Discussion time! You know how pretty much everyone judges a book by its cover, even though they say they don't? I know I do. It's really hard not to, especially since I'm an artist and expect the art to reflect the content. If a cover is bad (or lacking in good design, or design at all), I usually assume the book is so bad it's not worth spending the money on a really great cover. Of course, this is not always the case. We've all been deceived by a beautiful cover before, haven't we? (By the way, this will be the topic of my next discussion. Just you wait!) Here are some books I've read that ended up being good, despite the cover! It's what's on the inside that counts, right?
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| If you click on this montage, it will expand so you can see all the cover details better! |
Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception and Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater - These books are so much better than the cover! A plain black background with some clip art stuck on is no fun!
The Host by Stephenie Meyer - Yes, the silver ring in the eye is cool, but the gunky make-up in the corner of the eye is not. The story is SO long, with so much going on. I'm sure more inspiration could have been stirred up for a better cover.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller - Nothing says drama, magic, and the Salem Witch Trials better than the back of a head...
Nightshade (The Poison Diaries #2) by Maryrose Wood - There's just too much going on here. A face with pink cotton candy stuck to it and a forest with sunbeams growing out of her chin. "The Poison Diaries" logo is well done, but then they just slapped "Nightshade" on there all non-typographically pleasing. I bet they could have incorporated it somehow.
Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll - Ugh. I've read this, and there is nothing in the story that looks like this.
Most Historical Romance (Like Master of Seduction by Kinley MacGregor) - I think more people would read historical romance (and romance in general) if we didn't have half-dressed Fabios staring at us! I love this genre, but please. We've got a naked man, a flowery font, and "Master of Seduction" HUGE with an innuendo of a catch phrase on there. Thank goodness I have a Kindle. Covers like these embarrass me, and I'm terrified of being seen reading a book with one!
Hush, Hush be Becca Fitzpatrick - Honestly, this dude looks like he is being murdered with a feather (the red feathers above don't help much). Yes, he is falling from Heaven, but that pose is just unnatural and painful looking.
The Giver by Lois Lowry - Hello, old man. Yes, it works with the story, but there's no ingenuity at work here!
Loves Music, Loves to Dance by Mary Higgins Clark - Guess who wrote this one? I hope you can read it, seeing as how the name is so small. WHY must an author's name take up 2/3rds of a cover? It's not like it's a really cool name, or a really cool font. Seriously.
Ok! So, you've got my picks! What are yours? What other books out there have I been avoiding for years because of the cover? Or do you like these covers? Tell me what you think!
Hah! Great post. I agree that all of these covers could definitely be better. Funnily enough, I never noticed the gunky eye makeup in The Host cover until you mentioned it, though! Now that's all I'll be able to see.
ReplyDeleteBah, I'm sorry! I ruined it!! :P
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about Nightshade. My solution for that one? Take off the book jacket. The hardcover is pretty. Dark grey backing with pink writing. Much more appealing.
ReplyDeleteI hate being so concerned with appearance and literally judging a book by it's cover but when there are tons of books that do it so well, it becomes the standard to live up to.
Great post. : )
This post made me smile, because it's just so totally true! I've always avoided Lament/Ballad just because I didn't really like the covers (and this despite the fact that I love Maggie Stiefvater). Now that you've endorsed them, I'm going to have to buy them soon...
ReplyDeleteI'm actually a bit of a cover snob, because I tend to just pick out covers that I actually like, haha.
Although I have to agree that I almost AWLAYS judge a book by its cover, I think I disagree about Hush, hush. I adore that cover! But the others, I can understand. I really like The Host cover, too, though. But I feel like an incredible artist like Maggie Stiefvater deserved something better...like the covers of the Wolves of Mercy Fall series! *drool*
ReplyDeleteOh, I KNOW! I mean, seriously, some books just have the worst cover! If it wasn't for every book blogger I know raving about Anna and the French Kiss, I would have totally cover snobbed it! And I would have missed out on an AMAZING book!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the historical romance covers... They are some of the worst! I mean, sometimes you get a decent one that just has a woman in a pretty dress on the cover, but I almost exclusively read them on my e-reader because of the Fabios! And just last week I saw one that had a couple on the cover of which the woman looked so uncomfortable I thought she needed to use the toilet or something. Or was being held against her will. Either.
Vicky, I'm glad you love the Hush, Hush cover. And The Host one, for that matter! They are great books! Yes, the Wolves of Mercy Falls covers are amazing. I love them!
ReplyDeleteDaisy, I was going to add Anna and the French Kiss to this list, but didn't because I worried I'd have hate mail coming my way over it. Haha! I also cover snobbed it and refused to read it until all the bloggers went crazy!
I agree on historical romance! I had to get over the embarrassment really quickly if i ever wanted to read those covers in public.
ReplyDeleteThough I do think that Daisy is on to something. With the rise of the eReader, more people will read books that in print have horrid covers if they are really interested in the story.
Julia, same with me. I used to read historical romance exclusively and always got very embarrassed! This period in life was during my early teen years, and up into my very early 20's. I always felt so weird reading them because I was so young, and really care what others thought! I love having an e-reader for this reason. Now what I'm reading is a secret. That is, until I review it for the entire world! :P
ReplyDeleteThe copies of Lament and Ballad I read are different (you can see them on Goodreads) the covers are much nicer (Lament is read and black and Balled is purple and black with a key and a bird and little bits of detail from the story). The covers you posted would have totally turned me off!
ReplyDeleteI don't mind Hush, Hush and it's funny that you mention Black Swan Rising as the only reason I read that and The Watchtower is because while I was at the library I saw the cover of the Watchtower and really wanted to read it, even though covers with girls in ball gowns usually = a really, really bad book!
Sometimes I really wonder what publishers were thinking when they allow a book to go to print with a stupid/ugly/unrelated cover!
Mands
I agree that covers can be misleading. I can name a few books that covers make the book look interesting and compel you to open the cover, only to be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI actually quite like the Black Swan Rising cover, even though I'm not usually a fan of pointless-girl-in-dress covers. It was what was between the pages that I didn't like! :)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't pick up ANY book with a cover like the Master of Seduction one. They just scream 'seedy!'
And what's with the whole Charles Darwin thing on The Giver? I know it's supposed to be amazing, but it does look a little odd.
I really enjoy the Hush Hush Cover. But other than I agree with you. Yes, Hush Hush looks unnatural, but I think that's what's so pretty about it.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the historical romances, those are not exactly covers you want to share with people. It's like you get smart points for carrying around and reading a book then you lose them all when they have a cover like that.
ReplyDeleteThe covers I hate the most are the ones with a screenshot from the movie on them. I love watching movies just as much as I love to read (well, maybe I do love reading a little more). However, I prefer reading the book first and then watching the movie. I even sometimes avoid watching trailers if the movie is an adaptation of a book I have been wanting to read for so long. Having a screenshot of the movie on the cover ruins the entire experience for me. Instead of imagining the characters in my head, based on the description given in the book, I keep remembering the movie (or how the characters look like on the COVER of the book I'm holding) and that really, REALLY annoys me.
ReplyDelete