Jean Reynolds Page Introduces Boundtrack

A few months ago, I read and reviewed a wonderful book called THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER by Jean Reynolds Page. I mentioned in my review that I thought the section in the back of the book where Ms. Page created a list of songs that "fit" her novel was very interesting. Well she's taken it one step further now and created a concept called Boundtrack®. I just love that name!

From the press release:
SEATTLE – (July 24, 2008) – Jean Reynolds Page, author of the recently published novel THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER (Avon A, an imprint of HarperCollins), has introduced the innovative concept of a Boundtrack®, a playlist of songs, much like a movie soundtrack, to complement her novel. Page believes that her readers will have the opportunity to gain an even better understanding of the characters through music that inspired her during the writing of the book. The idea of a Boundtrack® originated with the material included in the supplemental pages that followed THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER. The notion of providing a list of songs to accompany the narrative came to Page one afternoon while she was listening to music as a way of fleshing out the emotional lives of the characters.

“The songs helped me then and still help me to define the essential selves of the people who populate my imagination and, eventually, my books,” noted Page. “I thought it might be fun to share my own working soundtrack for the characters in THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER. In the Avon A+ section of the novel, I follow each song with a brief explanation of how the music brought me closer to each character.”

On Pages’ website, http://www.jeanreynoldspage.com/, readers are able to view the Boundtrack® and purchase individual songs or the entire mix by linking to iTunes. The inclusion of song suggestions not only offers a more in-depth level of reading but also a way to get in touch with the storyline from a variety of senses beyond the literary aspect of traditional reading. For example, in THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER, Page selected James Taylor’s “You Can Close Your Eyes” as the character Holli’s, theme song. When asked why she chose this song, she suggested that to her, the author, the song represents an ‘adult lullaby’ that holds within the lyrics -- and within Taylor’s soothing vocals -- all the comfort that a parent would want to offer when her nearly-grown child is in trouble. Hearing this explanation, the reader/listener is able to better understand the depth of the character and perhaps gain better insight into where Page is taking the narrative.

Critics are raving about both Page’s work and the music she is associating with her characters. Woman’s Day selected THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER as one of seven “juicy” beach reads in its Best-of-Summer issue, and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer found Page’s inclusion of music in the supplemental pages of the novel “intriguing”.

“The Boundtrack® opens up another way of listening to what you are reading,” added Page. “After all, it seems that in today’s world, when music accompanies everything from movies to baseball games, there is an opportunity here to enhance the reading experience, as well.”
Jean Reynolds Page is the author of two earlier novels, A BLESSED EVENT and ACCIDENTAL HAPPINESS. Her next book, which is scheduled for publication with Avon A/HarperCollins next year, will also include a Boundtrack® in the supplemental pages.

I am so excited about the Boundtrack® concept and how it enhances THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER. I think many of you will agree with me and think this is a terrific book, especially when you can "listen" to the songs that inspired it. If you'd like to get a sneak preview of THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER, you can read up to 20% of the book here (including the list of songs and the explanation behind them.)

The wonderful people at Harper Collins have graciously offered to giveaway up to ten -- yes, ten -- copies of THE SPACE BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER. All you have to do is leave a comment with your e-mail address. If you'd like to receive two entries, just blog about Boundtrack® and this contest with a link back to this post. To make things a little more interesting, I will be giving away a book for every ten entries that I receive. For example, if I get 40 entries, there will be four books given out; 80 entries - 80 books, and so on. The contest will be open until Sunday, October 26th at 11:59 p.m. I will announce the winner on the following Monday. Unfortunately, this giveaway is open to U.S. mailing addresses only.