The Broke and the Bookish are asking us this week to list ten books that need their covers revamped.
1. Any movie cover- I abhor movie covers. They cheapen the story by making the novel a marketing tool.
2. The Song is You by Arthur Phillips- The cover makes the story seem melodramatic and YA-ish.
3. The covers of most classics- They do absolutely nothing for the books besides making them appear more boring than the general public already thinks they are.
4. In One Person by John Irving- Are you kidding me with the bra? This isn't some trashy romance novel, it's John-freaking-Irving!
5. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld- Again, another story trivialized an overly sentimental cover.
6. Away by Amy Bloom- I actually wasn't a huge fan of the book itself, but the still-life cover was just icing on the cake. So boring and muted.
7. Bossypants by Tina Fey- I hate the arms, I really do.
8. Any cover where the author's name is bigger than the title: Stop relying on your reputation to sell your books, you egomaniac.
9. Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende- Something about the tattoo and the soft colors are way to melodramatic for me.
10. The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling- I'm not a fan of the book, but I thought the cover was very lackluster as well (perhaps appropriate, though).
8. Any cover where the author's name is bigger than the title: Stop relying on your reputation to sell your books, you egomaniac.
9. Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende- Something about the tattoo and the soft colors are way to melodramatic for me.
10. The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling- I'm not a fan of the book, but I thought the cover was very lackluster as well (perhaps appropriate, though).
The arm in Bossypants is really weird! Great choices.
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand why they do that to the classics. There is already a negative stereotype surrounding "classics" in general as being boring, A dreary cover simply puts the nail in the coffin.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I completely agree about the movie covers. Why can't the movies use the book cover image, if they have to share? I'm a total snob about books with movie covers. I refuse to buy them. I know it's probably silly since the text is the same, but I'm very affected by cover designs. In my opinion, movie images are simply obnoxious.
Bossypants is a really bad cover. And I so agree about movie covers. The book came first. Don't cheapen it.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Agree with lots- especially Bossypants- just strange.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Maya's Notebook but I agree, the tattoo throws me off.
ReplyDeleteI like the paperback cover for The Casual Vacancy, it's a lot more appealing that the hardback :)
My TTT
Movie covers... blech.
ReplyDeleteAs for #3, I agree most classics covers do the books no favors, but I LOVE when they do reprints with better covers (some are awful, like the Twilight-ish ones and the ones that make them look like trashy romances, UGH). But some of my favorites are Penguin Threads and the Clothbound & Leatherbound classics series -- and the new Penguin Horror books that came out in time for Halloween are pretty cool too.
ReplyDeleteI hate the classic covers that make the books look ridiculously boring, I made our library by in these amazing new reprints of about 100 classics, they look gorgeous! My TTT.
ReplyDeleteI really hate those arms too!!
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Doris @ OABR
I hate movie covers and absolutely refuse to buy them. I even have a hard time being polite about receiving them as gifts, though I manage... :)
ReplyDeleteAnd the John Irving one. Seriously.