In 1965, Oscar Mondadori created the "transistor books", which allowed readers to find the best Italian and international novels at newsstands and bookstores for the price of a movie ticket every week. It was one of Italy’s most significant cultural revolutions, now set to be celebrated with a special anniversary event on November 15 in Milan, featuring books, music, and shared memories. Ernest Hemingway’s 'A Farewell to Arms' was the first Oscar, released on April 27. It was a huge success, with all 60,000 copies sold on the first day of sale. In the 1970s, Oscar became a "library": it was the largest and most thorough collection of series available in bookstores. Intended for “all active and informed members of society", and affordable for every pocket. In the 1980s, the Oscars featured major bestsellers as well as new releases published directly in paperback — giving birth to the paperback generation. Every genre “has its place among the Oscars”: from science fiction to noir to childcare. In the 1990s, Oscars were "mass-oriented": books that had sold millions of copies and were widely available in bookstores and supermarkets. In the new millennium, the Oscars respond to Italians' increasingly nuanced and sophisticated tastes, with dozens of series and thousands of titles. And they also welcome the gigasellers — the books that manage to find their way onto the shelves of every home.