variety of vendors across the United States. These vendors can be well established or independent, and they report sales on thousands of titles.

According to the New York Times page on its bestseller list, sales are defined as completed transactions between the vendor and the consumer during the week on or after the publication date of a book. Bestseller lists are ranked by format (e-book, audiobook, print book, sometimes between paperback and hardcopy) and genre.

Data is only considered before the end of the first week of publication, but pre-sales matter because they set you up well when the game ramps up: pre-sales count toward that first week of sales.

“Let’s say you sold a million books prior to your launch date in that presale period. All of a sudden, the day that your book launches, you’ve sold a million copies,” Jordan Grenadier Murphy, a marketing consultant based in Texas, said.

This is something that authors factor in when developing marketing campaigns, usually beginning months, if not years, before the publication date, to get as many sales as they can over a longer period of time. “Once you launch, the timer starts,” Grenadier Murphy said.

Different from other lists, The New York Times list isn’t strictly sales based. It is compiled by an editorial department separate from other desks. “It’s a curated product,” Rebecca Cafiero, a UO alum and PR strategist who works with authors, said. “Just to have a shot, you have to have the sales numbers in a week across the retailers. But sales don’t guarantee placements.”

The rise of Amazon has led to a new type of bestseller list, one that is easier to hack and more accessible to authors. When listing a book on Amazon, you choose the category you want your book listed under, which would be the category it’s competing in for a spot on the bestseller list.

“I remember before I knew how to do this, I used another company, and we went number one in biographies of Rhode Island women. Nobody’s from Rhode Island in the grand scheme of things,” Cafiero said.

For smaller authors, like the ones Cafiero works with, it’s a delicate balance of making sure you aren’t competing against huge names in the categories you pick, while still being specialized enough that it gives you a chance to hit the list.

Other things to consider when campaigning for a spot on a bestseller list is the time and capital investment it takes, and doing a mix of things to make the greatest impact.

“With celebrities releasing books, you’ll see them on every podcast, every morning show and it’s all within a really short period of time,” Grenadier Murphy said. “That’s because their publisher is trying to drum up a lot of interest quickly so that they can try to hit that list.”

But authors can’t just pay to play. “Everyone who’s hitting these lists is selling books across the country in various formats, they’re matching that typical consumer behavior,” Grenadier Murphy said. “It’s not something where you could just say, ‘I have a lot of money, so I could make this happen.’”

Once authors make that list, they will always and forever be a bestseller — even if it was for one week at the very bottom of the list. It’s a useful marketing tool as well, and it suddenly makes a lot more sense why there are so many books in bookstores with that title on the front.

Becoming a bestselling author adds credibility to an author, but it isn’t a one way ticket to success. “A best seller does not mean the book is going to be great. It means that the book was well marketed and launched,” Cafiero said. “The difference is when someone stays on the best seller list for weeks, that’s because people are reading it, loving it and sharing it.” Checkmate.

How authors aim to be a bestseller:
Promote presale purchasing
Make sure books are being sold in diverse retailers across the U.S.
Sell at least 5,000-10,000 books within the first week of publication
Work with a well-known publisher to use their connections/name recognition
Don’t release your physical copies of the book in the same week you release the audiobook version – it’ll split sales.
For Amazon, pick realistic categories to list your book under.
Begin press before the book comes out

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An unassuming elevator near the entrance of the Eugene Public Library transported readers into a different world — a process similar to what happens when you open one of TJ Klune’s books. Stepping out of the elevator, attendees entered a room that was crowded to the point that newcomers began to ring the edges of the room, all to hear Klune speak.

Klune, a fantasy and romance author, came to the Eugene Public Library on May 10. He is known for his books “The House in the Cerulean Sea” and “Under the Whispering Door,” which emphasize acceptance and authenticity.

Backed by a rainbow made out of balloons, Klune stood on a stage with a lectern, although by the way he spoke, you’d hardly notice it was there — Klune was more concerned with not tripping over the cord to the microphone he was speaking into as he paced the stage in his Converse.

“When a homosexual like myself buys a new house, what’s the first thing they do? They make it gay. What did I do? I put up a freaking huge pride flag on my deck,” Klune began, referencing his experience moving to Leavenworth, Washington. “What I did not know was that this pride flag can be seen by my neighbor down on the main road.”

