I spend five days a week walking the aisles of a bookstore. Needless to say, I get to see a lot of a books. So many books, in fact, that I've kind of grown numb to them. I know, sad for me, right? That's why I always enjoy it when a special book cover catches my eye.
The old adage is that you shouldn't just a book by it's cover, but the truth is that everyone does it all the time. Otherwise every book would have the title and author's name and that's it. Sounds boring, right?
That's why I would like to take this time to highlight some books that have awesome covers (in my humble opinion, of course). What makes an awesome cover, you ask? Perhaps it's the composition? The picture (or lack there of) or the font used for the title? What about the title itself? All of these things add up to a great cover, but there's no hard and fast rules. And of course it's all completely subjective! What I love about a book cover might be completely meaningless to the next schmo.
Above all else, I think one of the hallmarks of a good cover is it's ability to make me want to take a closer look and peak at the pages underneath.
What follows is a completely arbitrary list. Some of the books are YA titles, others are adult fiction. Most of them are newish titles, but some are definitely not. This is just a list of some covers that have caught my eye recently.
- First up is Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper. I'm a sucker for red heads and intricate hair. It's mostly a jealousy thing, I think, since I have broken, mousy hair. The title itself isn't anything magical. Even without reading the synopsis I can guess it's about a girl named Grace who has somehow disgraced herself (yay, puns). Bonus points for a neat font, though.
- Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves isn't exactly the newest book of the lot, but I think it's gaining momentum at the store. I like to think it's all due to yours truly strategically placing the book, but I'm sure the book sells itself just fine. I absolutely love this cover! The juxtaposition of the dainty tea cups and the splattered blood is just great. With an awesome scribbled font and an intriguing title, what's not to love?
- Now on to By These Ten Bones by Clare B. Dunkle. I was first turned this title when the author did a guest blog over at The Compulsive Reader. Once again we've got a red head adorning the cover, so yay for that. The full moon in the background hints nicely to the book's subject matter without being all "Ah-oo, werewolves of London!" obvious. I like how the title font is modern and yet rune-like at the same time. It would have been too easy to do an Olde English font, but that would have been overdoing it. As for the title itself, I love how it sounds like an incantation.
- The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean popped up as a recommendation on my Nook and I'm glad it did. This falls under the light adult fiction category, and sometimes I like to think I actually read books written for my age group. I'm also a sucker for vintage things, so a cute yellow dress on an old dress dummy in a shop window is just about perfect for me. The designer gets bonus points for creatively using the dress as the backdrop for the title. I like that sort of out-of-the-box thinking.
- All of the Wicked Lovely covers have been awesome, and the latest, Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr is no exception. The rich colors are absolutely lovely (what other word is there?) and title design is nicely done. I've liked the creative titles in this series very much. Marr managed to use almost cliche words and mix them together for unique combinations. Wicked Lovely itself is on sale as a NOOKbook for .99, so I suggest you check it out, if only for the pretty cover!
- Again The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley isn't that new, but it managed to catch my eye while browsing. Le gasp! It's another red head! I like the cold feeling I get from this cover, despite it's use of warm colors. It's very bleak. The old paper texture hints at the historical aspect of the book. This actually looks like an interesting book. I've already started reading my sample!
- What's another thing I'm a sucker for? That's right, spooky forests. And The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow has my favorite kind of spooky forest--the kind with straight, thin trees with very little underbrush. Ever since I had to sit at night in a forest like this, they've always scared the crap out of me. Having the title entwined with the tree branches just adds to the spookiness. The double meaning of the title makes you wonder which divining the author's talking about--looking for water or looking into the future.
- We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen first caught my eye in a review in Entertainment Weekly. I love intricate, old-timey, black and white illustrations. The title is very remarkable. I would say it doesn't drown amongst other book titles out there, but that would be very punny of me. I could honestly imagine this as a Decemberist album, so maybe that's why I'm drawn to it. Maybe Colin Meloy could do a musical version of the book?
Well, that's all I've got for now. Hopefully later this week I'll be back to give my two cents on reading some of these titles. I like downloading and reading the samples on my Nook, so we'll see what happens. Wish me luck!
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