Ideas to get people "closer" to the book

I’m thinking of something incredibly cool that will help give Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close a wider audience. Something simple that people can buy or do that will excite them to read the book and perhaps see the movie. Since its winter and most people wear gloves, I thought it would be clever and kind of cool to sell gloves that had the words yes and no printed on the palms. I got the idea from Oskar’s grandfather who had those words tattooed on his palms. After undergoing a major tragedy in his past, Oskar’s grandpa, Thomas Schell, decided that he would stop talking altogether to try to find meaning and happiness in his life. He didn’t say a single word for most of his adult life. Instead, he chose to communicate to people by writing things in a day book and holding up his right or left hand for “yes” and “no.” We learn a lot about Oskar’s grandpa and realize how many issues he has. “The end of suffering does not justify the suffering, and so there is no end to suffering, what a mess I am, I thought, what a fool, how foolish and narrow, how worthless, how pinched and pathetic, how helpless.” Part of what his character represents is the importance of communication. Sometimes, it’s good to stay quiet, but other times it’s crucial to verbally express your feelings and thoughts. This is an intriguing and interesting theme in the book that readers will recognize when they buy the gloves, and people who have never read the book will probably find it peculiar and want to know how this merchandise relates to the book. I think that this idea will work because it’s a very common object and relatively inexpensive. It represents a pretty big part of the story and the fact that they’re gloves can attract a pretty large audience (young and old, boy or girl).

(http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=683&tbm=isch&tbnid=VAQDeKImDBf4TM:&imgrefurl=http://sashawantsmore.tumblr.com/post/787005378/presidents-the-friction-of-yes-and-no-i-am&docid=5KkNTqNSyNaDYM&imgurl=http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l56v8x2Oxb1qzq7vco1_500.jpg&w=500&h=364&ei=-YTvTqaPKumW2AXtqcilDw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=448&sig=114653113341139565312&page=1&tbnh=153&tbnw=181&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=132&ty=82)

It would also be pretty cool to sell some key necklaces. The main character Oskar finds a key in his closet that he thinks his dad left behind for him. Throughout the story, Oskar is trying to find what the key unlocks. Oskar wore the key around his neck and felt closer to his when searching for answers on his journey. This is why it would be kind of neat to advertise the book with key necklaces. I think that this idea will work because key necklaces are already very popular and if there is more meaning to them, people will probably be more willing to buy them. “I shook my tambourine the whole time, because it helped me remember that even though I was going through different neighborhoods, I was still me.” As Oskar searches for the lock to his key, he has to meet a lot of different people and he grows and matures considerably. Even though he’s a struggling and hurt kid on a desperate mission to find the lock, he somehow stays true to himself and uses his funny personality quirks to deal with his loss. Unless we made the keys for guys and girls (this would be kind of hard), I think this idea will probably only appeal to the female population because guys don’t really wear necklaces that much. (Except Oskar does wear the key around his neck, but it’s not really for accessorizing purposes). The people who haven’t read the book will probably be pretty curious about the representation of the key, and those that have read it will understand exactly where it comes from in the book and will probably like it.

(http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=683&tbm=isch&tbnid=vFzcn321WvdGgM:&imgrefurl=http://www.etsy.com/listing/72551567/antique-old-safety-deposit-box-key&docid=NGLzjjr8lYRplM&imgurl=http://img1.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.237623257.jpg&w=1500&h=1500&ei=hIXvTtfWI4js2QWQicilDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=99&vpy=137&dur=1448&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=167&ty=117&sig=114653113341139565312&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=146&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0)

 “Everything that’s born has to die, which means our lives are like skyscrapers.  The smoke rises at different speeds, but they’re all on fire, and we’re all trapped.” This quote represents the 9/11 aspect of the book. It’s significant because Oskar’s father died on that day and left his son to struggle with life after his death. I think it would be great if there was some sort of convention where people shared their personal stories about 9/11 and talked about the book. It could be called The Incredibly Close Convention and would probably interest a lot of older people to read the book and see the movie. I think it’ll work because it’ll bring a lot of different people with a common interest together and excite them to read the book if they haven’t already. There could be a few of these conventions and would draw more attention to the book.

(http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1024&bih=683&tbm=isch&tbnid=5COEzMlyb3nH5M:&imgrefurl=http://www.thediscerningbrute.com/2010/10/&docid=Jh8lEdHtfPKvEM&imgurl=http://www.thediscerningbrute.com/wp-content/gallery/ayine-gracious-gourmand/crowd.jpg&w=819&h=544&ei=UobvTpbyCaOC2AW16eGlDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=705&vpy=385&dur=2205&hovh=183&hovw=276&tx=162&ty=126&sig=114653113341139565312&page=14&tbnh=117&tbnw=176&start=193&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:193)