He proceeded to explain that this neighbor was homophobic and spewed hateful rhetoric to Klune’s handyman, which got back to him. “What do you do in a situation like this? Do I go and confront him? Do I ignore it and go away? Then I realized I am a petty b****. I wanted to get revenge.”

Klune’s elaborate revenge crusade included “seducing” the neighbor’s dad. Klune’s delivery of his experiences, like this story, rife with homophobia, was done in a way that he would nearly bring the mood down before getting to a punchline you didn’t even know was coming.

But he wasn’t afraid to speak candidly about his experiences: about growing up in Roseburg, Oregon, in the 80s and how it was a place full of racism, misogyny and homophobia.

As Klune spoke, people listened intently, many having experienced something similar. An older couple in matching tie-dye tees, a man dressed as if he had just finished a trail run and an attendee with ombre pink and purple hair were part of the amalgam of people in the audience.

“I grew up around Roseburg, so to hear him talk about the same thing that informed so much of how I grew up was really emotional for me,” Kurt Williams, a Eugene resident, said. “The first time I read his books, I felt so seen. It’s just unexplainable.”

Klune took this story of growing up and not being understood by anyone around him and, almost surprising himself with the direction the talk was taking, turned it into the story of how he wrote fanfiction about the video game “Metroid” — delivering it in a way reminiscent of stand-up comedy.

His writing journey began in his seventh-grade English class with an assignment to turn a memory into a comedic story. Upon reading his story, unlike with any of the others, his teachers were laughing out loud.

“That was the very first time in my life that I understood that the written word has power,” Klune said to the audience. “Words put together in a certain way can make people devastated. Words put together in a certain way can make people feel like they’re flying. And I didn’t understand that until that moment.”

The control he had over the room was tangible, the audience hung to his every word like moths to a flame. It was easy to forget he was an author until you got to experience his storytelling in real time — and until he quipped that if people spoke over him, he would kill off one of his characters.

Klune cracked many jokes throughout his talk: about spoiling a 50-year-old book, about working at Geico and being good at insurance or about responses he’s gotten to having the antichrist as a character. He frequently laughed at himself, which turned into laughter echoing through the crowd like a song.

The talk was organized by Caitlin McMahan, a teen librarian at the Eugene Public Library. McMahan wore a patterned vest with cats all over it; after introducing Klune, she stood at the edge of the room and nearly blended into the audience. She worked with the Eugene Public Library Foundation and Klune’s agent to coordinate the visit.

“There are many reasons that we wanted to bring TJ Klune to the library. First is that he’s an incredibly popular author and we thought that people would be very excited about the opportunity to hear him speak,” McMahan said. “He’s also a member of and a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, which is an important group in our own community here in Eugene.”

In the rest of his talk, Klune spoke about the ups and downs of his career, what he’s working on next and the spectrum of responses he has gotten to his books: being berated to being told the positive impact his books have had on queer families and relationships.

To finish, Klune circled back to his revenge bit from the beginning, as he turned a story about his neighbor and getting revenge on him by seducing his dad to a powerful message for queer people.

“I see you, I hear you, I know it’s hard. But here’s what I always will believe. There is so much more joy in the world with you than without. Please stay, please fight and know that if you ever need me to kick somebody’s a** for you, all you have to do is say so and I will do it… probably not, but that’s okay.”

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Forget everything you think you know about Haymitch’s games, because Suzanne Collins has done it again with her new book “Sunrise on the Reaping.” Like Katniss and Peeta when they reviewed his games in “Catching Fire,” we too were unwitting victims of Capitol propaganda.

“Sunrise on the Reaping” follows Haymitch Abernathy, the District 12 mentor in the original trilogy, during his own Hunger Games: the 50th Quarter Quell.

The series is set in the dystopian country of Panem at an unspecified point in the future. Every year, each of the 12 districts send one boy and one girl — aged 12 to 18 — to participate in the Hunger Games as a punishment for rebelling against the Capitol.

In Haymitch’s games, instead of the normal 24 tributes (two tributes from each of the 12 districts), the number is doubled to 48 — four from each district. Spoilers ahead!

Collins opens the book with a slew of quotes from George Orwell, David Hume and William Blake as she draws parallels between Panem and our world today. Propaganda is a central theme in the book, and Collins drives home the idea that anything can be manipulated for political means, even a beloved series like her own.

