Comments on: book trailers: friend or foe?

By: Ms. M

Ms. M — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 15:56:05 +0000

Actually, if the videos linked to from that one are anything to judge by, that publisher makes pretty sweet book trailers.

By: Erin

Erin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:23:57 +0000

I WANT THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY. And both the astronauts!

By: Poshdeluxe

Poshdeluxe — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:01:45 +0000

wait, WHAT IS THAT BOOK ABOUT?!!

you know what, it doesn’t even matter. i still want to read it. THAT’S how great that trailer is.

but if it doesn’t feature that swearing astronaut dude, i will be v. disappointed.

By: Lizmet B. Playrose

Lizmet B. Playrose — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:57:18 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie52BGvaDd0

This. Is. The. Best. Book. Trailer. Ever.

By: christine

christine — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 02:38:30 +0000

i totally agree about putting images/voices in your head that will block out what would have come organically from reading the book. there’s this one book that my mom loves a lot, and she won’t let me tell her who the male lead reminds me of because she doesn’t want to picture anyone but who she has in her mind.

also, i didn’t even know there *were* book trailers until coming to this site! haha..

i only watched 2 of these. the evermore one is just awful. what is that font? it’s like the font that apple computers used to use in 1990-ish.. ugh. it’s horrible. and the grammar is awful… i know it is supposed to “work” because the text is fading in to create a sentence, but when you’re left with “and for a moment her,” i cringe. i couldn’t even watch anymore.

the sarah dessen one was awesome, but it probably wouldn’t make me want to read her book if i didn’t already love her stuff. it *does* make a very cool treat for her fans, though.

By: LG

LG — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:48:20 +0000

Even book trailers I think are good (like S&S&SM) haven’t really made me want to read the books. I don’t really understand publishers putting this kind of stuff together, BUT I do understand uber fandom that urges people to squeeze the last drop of joy out of their current favorite book/series/whatever, so I could understand it more if book trailers were more of a fan thing. Book trailers would be to books what anime AMVs are to anime. And yet when I see a book trailer, it’s usually something created by the author or publisher. And it’s usually lame.

By: Anne

Anne — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:20:09 +0000

I’m behind on my blog reading but so glad I checked in and saw this post! I’m also really curious about book trailers, the majority of which, even nearly 8 years after they first appeared, are very poorly done. I’m actually writing a paper on book trailers for grad school right now. One trailer I do really like is the one for Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book,” which features voiceover from Neil and illustration from the book – look for it on YouTube (or on my site). As you pointed out, many of the book trailers out there (like the one for Fire) can actually turn readers off from the books – really unfortunate. I’m curious to see if this new marketing strategy turns into something great as more and more people watch video online… or crashes and burns.

By: Paul Murphy

Paul Murphy — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:40:28 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgG2Kt5JM8w

By: Poshdeluxe

Poshdeluxe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:34:20 +0000

henri, you are a smartie pants, cos that’s an excellent point. i think the whole twlight thing is obvs influencing the types of book trailers that are getting made right now, but hopefully as the industry continues to grow, we can see more like “hold still” and less like “strange angels.” yipes.

and meghan, don’t feel bad for owning a kindle! like you said, it makes way more sense than lugging around ten YA books on a plane, PLUS yeah, no one can judge you for that vampire academy cover.

By: Meghan

Meghan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:42:04 +0000

OMG that second one was so horrible i almost cried. the only thing that could’ve made it worse would be if they used comic sans for the font. the music! the lame faux-texas references!
also, richelle mead actually made me think vampire academy is the lamest, most boring series EVER. i’ll have to go reread poshdeluxe’s review to get the courage to pick it up.

and y’all, i have a kindle. BUT it’s not the only way i read books — i love love real books, and i also listen to audiobooks all the time (what better way to make laundry more enjoyable than to get in some reading time?). mainly i use the kindle for travelling because it sux to pack 8 books in my carryon luggage for an international flight — i mean, who KNOWS what i’ll be in the mood to read? but i can totally see not getting one (the plus? never being embarrassed about craptastic book covers).