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I’m Not Allowed to Love Book Covers, But I Do

Tanya Paperny / Tuesday, January 19, 2010 View Comments

So, judging a book by its cover is like cardinal sin numero uno, right? We’re in an era when people often find books NOT because of their quality but because they have a pretty cover or they have a long enough title that it matches one of their google search terms. So I should be fighting against the valorization of pretty book covers, right?

Yipes, wrong, I guess. My design nerdery means that I actually love to browse all the book covers in the bookstore. I did some graphic design in college and led my own campaign against ugly flyers. That’s how seriously I take design. This love of all things pretty, well-designed, well-composed, with nice typography means that I’m totally digging this list of the best book covers from 2009 from The Book Design Review blog. My favorites from the list below the fold:

1984

meno

Check out the rest here and literary purists, please don’t yell at me.

(Oh, and P.S., I think this list is waaay better than the Amazon.com list or the GoodReads list.)

More: Advertising/Marketing / Books

Tags: best book covers from 2009, book covers, book design

http://decodingstatic.blogspot.com/ Andy

I agree with you, I think the idea of the whole package is important in the influence of the novel or music, where cover design can also influence what I buy/listen to. I think if the writer has been involved or have good designers/artists working with them then the cover can become an extension of their story.

I have not heard of The Great Perhaps before but on the basis of the design I will look into it.

Well said!

Andy
http://www.nomediakings.org Jim Munroe

My approach to book covers has always been that I want something that’s both appealing and reflective. Sure I want to draw people in, but if I go all hot-pink-with-tits on the cover then people who read the back — and see the book’s not like that — they’ll just put it down. When it’s reflective of the content, when there’s a shared aesthetic, then you’ll attract the right kind of attention from readers who are liable to enjoy your work.

The whole “don’t judge a book by its cover” thing is, to me, an indictment of how publishers have paired cover designers with writers in the past.
http://alicross.blogspot.com ali

Ha! Didn’t know about this list! But now I do ~ thanks to you
http://www.eekeke.blogspot.com zz

I have a friend who buys books for me based on the cover alone. She aims for the funny ones, such as the book “Misfortune” which has a graphic of a young 18th century woman with a moustache. It’s all about the details:)
NicoleS

I don’t think you should ever NOT read a book because of its cover, but loving a book for its cover is certainly not a sin. It’s absolutely wonderful to find one of your favorite books with a revamped, gorgeous cover. B&N has a leather bound Chronicles of Narnia – I couldn’t help but stop and fawn over its beauty.
emilyfitz

I judge a book on how the cover feels. I don’t like really slick covers…

I never thought that was weird until now. My cover intuition has led me to choose some good books.