It felt like my jaw was hitting the floor every other chapter, starting with the District 12 reaping. From what we know about reapings in Panem, the only departure from the norm is if someone volunteers for the Hunger Games, which we know hadn’t ever happened in District 12 until Katniss in the first book.

Except Haymitch isn’t reaped, and he doesn’t volunteer. One of the boys who was reaped tries to escape and is shot and killed, so the Capitol restages and rigs the reaping to pick Haymitch. The rest of the country only sees Haymitch getting reaped — none of the violence that led up to it — being the first of many examples of propaganda.

The four tributes who leave District 12 are Haymitch, the sweetheart Louella, oddsmaker Wyatt and fiery Maysilee. I loved this group of four, and Collins did a great job of making readers feel for them in the pages we spent with them, which made their deaths more devastating.

Maysilee was easily my favorite. Her razor-sharp criticisms of Drusilla’s (their version of Effie Trinket from the original series) fashion choices cracked me up every time, but behind those mean digs was genuine anger towards the Capitol. This made for a great character arc.

During the tribute parade, Louella is thrown out of the chariot and trampled. To maintain the appearance of power, the Capitol replaces her with a drugged body double from District 11. I frequently found myself in shock and disturbed at some of the things I read, but knowing the way Collins writes, it was to prove a point.

The Capitol does this throughout the book: changing the way things appear to happen to both maintain power and beat the districts down into submission. The districts don’t know they can fight back if they never see it happening.

The violence in the games was jarring as well: kids are attacked by unassuming mutts (Maysilee by candy-pink birds) or brutally killed by their fellow tributes (a weak and starving Wellie by Career tribute Silka). There were many times I thought I knew what was going to happen but was proven wrong time and time again. Collins’ propaganda was masterful and duped us all.

Reader speculation was ultimately proven right, as Lenore Dove — Haymitch’s girlfriend — is a part of the Covey and somehow related to Lucy Gray Baird from “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” There were Covey references interspersed throughout the book, which were a nice callback.

I didn’t love Haymitch’s insistence on trying to destroy the arena and was much more interested in what was happening to the other characters than what Haymitch was up to under the arena. It was a bit of a full circle moment, as it paralleled Katniss destroying her arena in “Catching Fire,” and she succeeded where he couldn’t. This was the only weak spot in an otherwise solid book.

Production of the “Sunrise on the Reaping” movie, set to come out in November 2026, is ramping up, which leaves me curious to see how they will approach the movie for this book. The series has a trend of toning the content down for the silver screen, but despite the violence being as appalling as it was, the story doesn’t really work without it. Will “Sunrise on the Reaping” be the first R-rated movie in the series? We’ll soon find out.

“Sunrise on the Reaping” is surely a top contender for Collins’ best work. From the plot to the parallels and the doomed yet irresistible characters, Collins doesn’t just light the fuse but makes sure we feel the explosion.

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As a kid, I could reliably be found every day after school curled up with a book, usually “Harry Potter” or “Percy Jackson,” snacking on Goldfish or Welch’s Fruit Snacks.

Now, 10 years later, the amount of time I spend reading has noticeably decreased, as I’m usually slogging through textbooks for classes more than I get to read for pleasure. While I could just be more busy than when I was in elementary school, I’m not alone in this trend of reading less.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average people ages 15 and over read about 15 minutes every day. When broken down into age brackets, ages 15-24 and 65+ had the most leisure time and spent the most time reading in comparison to other age groups. But that isn’t how they spent the majority of their days — spending more than half of the day watching TV.

When the other age groups are brought into the statistics, on average, ages 15-65+ spent only 4.8% of their leisure time reading.

Other age groups also consistently spent a majority of their leisure time watching TV, a trend reflected in the UO community by students like Jake Murray.

“I’m definitely aware that I read less than I did when I was younger, and I’ve been trying to read more, but I feel like I never have time,” Murray said. “If I’m not doing schoolwork, I tend to prefer watching TV or going on my phone.”

Reading less doesn’t only impact how we spend our time, but also reading comprehension and functional literacy rates.

According to a study done by the National Institute of Health, the shift from books to screens has changed the way we remember information, especially in regards to cognitive offloading. Cognitive offloading is the act of reducing mental processing requirements of a task by relying on an outside source to remember or learn things, like using a calendar or taking notes.

By virtue of how the Internet functions, we don’t need to remember information to relay to others, like in human societies pre-screens, nor do we need to remember specifically what information is available.

