Th Reading Lair

Archive for the ‘Book Trailers’ Category

  • Battle of the Book Trailers

    Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

    Well, reading friendlies, it’s been more months than I can remember since we’ve hosted an all-out duel between book trailers. And I’ve got to tell you …I’ve kind of missed it. All the music and pretty pictures and drama that tweak my curiosity as to what’s inside…

    So, let’s get down to it. Without considering the books themselves (to be fair, I’ve not read either of them, nor do I know anything about them), which trailer do YOU think works best for you? And why?

    Or do we have a tie?

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    The Return of Captain John Emmet by Elizabeth Speller

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    OR

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    Cascade by Lisa T Bergren

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    Posted in Book Trailers | 9 Comments »

  • “I am Number Four” (a book review)

    Monday, May 23rd, 2011

    It’s been a while since I last read a sci-fi novel, let alone one whose target audience is Jr. High. I don’t know if it was the lazy afternoon weather, the controversy surrounding one of the authors (James Frey, anyone?), or the good old fashioned recommendation from a friend that made me pick up “I am Number Four,” but I did. And found it fun. Who wouldn’t? Aliens are cool.

    File:I Am Number Four Cover.jpg

    The basic story goes: A decade ago, nine children (along with their guardians) escaped their captured planet, Lorien, and arrived on earth. The nine have stayed in hiding (even from each other), avoiding the not-so-very-nice Mogadorian aliens and awaiting each of the nine’s legacies (superpowers) to emerge and the chance to reclaim Lorien. Protected by a cool spell that keeps them from being killed, except in numbered order (starting with One), a new scar appears on the ankle with each member taken out by the Mogadorians. As the book begins, Number Four acquires his third scar…meaning he’s next on the snuff list.

    Changing his name for the umpteenth time, “John Smith” (Number Four), and his quasi-father/guardian, Henri, move to the small town of Paradise, OH, where John immediately encounters some of the more normal teenage concerns (school bully, hot girl), and some not-so-normal (an almost-clairvoyant dog, a sci-fi obsessed friend whose dad may have been captured by aliens, and soon—the Mogadorian headhunters). What starts out as a fun (and kinda creepy) game of cat and mouse, soon develops into an all out battle between John Smith and his friends, and the alien race intent on taking them out. Insert exploding buildings, giant monsters, and a lot of smoke.

    So, I guess all of that’s to say “I am Number Four” is a light and frivolous YA sci-fi read that I enjoyed, and so will my daughter in another year or two ;o). I breezed through it a couple of weeks ago while soaking up the hot sun beside a very cold swimming pool. *relaxed sigh*

    How about you? Have you (or your teen) read it? And WHAT ARE you planning to read in the summer’s coming heat?

     

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    Posted in Book Reviews, Book Trailers | 13 Comments »

  • “Wither” by Lauren DeStefano (a book review)

    Sunday, May 15th, 2011

    “For Males twenty-five is the fatal age. For women it’s twenty. We are all dropping like flies.”       Rhine (from “Wither” by Lauren DeStefano)

    Wither by Lauren DeStefano cover.jpg

    Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery lives in a dystopian future where genetic engineering has passed a death sentence on the human population. Males live to age twenty-five. Females to twenty. The cure that freed the world from disease also single-handedly freed its inhabitants from a future. Shorter life-spans means fewer people, forcing civilization to exist in survival mode where poverty is rampant and human traffickers (Gatherers) kidnap girls as young as thirteen to sell into polygamous marriages for the sake of repopulation. Those who aren’t desirable marriage material are sent to brothels or killed.

    After the Gatherers seize Rhine, she is sold with two others to Linden, a young man of wealth who offers them a vibrant and luxurious life within the walls of his estate. Angered and grief-stricken, Rhine befriends her new husband in an attempt to become his favorite wife (minus the physical benefits), thus increasing the possibility of escape. Except, the longer she’s near him and his suffering (due to a personal tragedy), and the realization that things are not quite as they seem, the greater her compassion for him grows. As does it for the two other wives. So much so, that she can almost allow herself to surrender into this new life if not for the beloved twin brother she left behind. Or Gabriel, the gentle house-servant. Or Housemaster Vaughn, Linden’s geneticist father (one of the last from the original generation), whose obsession with finding an antidote to the shortened lifespan lends itself to frightening research in the basement. Of which Rhine and her “sister-wives” may be his next test subjects.

    What I liked:

    1. The voice. Lyrical and mature. Fanciful and vulnerable.
    2. The author, Lauren DeStefano’s, brilliance with words. Unbelievably gorgeous.
    3. The characters. They linger with you.
    4. The tricky way in which DeStefano takes real (and complex) social issues, places them in the future, and then allows the reader to experience them just enough so as to consider the context and emotions from multiple perspectives. And yet, in doing so, she manages (for the most part) to maintain the innocence of the readers and the characters.
    5. The scope and pacing. DeStefano uses an interesting (and risky) technique in “Wither,” and she manages to pull it off incredibly well. Basically, at times the story almost feels slow and confining, and as a reader I wanted to pull out of the pages to see the world beyond the house and beyond the minute details of tedious life (albeit a life full of vibrant flavor and appeal). To the point that it frustrated me. Which is the beauty of it. DeStefano forces her readers to participate in the story BEYOND the average expectation by trapping them to those pages, to the house, and to those details. Just like Rhine.
    6. Okay, I rarely comment on book covers simply because (from my perspective) they have nothing to do with whether a story works or not. However, in this case, I picked up the book specifically for the cover. It’s amazing.
    7. Knowing there are more books to come.

    All right, ladies and gents…there you have it. ;) Have you read it?

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    Posted in Best & Worst Books, Book Reviews, Book Trailers | 15 Comments »

  • Moms: the Style Icons

    Sunday, May 8th, 2011

    I love this book trailer. Probably because I remember my brothers stumbling across teenage photos of my mom and being like, “Whoa, Mom! You were hot!” And of course I was like, “Your mother let you out of the house in a skirt that short?!” And that’s when it suddenly occurred to us that, yes, mom actually had a life before us kids came along.

    And you know what? My mom is still hot.

    So here’s a very Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom ladies out there. Including my own. ;o)

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    Posted in Book Trailers, Genre Savvy | 10 Comments »

  • The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead

    Monday, March 14th, 2011

    If you haven’t heard me rave about Stephen Lawhead at some point, then we probably haven’t talked books enough. This guy is like the Gwen Stefani of the literary world—meaning he’s been around for forever and still continues to reinvent his art. And it’s always epic.

    Looking for history? Inquire within. Looking for fantasy? Inquire within. Looking for sci-fi? Inquire within. Looking for the best retelling of Robin Hood ever? Yeah…you get the idea. Twenty-four books straddling the lines of both literary and commercial, and he’s still at it. And this is his latest. The Skin Map. Which I plan to read on my upcoming vacation (which will involve a lot of sitting around on a chaise lounge at the beach with food and books and cute kids).

    But tell me—have you read him? If so, which book is your favorite? If not, do you want to???

    And by the way, did you know the complete skin covering of the average human body measures about 20 sq. feet? Just sayin’. *nods at twitter for that juicy piece of randomness*

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    What’s the mood noise of the moment?  No Doubt:  Spiderwebs

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    Posted in Author Tidbits, Best & Worst Books, Book Trailers, Genre Savvy | 17 Comments »

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