Hello, my name is Lindsay, and I judge books by their covers.
Welcome to a new feature on the blog, in which I'll talk about cover art! Confession: I always judge books by their covers. A book's appearance -- from the artwork to the font to the colors to the texture to the weight and cut of the pages (I like the ragged-edged ones) -- is very important to me. And there are certain kinds of covers I like and certain ones I'd never pick up unless I was already planning to read the book. It's fascinating to see how covers change between editions -- hardcover and paperback, or U.S. and international. I'm always discussing book covers with my co-workers at the library, so I thought it would be fun to share some beautiful -- and awful -- covers here!
For the first edition of I Judge Books By Their Covers, I'll talk about the book I'm currently reading and the book I just finished, both of which have a couple of very different covers.
For the first edition of I Judge Books By Their Covers, I'll talk about the book I'm currently reading and the book I just finished, both of which have a couple of very different covers.
I just started "The Fair Fight" by Anna Freeman. The cover on the left is what my book looks like, and the cover on the right is the artwork I had seen for this book before it was released in the U.S. a few weeks ago.
I totally love the cover on the right -- it's really kind of badass. The awesome and unexpected artwork of the female pugilists draws my attention and makes me think it would be an exciting and unique story. I like the pop of color from the women's dresses on the muted artistic background. I would definitely pick up the book on the right and read the summary if I happened across it.
But the cover on the left -- the one I got -- looks like it'd be some period romance novel, maybe to do with Renaissance painters or some such. It's pretty, but it doesn't do anything to pull me in and it certainly doesn't give any indication that this is a book about women boxers. It's definitely not as eye-catching as the super-cool cover on the right!
Winner: hands down, the cover on the right!
The book I just finished is "Etta and Otto and Russell and James" by Emma Hooper. My book looked like the cover on the left, but I had seen more of the cover on the right. Both covers would catch my eye and both bring to mind thoughts of a charming story (which isn't exactly accurate).
In this case, I actually prefer the cover on the book I had, which is a little more representative of the story. The red and blue stripes and the postage mark signify the letters that make up part of the novel, and I like the drawing of Etta and the coyote as well as the worn-paper backdrop.
The cover on the right is a lot more whimsical-looking, and I didn't find the tale to be all that whimsical. And, while deer are indeed mentioned, their significance was never really explained. And what's with the pitchfork?
Winner: it's a bit closer than the first match-up, but I'd choose the cover on the left!
Do tell: which covers speak to you? Do any of them draw you in or turn you off?
I totally agree with you on the book covers of your two books. A lot of times it's the cover of the book that grabs your attention to pick it up and read the summary. Most times it's a book you would want to read that you probably wouldn't have thought of before seeing that eye catching cover.
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