While the Internet is a useful tool, it makes things like books obsolete — we can find information quicker and easier on the Internet than we can with a book. There also isn’t as much motivation to remember what we’ve read or even comprehend it well, should we choose to read a book, because we can find a summary and explanation on the Internet if necessary.

According to a survey from the National Center for Education Statistics, a federal agency under the Department of Education, literacy rates are declining among adults in the U.S.

In 2017, 19% of U.S. adults ranked at the lowest levels of literacy, and in 2023, 28% of adults ranked at the lowest levels. This is a trend seen in surveys from the National Institute of Health and other surveys from the National Center for Education Statistics like the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

It’s difficult to pinpoint why exactly people are reading less, but they are. Yet, there are still ways we can read more. Whether it’s being intentional about time to read, bringing a book wherever you go or joining a book club, there are steps people are taking to spend more time reading for fun.

“It’s hard for me to find time in the day to sit down with a book and read, so I love audiobooks. I can listen to them on the walk to class or while doing chores, which makes them pretty convenient for me,” Lily Brady, a UO student, said.

Although some studies suggest there are minor differences in reading comprehension between listening to an audiobook and reading a physical book, they aren’t significant enough if you’re reading casually. Humans have been telling stories by word of mouth far longer than printed stories, and some things are communicated better by being spoken, like sarcasm or tone.

People are reading less, and reading less leads to declines in related skills. While it may be tempting to pick up your phone and scroll on social media for hours after a long day of classes, try an opt for a snack and a good book, especially as the weather gets warmer.

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After the releases of the movies “Dune” in 2021 and “Dune: Part Two” in 2024, with a star-studded cast including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Florence Pugh, many viewers flocked to the nearest bookstore to pick up a copy of the book the movies are based on: “Dune” by Frank Herbert.

Along with the movies, the book became a sensation on social media. Despite the cult following the book has had since its release in 1965, it garnered a reputation for being too complicated, slow and filled with in-universe terminology that made it hard to understand.

The reputation the book has built up on social media shouldn’t deter you from reading it.

“Dune” is set in an intergalactic future where humans belong to noble houses that have colonized planets. Paul Atreides, the book’s protagonist, and his family have been appointed to govern the desert planet Arrakis. Arrakis is the only source of “spice,” an expensive drug that can extend life and is necessary for space navigation.

Despite the unpleasant environment, control of the planet is coveted. The House Atreides quickly finds itself embroiled in a dangerous conflict over the planet, as the House Harkonnen conspires to destroy the Atreides and seize control of Arrakis.

The plot thickens with the introduction of the Fremen,natives of Arrakis known for their fighting abilities and opposition to colonizers, and the Bene Gesserit. The Bene Gesserit are an exclusive group of powerful women who are waiting for the Kwisatz Haderach, an individual who has abilities that surpass the Bene Gesserit.

“It is a pretty complicated book,” Jobim Scott, a UO Student, said. “There’s a lot of things that go on, but I think just slowing down and reading things carefully would help people a lot more.”

To simplify it, it’s a worldbuilding-heavy book about space politics with a lot of intersecting issues.

I would argue the worldbuilding is not that different from other fantasy books that have gone viral on social media — it’s complex, but it’s well done and makes “Dune” an even more compelling read.

A focal point is the third-person omniscient perspective, which essentially equates toknowing everything about everyone. The story is big enough that it’s necessary to know what each character is thinking, but it doesn’t take away from the betrayals and plot twists. If anything, I found them to be more exciting, and I was still surprised at moments in the book.

“One of my favorite things in books is hallucinatory drug effects,” Scott said. “I find it really interesting to see how people write about characters who may not be experiencing reality the same way that we do.”

The politics of the book were also a highlight. It was messy, nuanced and gripping; even though I knew some characters were lying about their intentions and saw treachery miles before Paul did, it was still just as jarring when it came to fruition.

The use of in-universe terminology could be worrying to some, but I found it easy to pick up quickly, as the book reuses the words many times to familiarize the reader. If the jargon is a big concern, there is a terminology guide at the back of the book that tells you everything you need to know.

Despite the complicated vocabulary in the book, there are a few reassuring names on the page; among names like the Sardaukar and Gaius Helen Mohiam, Herbert threw readers a bone in the form of Paul and the swordmaster for House Atreides, Duncan Idaho.

If you’re still not convinced, the books add a lot of helpful context to the movies; a book has a lot more room for world-building and establishing relationships than a movie does, and it shows with this series.

There’s a reason why this book is so popular and spawned such well done movies –– with said movies winning eight Academy Awards between the two of them. “Dune” reads like other popular fantasy books, and it leaves you wondering how Herbert juggles everything to put together such a fascinating and intricate narrative.

Whether you’ve watched the “Dune” movies and are hungry for more, or you have yet to see the movies, “Dune” by Frank Herbert is a great follow up or precursor ––even if you’re just reading it for Timothée Chalamet.

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A new “Hunger Games” book with returning characters we know and love, and a movie to accompany it: the book “Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins comes out on March 18. It will be the fifth book in “The Hunger Games” series.

According to a book excerpt from Scholastic, “Sunrise on the Reaping” will follow Haymitch Abernathy, a mentor from District 12 in the original trilogy, as a teen and a competitor in the 50th Hunger Games. It will also explore Haymitch’s relationship with his family and his girlfriend, Lenore Dove.

“The Hunger Games” series is set in the dystopian future in the country Panem, which is made up of 12 districts. Every year, as punishment for a rebellion against the Capitol, each district selects one boy and one girl to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised arena-style fight to the death.

The 50th Hunger Games are one of the Quarter Quell games — games held every quarter of a century. Quarter Quell games are known for being even more of a spectacle and for altering the way the game is played, player selection and the arena itself.

In the 50th Hunger Games, instead of the normal 24 tributes (two tributes from each of the 12 districts), the number is doubled to 48 — four from each district.

According to a press release from Lionsgate, the production company behind “The Hunger Games” movies, the book will begin on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games. A movie adaption of the book has already been slated for release in November 2026, with Francis Lawrence returning to direct.

In a press release from Scholastic, Collins said, “With ‘Sunrise on the Reaping,’ I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission… The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative.”

Cameron Holland, a student at UO, said, “I’m very curious to see if (Collins will) revisit the whole real or not real thing Peeta and Katniss had in the original books. It seems like it would fit in with a lot of the themes that’ll be in the new book.”

Keeping in line with the rest of the series, “Sunrise on the Reaping” will be told from a first person perspective.

Before you pick up the newest installment to the series, remember that the 50th Hunger Games is considered to be one of the most brutal games in the history of Panem.

From “Catching Fire,” which takes place 25 years after this new book, readers know Haymitch ends up winning his games using the force field at the edge of the arena to kill the last tribute. As retribution, President Snow orders Haymitch’s family to be killed, which leads him to spiral into the character readers see in the original trilogy.

With the little information that has already been released, theories have run amok about the topics Collins will explore, characters that will show up and possible ties between the other books.

“I’m really hoping Haymitch’s girlfriend ends up being a descendant of the Covey from the first prequel book,” Chloe Rodriguez, a student at UO, said. “That would be a really good tie-in, and I feel like we would learn more about the history of District 12.”

“Sunrise on the Reaping” is set to dive deeper into Haymitch’s past through his experience in the Quarter Quell. In doing so, readers can expect a new perspective on the world of Panem and the social commentary Collins has become known for through her work on this series.

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Scott Landfield is easily sidetracked. He loves to talk about books and the neighborhood shareholder operation he runs with his store. But when he talks about his books, he often breaks into asides about his experience with tree planting, a poetry slam where he commanded the room and alternative healthcare. 

Landfield owns Tsunami Books in Eugene, an independent bookstore that offers new and used books. 

Tsunami Books began in 1995 with $500. One of the two original founders wanted out immediately, so Landfield bought him out, despite initially disliking his new business partner.  

“My sister told me, ‘you keep saying you don’t like him. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go into business with someone you don’t like.’ But it turned out alright. My old partner Dave and I shared the front counter for 12 years, and he had all the right ideas,” Landfield said.

The store nearly went bankrupt in 2005 before two professors showed up offering $35,000 to Landfield to help keep it open. Landfield countered with a proposal to buy shares in the store, and from there the neighborhood shareholding began. 

The concept is pretty simple: neighborhood residents invest in a local business and become co-owners. Landfield described it as a worker-owner situation. Neighborhood shareholding has many benefits. 

