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Sea Witch Sarah Henning The Evolution of Mara Dyer Michelle Hodkin Monday, August 15, 2011

Book Chatter (6): What's the Cover got to do with it? 

What's the Cover got to do with it? When I’m looking for the next book to take me to out-of-this-world escapism, lately these lyrics come to mind:

You’re so hypnotizing
Could you be the devil
Could you be an angel

Your touch magnetizing
Feels like I am floating
Leaves my body glowing ~E.T. by Katy Perry

Imagine browsing the isles of your local bookstore, and then BAM - the cover of a book captures your attention.  It’s gorgeous, unique, and makes you want to sneak a peek. And when you pick up the book, not only is the cover mesmerizing, the touch and feel of the book has you quickly ensnared and flipping through the book to read the summary. Does this sound like you? Well, it certainly fits me.
That’s right! I LOVE book covers. I’ll buy a book just because of the cover. More often than not, a cover can make or break a book. It’s that old cliché, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” that I oftentimes tend to ignore. While beautiful covers grab my attention, some great books get skipped over because of unattractive or mediocre covers. One book in particular that I always think of is Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey. I did not like the cover and would not have read the book if it wasn’t for the great reviews from my friends. So whether the book has a beautiful cover or not, you have a 50/50 shot of getting a great book. But it doesn’t hurt to entice me by beauty or uniqueness.

We could also spin this topic around and take a look at all the book covers that have absolutely nothing at all to do with the book. Sometimes, readers may even be annoyed when cover model is portrayed differently than the book’s description. I do find myself a little disgruntled with covers that do face shots. I like to imagine what I think the characters would look like, especially when the majority of the time the cover models are not what I imagined. Then I’m left with a snapshot of the cover model detracting from an otherwise good reading experience. I know it’s really out of the author’s hands about the covers but it would be really nice if they had more input. Maybe we’d see better covers. But hey, what can you do?

Some of my favorite book covers of 2011 so far are  (I could go on and on but I’ll do my top 15): How I picked this list: If I was in a bookstore, these covers would automatically make me pick up the book.

The Unbecoming of MaraDyer by Michelle Hodkin
Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Wither by Lauren Destefano
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell
Destined by Jessie Harrell
Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
After Obsession by Carrie Jones
Everneath by Ashton Brodi
The Pledge by Kimberly Derting
Elemental Reality by Cesya MaRae Cuono

My favorite book covers from 2010 were Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick & Fallen by Lauren Kate.
My favorite series book covers are The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.

What are some of your favorite Book Covers? Do they portray the book?


Winner will receive his/her choice of favorite book cover- pre-orders included!
Rules: 1 Winner! Must comment to be eligible.

Please fill out this FORM!

Contest ends @ 11:59pm (CST) August 29, 2011. US & Canadian Residents only.
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