Trailer Park Tuesday: Special World Book Night Edition: Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith--plus books by Jesmyn Ward, John Grisham, Lisa Scottoline, Hillary Jordan and Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday, a showcase of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies.  In the best cases, a book trailer can be a perfect marriage between text and video.

Okay, I'll admit it.  I'm obsessed with Glaciers, the debut novel by Alexis M. Smith published last year by Tin House Books.  By now you're probably sick of hearing me talk about how great the book is (hopefully, I've worn down enough of you that you've gone out and bought the book to see just what I'm talking about; if so, then my work here is done).  But when a book is filled with the kind of pure, crystalline prose, superbly-rendered imagery and engaging characters like those in Glaciers, then you'll have a hard time getting me to shut my yapper.  Just as The Quivering Pen has turned into something of a love letter to this particular book, Glaciers itself was written as a love letter to Portland, Oregon--or, actually, the entire Pacific Northwest, Smith explains in the trailer for the novel.  This short trailer is a video postcard of the City of Roses, a perfect complement to Glaciers' main character, the librarian Isabel who collects ephemera like vintage dresses, salt-and-pepper shakers, hand-sewn aprons, and, yes, postcards which stir up memories of her childhood years in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest with her father, mother and sister.  The book trailer has been out for well over a year, so I'm not exactly cutting-edge here; but I thought today of all days would be the perfect time to feature it at Trailer Park Tuesday.  If you haven't already heard the news, blaring like trumpet blasts from excited bibliophiles from coast to coast, today is World Book Night and Glaciers is one of the thirty books selected for the national giveaway.  I'll be handing out 20 copies of Glaciers at the Butte, Montana public library tonight, starting at 4 p.m.  If you're in the neighborhood, stop by for your free copy.  You can learn more about World Book Night by clicking here, where you can also find events happening near you.

In honor of World Book Night, I thought I'd post trailers to some of the other books which WBN Givers will be handing out today...

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward:




Look Again by Lisa Scottoline:




Mudbound by Hillary Jordan:




Playing for Pizza by John Grisham:




The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh: