Weekly Geeks – Book Trailers?

Published on by Margaret
The Weekly Geeks’ question is about book trailers:

In the last year or two a new entity has arisen in the publishing world: the book trailer. Apparently every self-respecting book has to have one these days so it seemed a good time to have a chat about them. Feel free to answer as many (or as few) of these questions as you like.

  • Do you watch book trailers?
  • If yes, do you actively seek them out or just watch the ones that get pushed to you in some way?
  • If you don’t watch them, why not?
  • Have you ever read a book based solely on seeing the trailer? What book was it and what did you like about the trailer?
  • Where do book trailers come on your list of things that influence you with regards to what books to read (friends’ recommendations, mainstream reviews, bloggers, bookstore promotions, the blurb….)?
  • Do you have a favourite book trailer that you’d like to share? What do you like about it?
If you have missed out on seeing many book trailers you might like to visit the Moby Awards website which list the nominees and winners of what is set to become an annual award for the best (and worst) book trailers.

My answer

I enjoy deciding what to read, sometimes it’s better than actually reading a book – not every book’s a winner. So anything that helps me decide what to read next is welcomed. At the moment as I’ve just finished one book I’m wondering which one to read next and this time I want to read a book for the pure joy of the reading experience – not to accomplish anything, or to learn something, nor to cross a book off a list of to-be-read books. I want to read a book I’m going to enjoy that entertains me, holds my attention and intrigues me.

So when I came across this question I realised that here is another source of information on books and it’s one that has somehow escaped my attention until now. I scour book blogs for inspiration and browse my bookshelves, library shelves and bookshop shelves. I scan on-line book sellers and get information from family and friends, from newspapers, and from radio and TV programmes about books, but I’ve never watched a book trailer before today.

My starting point was the link above to the Moby Awards site, where I looked at a few trailers and was disappointed. Nothing there to hold my attention, nothing to excite me or make me want to read the books. I looked for more and found a trailer for a new ghost story by Susan Hill – The Small Hand.  It’s so-so, some spooky-type music and black and white images, but it doesn’t make me want to read the book any more than a written description would. In fact I prefer the written description, for one thing it’s a lot quicker than watching a trailer and for another it’s the words I want, not sounds or images, as I can supply those myself from my imagination.  Book trailers just don’t appeal to me.

But although they’re not for me, I think that anything that gets people reading books is a good thing.

7 thoughts on “Weekly Geeks – Book Trailers?”

  1. Margaret – Thanks for your insight on this question. It’s really an interesting one, isn’t it? I agree with you that information is per se a good thing. We can always consider the source and decide whether we find the information useful and relevant. The more information we have – even if it doesn’t turn out to have been helpful – the better decision we can often make.

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  2. My reaction is much like yours. If it gets people reading, I’m all for it, but personally, I’ve found the trailers that I’ve seen haven’t interested me. That is not to say that the books don’t–if I read a review of the same book, it can engage my interest.

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  3. I’ve only watched book trailers for the Austen mashups and that’s because “everybody” was saying how funny they were. Apart from that, I think they’re a fairly weird marketing tool because they’re using video to sell books. That’s a disconnect for me. I almost never see an adaptation before I read a book because I don’t want someone’s else’s impression of a character locked in my head before I have a chance to form my own picture, book trailers would end up spoiling the experience of a first read.

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  4. Interesting question. Most of the book trailers I have viewed have been well done. I do believe these can pursuade you to read a book. However, one I saw had several typos in it and I definitely didn’t buy that book.
    Ann
    Cozy In Texas

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  6. I’m trying to remember the last time I saw a book trailer. I think it must have been many many years ago for a Joan Collins potboiler. I remember a pair of big ruby-red lips and a string of pearls. It drove me nuts every time it came on because it was so painfully dumb. Lots of movie trailers, though, which aren’t any better come to think of it.

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