Fall for the Book

I really had no interest in any of the Fall for the Book events (at first). It wasn't because the authors or books sucked, it was that I simply didn't know any of them. I love to read, but mainly works of more well known authors. Authors that a person can say "Clancy, Faulkner, Albom, Clarke, Grisham, etc." and we all know who they're talking about. Now, I know my reading expertise is limited and I'm not knocking on any of the authors GMU selected for Fall for the Book. I can only began to fathom how much it would cost to book such a well known author too. Nor am I saying that just because I don't know who an author is, the vast majority doesn't. But walking around campus and passing by the many events, I noticed not a lot of people attending them. If there were people, most were professors or other English department heads. The few students I did see, said they were there because their classes required them to attend. Of those students, about a third left halfway through the event.
Now, let's be honest. Would you have attended an event if this class hadn't required you to? Seriously think about that. If you're still saying yes, how many events did you go to this year? I actually went to 2 events, but the graphic novel event ended up being about lesbians and gays and how the author's father was having an affair with his male helper (the dad was a professor). Very awkward, especially when there were 99% females in the crowd. I'll carefully read the description next time.
I don't know about you, but I work full time, have tons of homework, and other events in my life. While the concept of Fall for the Book is great, it's still lacking something. I know it's a great place for new or less known authors to come and promote their book and for us to become well rounded readers. However, if no one attends the events, then it defeats the purpose. Even requiring a student to attend, defeats the purpose. You can't force someone to want to learn about an author or book, especially if they didn't want to be there in the first place. Remember our event with Lisa Tracy? How many students would there of been if our class didn't show up? How many times did she get interrupted when other students left her event? Believe me, I really, really enjoyed Lisa Tracy's reading and discussion about how we associate stories with objects. It was interesting, and made me aware of her and her book. But would I have attended if I knew I could get away with not attending? Would you?
I want to get across that this is not a bashing of Fall for the Book or any of its authors or the English department. This is just an insight of mine that could totally be different from yours. I did enjoy the events I went to but, as you can see, I have no real answer of making the events better for all students. I only 'bitch' if you will. Please, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.