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Today we are talking about things we like and dislike on book covers!
Things We Like:
Jamie likes....amazing typography. I'm a sucker for covers with great typography whether it's the sole focus or blends in perfectly with another subject on the cover.
Jamie likes....when the cover cleverly ties into something in the story. Recently Life By Committee by Corey Ann Haydu did this and I was reminded how much I love when a certain scene or detail is somehow incorporated into the cover.
Julia likes... when book covers clearly show what genre the book is. So when I am browsing the romance section and I see a cover like My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster, I can clearly tell this has an edge of Steampunk.
Jana likes... when the book cover is illustrated (Like Shadow and Bone) more than when it uses photos. It just comes off as being more creative to me.
Jana likes it when cover designers get clever/bold with color. So many books are dark. If I look at the spines on my shelf, they all kind of blend together in a dark glob. And then BAM: a hot pink or bright yellow cover! So fun.
Things We Don't Like:
Tahleen doesn't like.....Whitewashing. Obviously. I hate it when this happens, but I'm glad people are noticing and calling out the publishers/book designers when it happens. In some cases, like Jaclyn Dolamore's Magic Under Glass and Justine Larbalestier's Liar, it's enough to get it changed.
Tahleen doesn't like..The half/partial face thing, especially if there are two faces kissing. I just don't want to look at these. There is usually nothing interesting about them, except for the rare occasion when the cover is cleverly done, like What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang.
Tahleen doesn't like.....The girl in the ballgown. Especially if the book doesn't include a ballgown. This trend is really going to date the books that sport those kinds of covers.
Jamie doesn't like....when the people on the cover don't match the description of the characters IN the book. It's bad enough if I'm seeing faces (because than that's how I'm picturing them) but seriously...why would the blonde MC being a brunette on the cover?
Jana doesn't like pretty much all movie tie-in covers. I like the original cover! I don't care about pretty celebrity faces. The book is always better anyway.
Jana does not like the trend followers. Like Tahleen said, there's a lot of half/partial faces and ballgowns on covers. There's also a lot of the same cover models, the same stock images, the same conceptual ideas (like pale hands holding various non-pale items like apples and flowers...), the same color schemes, etc. I love it when a designer chooses to be different.
What things do you like/dislike when it comes to covers and cover trends? Agree/disagree with us??
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I love covers with awesome typography! When I'm browsing in the library or bookstore, the font on the spine of the book is always the first thing to catch my eye.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your dislikes! Although re: movie tie-in covers, I have to make an exception for Gone with the Wind. Can anyone NOT picture Rhett and Scarlett as Clark Gable and Vivienne Leigh?
ReplyDeleteI also love handcrafted art and good typography. Both of my released books feature hand-drawn covers, and they just feel so much more personal. It also lets the reader use more imagination, instead of having exact photographic depictions. I used Wellingborough Flourish and Journal for my books released so far.
I totally agree with the whole girl in a ballgown thing and I completely hate it when the cover model looks nothing like the character it's supposed to be, I think that's my number one dislike! =)
ReplyDeleteI can relate to nearly all of those dislikes! There are some really overused and uncreative trends out there!
ReplyDeleteI shared some of these likes/dislikes too. Not a fan of the partial face at all.
ReplyDeleteThe partial faces are really creepy looking I agree.
ReplyDeleteMIND TWINS. We are like MIND TWINS, ladies!
ReplyDeletehahaha great minds think a like! I HATE when they do the partial/no face at all thing. ANNOYING!
ReplyDeleteThese are very accurate! I hate the partial face thing, and covers of girls with pretty dresses are the work of the devil.
ReplyDeleteTo take Jamie's cover not matching description thing even farther - I don't like faces at all on covers - I'd like to imagine how the characters look. I'd like the cover to have some inanimate but relevant object on them - but that probably wouldn't sell a book.
ReplyDeleteOoops, I somehow or another mixed up the July 8th Top Ten Tuesday's topic with today's topic... Since my Top Ten Tuesday posted at midnight my time and I already have a comment on it, I'll leave it as is.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we are almost 100% with these. PREACH IT, SISTAS.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the illustrated covers preference. There is something that strikes me as more creative or unique when using illustrations rather than photographs. I do like photos too, just I'm especially drawn to illustrated ones (no pun intended haha!)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with liking books that you can tell the genre by the cover and I hate all the ballgowns and trends that repeat over and over. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a sucker for star covers; I LOVE them. It really annoys me when classics get a cover that doesn't match up to their time period. I've seen a cover of Jane Eyre and the girl on the cover was wearing a dress that totally didn't fit the time period, and I've even seen a cover of Wuthering Heights that featured Cathy (with dark hair - even in the movies, they never get her hair color right) and she was WEARING PANTS. *facepalm* Way to research.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree on the movie-tie-ins and the cover model not looking like the character description at all! Both of those are super annoying. This was a really fun post to do, so creative! Thanks for sharing it :)
ReplyDeleteJana- I completely agree that the illustrated books are gorgeous! I like so much more than others most of the time! Shannon Delany's is one of my favorite series of covers. I also agree that movie tie in covers are never ok because the original book is always the best! You have good taste my dear!
ReplyDeleteYes! Thank you for NOT liking the girl in the ball gown! My other author friends wanted me to do a young girl on my cover and I'm SO happy I didn't. Gah, it's getting so old.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the validation.