Carol Rosenberg came home from her publishing job one day
and told her son, Justin, then 21, "I need a million-dollar idea. I need a title that will work with any subject for teens." She wanted to develop an advice series for young people that would work as well as the megapopular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" franchise that her company, Health Communications Inc., or HCI, already publishes.
"He said, 'If I were still a teen, I would like to read a book by an average person, a John Doe,'" Rosenberg says.
And thus was born the Jon & Jayne Doe Series. The first volume, "Jon & Jayne's Guide to Making Friends & 'Getting' the Guy (or Girl)," came out last month, with the second "issue," called "Jon & Jayne's Guide to Throwing, Going to, and 'Surviving' Parties," due in May.
Rosenberg, an editor, and her husband, Gary, a graphic designer, create the books, though they're not the only authors. They have help from a "crew" of teens who live either in the Five Towns area, where the Rosenbergs resided most of their lives, or in Boca Raton, Fla., where they live now.
Both graduated from Lawrence High School, though they didn't meet till years later, on the Long Island Rail Road, says Gary Rosenberg. They moved south after visiting Delray Beach, Fla., where his parents now live, he says.
The books - written in short bursts with lots of computer-inspired graphics and spelling ("r u there?") - feature true first-person stories written by teens on such matters as dealing with cliques and rumors. On Long Island, Carol Rosenberg says, they're recruited by her niece Kaitlyn Russo, 16, of Cedarhurst. Each gets a short bio ("I'm Eric D. I'm 15. I like to skateboard and play PS2 Army games ... ") and $50 for each story used.
She also enlisted advice from "Dr. Toni," aka psychologist Antonietta Tarnell, her childhood next-door neighbor in Cedarhurst who now lives in upstate Mahopac.
Another participant is "Quizmaster Anthony P.," aka Anthony Pomes, who writes "quickie" questions for the books with answers and related "factoids" at jonandjayne.com, an interactive Web site for the series.
Pomes, director of publicity and marketing at Square One Publishers in Garden City Park and stepfather of 11-year-old twins, is a self-described "pop culture nut" who has edited a line of trivia books. Pomes says he likes that the books are both Web-modern and slightly old-fashioned as they gently aim to ease teen angst.
Carol and Gary Rosenberg discuss and sign their Jon & Jayne Doe book at 2 p.m. March 30, Barnes & Noble, 91 Old Country Rd., Carle Place, 516-741-9850.
A bookworm returns
The Rosenbergs are betting that teens aren't abandoning books. But Jennifer Gardiner sees tangible signs that they aren't - nor are their elders.
When she was a teenager herself, Gardiner would hang out with her friends at Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. She had her ears pierced at a kiosk there and got her first job selling coats at the mall's A&S department store. She looked for books at B. Dalton, no longer there. "I was a huge geek," says Gardiner, 32.
Today, Gardiner has returned to the mall as manager of a new Barnes & Noble on the site of that A&S.
"So it's really a full circle," says Gardiner as she sits in an upstairs nook in her store, where she's trying to create an atmosphere that draws booklovers.
Teens still flock to the mall, and - in numbers larger than expected - to her bookstore, which will soon expand its young adult, graphic novel-manga and science-fiction sections to meet their demands, she says. Both teens and adults are asking staffers for book suggestions and dozens of people have said they're eager to attend an upcoming book group advertised around the store. Storybook hours regularly attract 40 to 50 children. Audiobooks, DVDs and CDs are selling nicely, with classical music second only to pop-rock. Only a tiny percentage of customers go for the best-sellers, she says. The vast majority buy "fiction and literature.... People really go deep into the store," to back shelves, she says. "They want recommendations."
To that end, she encourages her employees to borrow and read the store's books - though several interviewed say they also purchase volumes, because they love books. Gardiner says she hired many retired teachers and librarians, as well as Stony Brook University, Suffolk County Community College and high school students.
She had her pick from thousands of applications before the store opened, she says, and still receives about 100 a week. She needed to hire a crackerjack team of 110 staffers, she says, and interviews went quickly: "I knew in about 10 seconds, from their personalities and their ties to the community," as well as their ties to the printed page.
She also looked for expertise. Among her hires is Peter Geldrich, 27, a classically trained clarinet and saxophone player with a master's degree, who works in the music department. Besides earning money while pursuing a performing and teaching career, he says, "This is a job where I can feel good. I can help customers. It's rewarding."
Gardiner, who grew up in Holbrook, finds her career rewarding, too. While earning an English degree at Stony Brook, she worked part time at Barnes & Noble in Commack and particularly enjoyed helping at author events. After college, she joined the company's author promotions department, arranging tours from the Manhattan headquarters. She lived then, as now, in Ronkonkoma.
When she found out a few years ago that a Smith Haven branch would open, she says, she asked for a transfer and was sent to the Carle Place store for training.
"I begged and pleaded to be sent here," she says, "This is my home."
Barnes & Noble, Route 25 side of Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove, 631-724-0341. Children's story time, 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Book group discussion of Diane Setterfield's "The Thirteenth Tale," 7 p.m. March 26.
MULTI-CELTIC
After many Long Island parades, St. Patrick's Day itself arrives on Monday, and the Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Rd., Southampton, is celebrating with "Songs of the Six Celtic Nations." The concert will be performed by internationally acclaimed bassist Hilliard Greene and classically trained singer Sandra Reid, a rare performer who sings in all six modern Celtic languages. Voluntary donations to be collected at the door for the 7 p.m. event, which includes a reception with the artists.
To register, call 631-283-0774.
CINEMA ARTS 'GYPSY'
"Gypsy Caravan," a celebration of Gypsy music and culture, will be shown at Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, with the film’s director, Jasmine Dellal, in attendance. The movie, filmed by renowned documentarian Albert Maysles, follows a group of Gypsy bands across North America on a six-month concert tour. For tickets, $12, $9 members, including reception, visit box office or call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838- 3006. Call 631-423-7611 or visit CinemaArtsCentre.org. Footnote: "Beyond Wiseguys," a documentary produced by Northport resident Rosanne DeLuca Braun that premiered at the cinema in January, will be aired at 10 p.m. Wednesday on WNET-TV.