At Tsunami, shareholders can vote on all decisions, including who can be a shareholder. According to Landfield, even one “no” would put a stop to a potential shareholder, which worked for Tsunami.

“Sometimes couples who bought in together would break up, but they were still shareholders. Our votes would fix that problem right away. We didn’t want any drama. There was enough drama in the bookstore,” Landfield said.

Tsunami Books faltered again when ownership of the building was up for grabs. The original owner initially wouldn’t sell to Landfield, only agreeing to do so with the caveat of $300,000 as collateral. 

“We had to raise all that money, and I had a pocket full of cans. I put it out to the community, and we raised $370,000. We paid it all back. When people come in and they’re like, ‘I never expected to get that $5,000 from you,’ it’s really rewarding,” Landfield said.

Over the years, the store has grown into a pillar of the community, in part due to their worker-owner structure, and in part due to the numerous events the store hosts.

Eugene resident Jim Conway said, “I love coming to all the events, and I think Tsunami really affects the culture of the neighborhood in a positive way. They’ve usually got some great acts here too, so I can buy books and be entertained at the same time.”

A grand piano sits on a small stage, which you can see when you first walk into the store. That stage has hosted everyone from local artists to Grammy Award-winning bluegrass musician Billy Strings.

“Billy was about 22 and he was right here,” Landfield said, looking at his stage. “I knew he was gonna be great.”

While Tsunami is culturally connected to the community, they also have a physical connection; their bookshelves are made out of wood from gymnasium bleachers, representing over 40 high schools and universities in Oregon. 

“Ken Kesey went to school here in Eugene, and the one time I met him I told him I built this place in part out of gymnasium bleachers from his high school,” Landfield said. “He qualified for the heavyweight in the Olympics, so he was a great athlete before he was a writer. He told me, ‘I kicked a lot of ass in that gym.’”

Landfield got into the book business because he wanted to be a writer, but the experience has grown into something much more. From getting the approval of Kesey to helping change the neighborhood, it’s been a rewarding experience for him and has benefited the community in the process. 

“I thought I’d work in a bookstore for a couple years, finish up my books and then become a famous writer. But paying the rent took all the time and energy. I never dreamt of that,” Landfield said. “Businesses like this have to fail before they succeed. That’s the wonder of Tsunami. People come in every day and sing the praises of it and thank us for their personal reasons. It’s very heartwarming, but it’s very humbling, and it gives you real purpose.”

The post Tsunami Books: the rise of a community-owned cultural cornerstone appeared first on Daily Emerald.

A new year is a time where most are deciding on resolutions and building the foundation to achieving them. What do you want to accomplish? Are there any habits you want to establish? For me, my ever elusive goal is always to read more. That’s not to say that I don’t read a lot, but come December 31, I’m always left thinking that I could’ve finished just one more book. So, here’s how I’m going to tackle my reading goals in 2025, and how you can tackle yours:

1. Be proactive
Be intentional about your reading and dedicate a time every day to read. I personally like to read before I go to bed to wind down, but do what works best for your schedule. You can read in the morning, in between classes or to take a break from homework. Regardless of when you read, make it a priority to do it each day, even if it’s just five minutes.

2. Use a book tracking app
Apps like Goodreads or The StoryGraph allow you to set reading goals and keep track of how many books you read in the year. You can also participate in challenges with other users to keep yourself motivated with like-minded readers. The StoryGraph is my preferred app because it keeps track of stats such as your reading pace, common genres and content warnings.

Perhaps my favorite benefit of the app is you can rate books full or half stars, which I always get excited about. The prospect of being able to add another book to my tracker is motivating, and having a visual tracker makes goals more attainable.

3. Keep a book in your backpack
Make your goal easier for yourself. Having a book accessible gets you one step closer to opening it and reading a little bit each day. I usually have a couple hours in between classes, which is never enough time to go home, but long enough that I need to find something to do.

Liam Fischer, a senior at UO, said, “It’s a great way to relax between classes. I’ll burn myself out for the day if I push through and do homework, so I just read my book instead.”

Keeping a book in your backpack gives you an alternative to getting out your phone and scrolling through social media or playing a game. The next time you have time in between classes, or simply feel inspired, grab your book and read a couple pages.

4. Read what you want to read
There is a common misconception that to be a “reader,” you have to have read the classics or more distinguished books, like “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger or “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë.

