Monday, March 28, 2016

Bookish Discussion #3 // Cover Love


Last week, I spent a couple days discussing bookish aesthetics and why I don’t think it’s okay to judge people who are concerned with the way their books look. (You can find the links here and here.) But today, I’d like to talk a bit more about the importance of nice book covers. 

Let’s say you’re in a well-stocked bookstore, and you’re just browsing, hoping something wonderful will catch your eye. It stands to reason that it’s in the publisher’s best interest to provide books that do just that. Granted, an ugly book could be a thousand times deeper and more interesting than the gorgeous hardcover displayed next to it. But let’s face it, there are so many books out there, and you’re not going to be able to read them all (GASP). Which is why it’s nice to have a system that helps you choose which books are worth your time. 

So, without any further ado, let’s talk about some book covers and designs that do their jobs well. 




ILLUMINAE is a prime example, not only because the cover is gorgeous, but because the insides are gorgeous as well. Just by flipping through a couple pages, you can tell the book took a great deal of time and effort to design. Of course, the insides could still be rubbish, and you wouldn't know that until you read it, but hopefully the design conveys that the publishers at least thought the story was something special. Had it looked like it had been thrown together at the last minute, you might come away feeling uneasy, and perhaps you’d be a little slower to buy it. As I've said before, a publisher that doesn’t seem to care about the outward product might also not care too much about the story itself. Hopefully you would love it anyway, regardless of its exterior, but you have to want to pick it up first. 




I do intend to discuss the whole DIVERGENT trilogy at a later date, maybe in a month or two. For now, I just want to say that I vastly enjoyed INSURGENT the first time I read it, but found myself a little disappointed when I reread it. Even so, every time I see it on my shelves (which is every day), I get the urge to reread it because the cover is insanely beautiful and atmospheric. True, the cover doesn’t make the story any better. But it does improve my reading experience, and it ensures that I will give the book at least a third, or fourth, or fifth chance (I reread a lot). 




Covers are always a matter of personal taste. What looks wonderful to me might not look so great to you, and vice versa. Some people love covers that feature girls in dresses, for instance, but as a general rule, I’m not a huge fan of that design format. To me—and this is just my opinion, so take it or leave it—those sorts of covers don’t convey much about the story they’re representing. In fact, they seem like the easy way out, like the cover artists didn’t have enough time, ideas, or money. Or maybe they just didn’t care enough. Either way, it looks like they chose something easy and generic—attractive, usually, but not special. However, ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD is a notable exception. 

Because Anna’s outfit plays such a huge role in the story (in case you hadn’t gathered that from the title), the dress is relevant to the plot. But there is also detail beyond just the girl and the dress, and that helps set the mood even further. For instance, we have the blood dripping off the hem of the dress and down her legs, and we have the whole vintage feel going on. We can see a thick ground fog in the foreground, and a haunted-looking house in the background. Bits of torn red ribbon (at least, I think it's ribbon) provide accent and visual interest. Even Anna’s posture communicates a great deal. Added together, all these elements set the tone of the story. We know we’re going to be reading something creepy, dark, and atmospheric, but also a touch whimsical, romantic, and sad. Ultimately, the cover is one of the reasons why I bumped ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD up on my book-buying priority list. 



Yes, book covers aren’t necessarily indicative of the story’s worth or the author’s skill, and it’s possible that focusing too much on lovely book covers can lead you to miss out on some wonderful literary gems. But with so many stories to read, and so little money to spend on them, I prefer to library the ugly books and buy only the books with covers that delight my heart. And that brings me to my next discussion topic, library vs. ownership, which I’ll be discussing on Wednesday. 

In the meantime, here are some random book covers for you to analyze (if you’d like to). I’d love to know what you think of them, what emotions/thoughts you think they convey, and whether they would have any impact on your book buying decisions. 


  
  


Well, that’s it for today, little coffee beans. What are some book covers that make you go all grabbyhands? What are some book covers that do the opposite? How do you decide which books to buy and which books to borrow? What are some of your favorite book covers, and why? 

12 comments:

  1. I totally agree! I definitely do decide which books to buy by how well the book is designed - and it's not even shallow! If a book has a lot of work and time spent on it, obviously, I'm going to BUY it. If I kinda like a book, but the cover isn't, well, the best, I might just borrow it. Your point on Illuminae is much like my outlook on books - if the cover is nice, obviously the publisher/author thinks creatively and thinks the book is worth the time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it works really well as a system--if you do good work on your cover, you will get rewarded by more sales. If you skimp, you lose out because more people will library. In the comments section for one of my other posts, Ashley compared the cover to a receptionist for a company, and it was a brilliant comparison, because if you want people to give your company business, you make sure you have a good receptionist. *nods*

      Thanks for commenting! :)

