Trailers are a relatively recent promotional tool for books and, as with all forms of new media, are often a very hit and miss affair. They can run too long or be too bland. They can tell you too much about the book, or tell you too little.  They can make a book seem like something it really isn’t — which only leads to eventual disappointment.  But when they work, they can be simply stunning — not to mention highly motivational in terms of book buying — as with two fabulous examples that caught my eye recently.

The first is for Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, a book which I’ve read and loved and can recommend most highly:

The second is for Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres, a luscious-looking young adult novel which is now sitting on the top of my To Read Pile. Funnily enough, it was the trailer that tipped the balance with this book. I’d been hearing it about for a while prior to its publication last week, but my To Read Pile is huge and I thought I could probably let this one go for a few months, maybe even until the whole trilogy is published — until I saw the trailer and the little book monster in my head woke up and whispered: Must. Have. Now.

Ah, little book monster, how I both love and hate you to death.