I Judge Books By Their Covers #2

Hello, my name is Lindsay, and I judge books by their covers.

Welcome to the second edition of 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!

(Here's my review of "Fiercombe Manor.")

Same book, two different titles and two vastly different covers. The book on the left is the U.S. edition and the one on the right is the U.K. edition. I really have no idea why on earth they have two different titles, but I can say that both the title and the cover of the U.K. edition -- "The Girl in the Photograph" -- tell you a lot more about the story.

It's interesting that, while the cover art is totally different, both have similar symmetry  -- a central image framed by angles, be they hedges or curtains. I do like the cozy-ish feeling that the U.S. cover conveys -- but Fiercombe Manor is not a cozy-ish place. It's creepy and full of dark secrets, and that's much better depicted in the U.K. cover's eerie, ghostly artwork. Both covers grab my eye, but seeing them next to each other I hands-down prefer the U.K. artwork. I like the colors, the font and the imagery better -- especially after having read the book and knowing the plot.

Which cover speaks to you? Have to read "Firecombe Manor"?