      Delete
  2. Yessss, I agree that it's in the publishers' best interest to make sure a cover is eye-catchy and beautiful! I THOROUGHLY am a fan of gorgeous covers. Although you make a good point with not all covers appeal to the same person. Like I'm a 99% sucker for beautiful dresses. XD The books, I find, often aren't great, but I LOOOOVE THE COVERS SO SO MUCH. The Winner's Curse series = prime example of that. *pets covers*
    (Also I found Insurgent wasn't as great in the re-read. D:)
    I also go absolutely NUTS over artist-y covers. Like Made You Up? Intense adoration. Also typography like on Walk on Earth A Stranger. Typography is honestly a huge weakness of mine. (For some reason I LOATHE being able to recognise/name a font?!? I really don't like it when books use cheap or overly used fonts.) Also covers like 5 to 1. OKAY OKAY I'LL STOP. I have intense cover love passions, as you can see. XD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I mean, they should look good. It's the cover designer's JOB to make it look good. (Which is why I don't so much fault self-publishers when the have sub-par covers, because they haven't trained and been hired for that specific field.) And I get that personal aesthetics differ, but sometimes I look at a cover and think, there's no way I'm the only one who hates that cover. But even though I don't particularly like covers with dresses, I can see where they have merit for other people who really like looking at dresses. *shrugs*
      (I love rereading, but I always hate it when I find that a book I loved just wasn't as good as I thought it was. Like, older self, how could you betray me like that?)
      The cover for Made You Up is perfection. *nods* And typography is so important for me as well. I really don't like it if a cliched font gets used on a book cover. Like, no. You're an artist, cover artist. Be artistic about it. Psssh, no need to stop. I could talk about my favorite covers all day. :P

      Thanks for commenting! :)

      Delete
  3. I love my copies of the Divergent series. They look amazing and it just makes me feel great about the series in general.

    And I agree that if the publisher seems to have put effort into getting a great cover, then we should be interested as well. Like, if you work with books then you probably love them and want them to look and be amazing in general??

    Something I want to know is why some books get "a novel" on the front? Like, why clutter the cover with that?? Why are some books "a novel" but some not?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw pictures of the edition you have, and I have drooled over those ones as well. *nods* If I had to choose a different cover design than the ones I have, I would jump at the chance to get the same edition as you. *nods* I'm so glad you really like them. :)

      Exactly. The same with any other advertisement, really. If someone is selling me a food product, but couldn't be bothered to at least make the label attractive, or hire someone who could, then I am going to be concerned that that same level of sloppiness also applies to then food. And the same goes for books, because the cover is just a glorified label.

      I ask myself that same question. Although sometimes "a novel" can be a good filler if the picture feels like it's missing something. But usually I'm like, yes, I see that it's a piece of fiction of novel length. Thank you, Captain Obvious, for specifying anyways. I do see that more in adult books, and maybe it's a cover artist preference sort of deal. I don't know. I think I might look into that sometime--there could be an interesting explanation behind it. :)

      Thanks for commenting! :)

      Delete
  4. Oh, I love all the Divergent covers! Especially Insurgent's. I might have to reread the trilogy soon now that I know you'll be discussing them. :)

    I love Jackoby's cover. Maybe it's the color? I love anything blue toned. But at the same time, it holds a lot of detail. Also, the Lunar Chronicles usually has excellent covers as well as The Raven Boys Cycle. TRB have the most gorgeous covers ever and they really screams magical realism.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. a;sflkjaslf;kajsd;fleas. They are beautiful (although I'm not so much a fan of Allegiant's, because I felt like a different color would have fit better with the other two covers--but the design itself is gorgeous). I'm on the fence about whether I prefer the cover for Divergent or Insurgent--it really depends on my mood. They both make me feel different things, but they're both wonderfully cozy and atmospheric. I would love hear your options after the reread! I haven't gotten around to it yet, but it's still in my mind as something I want to do in a month or two. :)

      Blue-toned books generally make me go grabby-hands. *nod* The Lunar Chronicles and The Raven Boys Cycle have gorgeous covers, oh my goodness. asfajs;flakjsf;lkajsf *hugs the covers*

      Thanks for commenting! :)

      Delete
  5. I agree. Pretty book covers definitely catch my eye. At Time to Die by Nadine Brandes has a very neat cover. I also love the ones for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Cinder. Both are so cool and fit the stories so well.

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The eye-catching factor is so important when it comes to books. I have been intrigued by that one (I think I'll have to see if my library has it). And the covers for Peregrine's and Cinder are wonderful too. I agree that they fit really well.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

      Delete
  6. Covers are like... sort of a swing matter for me? Because sometimes I won't read books because I think the covers are ugly even though I own them and I've already read them five times and I'm weird like that. And then sometimes I buy books because I like the covers and I'm massively disappointed. It happens more than expected, I think... Blah. Then, other times, the covers draw me in right away for the weirdest reasons... I don't know. I feel like covers don't need to be beautiful for me, they just need to be there and then every time is different.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have the same struggles. I don't want the cover to be a big deal, but if my brain isn't attracted, then I'm less likely to be able to convince it that it should be attracted. I mean, if you think about it, it's like that with dating, except without the whole purchasing thing. :P

      And I think pretty isn't always the most accurate draw-in. Sometimes all a cover needs to do is make me curious. It could be a little ugly, but as long as it lights up the inquisitive side of my brain, then we're still on track. :P

      Thanks for commenting! :)

      Delete