Maggie Bruce, a sophomore at UO, said, “Don’t force yourself to read prestigious books. Read a bad book if you want to read a bad book.”

There isn’t a list of books you have to read or entry requirements to consider yourself a reader.

5. Start small
At the end of the day, a win is a win. If you’ve just read one page a day, congratulations, that counts! It’s easy for New Year’s Resolutions to get lofty. If you’re starting from not reading at all, to a goal of 50 books a year, that goal can quickly turn into something that feels unachievable. This may cause you to give up before you even give yourself a chance.

If you’re not sure how many books you want to read a year, set a smaller goal like 12 (one for each month). If you surpass that goal, then that’s an even bigger win. Don’t make the goal intimidating, be intentional and get reading!

To understand David Hascall’s books, you first have to understand what a Ponzi scheme is. “The Longest Wooden Railroad,” Hascall’s first book, is based on the development of an Oregon railroad in the 1920s. This railroad was a Ponzi scheme, using new investor money to build more of the railroad while the original sections deteriorated. 

That book begins Hascall’s historical fiction series, the “Hundred Years Series,” which takes place between 1869 and 1969.  

Hascall, an Oregon native, has written 5 books: “The Angel’s Backbone (A Season of Effectuation),” “The Longest Wooden Railroad (A Season of Embers),” “Tahoe of the North (A Season at Waldo Lake),” “The Color of Shadows (A Season of Enmity)” and “Yellow Cake Yellow Earth (A Season of Envisage).” His experience growing up in the Pacific Northwest shaped much of his work, as all of his books are set in and around the greater Eugene area.

The series is a family saga, following the characters through some of the relevant events that took place during that time span. 

“I asked myself the question, ‘How would people living here or who ended up in Oregon during that period have handled this historical event or situation, generation after generation?’” Hascall said.

Spurred by that thought, he let it inform his writing throughout the course of the series. The books also functioned as a way for Hascall to reflect on and articulate his feelings about his life.

Hascall was a double duck, graduating from the University of Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in history and later a master’s degree in health education and community health administration. He got the idea for his first book, “The Longest Wooden Railroad,” from a friend in college who mentioned an unfinished wooden railroad in Oregon. 

But Hascall wasn’t always a writer. He worked as a nurse for 30 years at Sacred Heart Hospital, becoming the first nurse trained in this region to perform hemodialysis (a treatment that filters excess fluids from the blood when the kidneys are unable to) on patients with kidney failure. 

He later wrote an instructional manual for the use of the hemodialysis machine, and in his final 15 years at Sacred Heart was a certified diabetes educator.

It was during this time that Hascall began writing his books. After 40 years in healthcare, he retired in 2013, which allowed him to focus more on his writing.

Hascall’s writing experience has acted as a journey and a journal, allowing him to express his own experiences and feelings through his characters.

Each of the subtitles of Hascall’s books — Effectuation, Embers, Waldo Lake, Enmity and Envisage — give additional clues to the real themes of the book.

“If you pull on the thread of the veil, there is much more. Effectuation suggests you create the future you envision. Waldo Lake is a place of refuge and my place of escape in the real world. Enmity is the state of feeling hostile towards someone over time,” Hascall said.

Writing played an important role in Hascall’s life; in his writing, Hascall described his child abuse through the eyes of his characters. Writing allowed him to explore what motivates the abuser and when child abuse actually ends.

Hascall said, “These books are a catharsis, a wordy form of expression that eventually led me to seek outside help when merely writing no longer gave me solace.”

Through his characters, Hascall confronts these topics while weaving a narrative that is both compelling and cathartic. In print, Hascall could reveal the shadowy existence of the abused and the abuser in a way that was difficult with his own words. 

“The escape mindset finally came to me when I had time to think near retirement, saying to myself, ‘enough!’ It was time to stop dancing the compartmentalization dance and go for a full pardon,” Hascall said, regarding the two faced relationship between the abused and the abuser.

Hascall cited the phrases “endeavor to persevere” and “write hard, die free” as mottos he holds on to and that have inspired his writing.

As he continues to share his stories with his readers, Hascall’s work is a testament to the power of writing as a tool for understanding and transformation.

David Hascall’s books are more than just historical fiction; they are an exploration of personal healing and a reflection of the Pacific Northwest’s rich history. As a journey through the complexities of the human experience, Hascall invites readers to embark on a meaningful journey of their own through his writing.