Friday, November 18, 2011

Book Trailers

How cool are book trailers? I love that idea. I love to read and luckily my daughter does too. But I can't seem to get the others kids as involved. I talk to them about the books I read and really try to make them sound exciting. And as a book reviewer- maybe I shouldn't admit that they don't always bite as hard as I want them to. In fact, ignore that last confession- I get everyone to read! And I do it with the help of book trailers. The kids can really see how exciting a book can be, especially since we have been conditioned to expect immediate satisfaction. I can tell you that the satisfaction from books comes a little later than if you are watching a movie, but is so much more fulfilling. You can get lost in books, you can continue the books in your head, change the ending, add new twists, imagine the characters to look a certain way. You can't do that with movies. But a book trailer gives you just enough to want to read the book and helps you boost your imagination.

I just read Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater and loved it. In fact, I will review it next! But just to give you a taste of what the book is about and whet your appetite, check out this amazing book trailer!



It all started with Star Wars

Star Wars was the first, then possibly Indiana Jones, definitely the Die Hards and Lethal Weapons and even the Home Alone franchise. What do these all have in common? Trilogies. Ok, so Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, and Indiana Jones all had a 4th, technically Star Wars had 3 more, and who knows how many more direct to dvd sequels Home Alone had- but you get the idea. They were all famous trilogies at some point. and I really blame them (and at times thank them) for our latest round of books.

Gone are the days of action packed books that end with satisfaction. A thrilling 300 pages that follows the rules we learned in High School English. A story should have a beginning, a middle that describes the plot and climax, and an ending. I prefer a satisfying ending. I never learned about cliff hanging endings, but now it seems that it is all the rage!

When I was younger, Christopher Pike introduced me to this idea with his Final Friends Series. I was so upset at the end of the first book- what?? what happened? How is this going to end? You mean I have to save up my allowance for the next month to find out how this is going to end?? The OUTRAGE!

Now, trilogies are old hat, especially in the Young Adult arena. (Yes, I'm in my 30s and yes, I love me some young adult fiction) When I buy a book, I make sure to leave room for two more right next to it on the bookshelf. I've embraced the idea of a trilogy, accepted and look forward to more books about the subject, but still crave some resolution at the end!!!

Some of my favorite trilogies that have left me completely hanging are below- what are yours?