Book Covers

[DearEvette]

I noticed we didn't have a topic about covers which, imo, are an important part of books.

So ... awful cover and wanna snark?

Gorgeous cover and wanna gush?

Interesting cover and want to figure it out?

Cover and book don't really mesh?

Books that got re-branded with new covers for the better (or worse?)

 

I'll start --

In Romancelandia there is an ongoing conversation about the rise and proliferation of the illustrated (some say cartoony) covers that are now seemingly on every contemporary romance novel.  Marketers/Publishers and some authors like them because they appeal to people who wouldn't normally see themselves as romance readers since they signal something closer to Rom-Com or simply a more modern light fiction than the "clinch" or more photo-realistic covers that were more associated with romance.  But some died in the wool romance readers feel that in many cases they are false advertising.  Promising a funny, quirky light-hearted story when in fact the story is darker and angstier than the cover would suggest.  Also added to the stew is the fact that some of the cover art is just place bad looking -- making the cover characters looks blobby, indistinct and the composition looking amateurish or the bright primary colors looking a bit juvenile.

Right now on twitter is a great thread about a book that had come out previously with a photo-realistic more recognizably 'romance' cover but then to be on-trend, author/pub decided to re-brand with an illustrated cover.  It is a story about a guy who is a tattoo artist who proposes a space/share with a bookstore owner -- hence the name of the book, Ink.

The Original:

 

The rebranded:

 

Part of the dismay at the new cover is the fact that the guy on the illustrate cover's tats are so poorly rendered that they look like he is wearing a sweater, not tattoos.

I admit, I'd give the first cover a second look but my eye would 100% pass over the second cover.

And then there is the re-brand that just doesn't fit the book:

In this book, the original cover fits the mood of the story.  I hated this book, tbh, because the characters came straight for the Tragedy Factory with all sorts of angst and issues and dark thoughts.  It was a downer.  But like I said the cove fit:

 

But the rebrand makes it look all cheerful and stuff.  This is not a happy sitting on a bench in bright colors book!

 

Not all illustrated covers are bad.  There are some super lovely ones out there.  I just recently finished this one and the story was fab and the cover is perfect for the story and it is gorgeous:

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I'll jump in and this will probably be hugely unpopular (but I don't care!), as there is so much contempt for the historical romances from the 80s that I love.

I HATE that Kindle changed the original covers (and those on Johanna Lindsay's books) even though 99% were of Fabio with different hair colors!

Or that they changed all the ones from Nora's Silhouette days (The Last Honest Woman (O'Hurley series) featured Nora herself(!) during her blonde days!) to her single titles. Same for Linda Howard, because I LOVED, LOVED the original book covers for Kill & Tell, All the Queen's Men, Now You See Her...

And I DEFINITELY don't like the new covers for Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series!

Now, where's my Flak Jacket and Helmet????🤣

[Athena]

I read an article about the "Book Blob" trend. I was seeing this a lot the last couple of years and it really is a thing: https://www.printmag.com/book-covers/the-book-cover-behold-the-book-blob/

[Ohiopirate02]

27 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I'll jump in and this will probably be hugely unpopular (but I don't care!), as there is so much contempt for the historical romances from the 80s that I love.

I HATE that Kindle changed the original covers (and those on Johanna Lindsay's books) even though 99% were of Fabio with different hair colors!

 

I only recognize one cover of Johanna Lindsey's Tender is the Storm.  It is the greatest romance novel cover art ever.  

[Snow Apple]

I don't like the cartoon covers either for romance novels. Give me overdramatic covers with hot men and women! Anyone remember cover artist Pino Daeni? Classics.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I only recognize one cover of Johanna Lindsey's Tender is the Storm.  It is the greatest romance novel cover art ever.  

Hah! And the story was a very good one, too! But I also like the one for Once a Princess. Another that was not a Fabio cover:

[Snow Apple]

I also loved the old gothic romances covers that feature a woman running away from a looming house. I haven't seen those in years.

[GHScorpiosRule]

16 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

I also loved the old gothic romances covers that feature a woman running away from a looming house. I haven't seen those in years.

Yes! I also love the original covers on Anne Stuart's contemporary and historical romances. Why do the publishers or is it Kindle? Feel the need to change them? Or if the books were made into movies, changing the covers so that the frickin' frackin' movie covers replace the original?

[Snow Apple]

Oh man. I like a lot of movie covers but only for the movie. Keep away from the book.

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, Athena said:

I read an article about the "Book Blob" trend. I was seeing this a lot the last couple of years and it really is a thing: https://www.printmag.com/book-covers/the-book-cover-behold-the-book-blob/

The shame of it is, some of those are not so bad.  But put side by side like that they are like strobe lights on photosensitive eyes.  They become such a blur.  And since browsing in a bookstore hasn't been something I have been able to do in oh... almost two years... having to search for books online it all becomes a blur.

For me, covers are like what they call 'curb appeal' in the realty housing industry.  They arrest the eye and will make you stop and read the blurb of a book you might not have normally done so because of the title.  But now that everything looks so darned bright and blobby it is hard to focus your eye on a singular one.  Although they think it is good marketing, imo, it is not because nothing stands out.

Samey-samey is not new thing.  There was one cover artist from the 80s whose work seemed to be on every single fantasy novel:

I forget his name, but his style was everywhere. 

 

Also Boris Vallejo had a very distinctive pulp style:

 

And yet, that samey-ness doesn't bother me as much as the crayola covers.  Maybe because it actually felt like art?

 

1 hour ago, Snow Apple said:

I don't like the cartoon covers either for romance novels. Give me overdramatic covers with hot men and women! Anyone remember cover artist Pino Daeni? Classics.

Ooh, I remember the Pino covers!  Quiet as it's kept, romance novels back in the day had some beautiful covers.  My favorite romance bodice ripper  cover artist was Elaine Duillo.  Her stuff was simply gorgeous.  She did a lot of Bertrice Smalls and Rebecca Brandewyne books.

[Anduin]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

Samey-samey is not new thing.  There was one cover artist from the 80s whose work seemed to be on every single fantasy novel:

I forget his name, but his style was everywhere.

 

Darryl Sweet. And he is not particularly good. Adam Whitehead has a compare and contrast of Sweet to other fantasy cover artists. I personally give it to other every time.

[DearEvette]

32 minutes ago, Anduin said:

Darryl Sweet. And he is not particularly good. Adam Whitehead has a compare and contrast of Sweet to other fantasy cover artists. I personally give it to other every time.

i LOVE the rebranded WOT covers.  This is one time where the re-brand 100% works to the better .  Even having read the books already, I wanted to re-read them because the new covers were so very lovely.

[BlackberryJam]

I recognize those WoT covers and it meant I always knew I wasn't interested. That style of art just screamed "Fantasy" and I'm not a fan. The rebranding at least looks more interesting. 

Back to the original post, that illustrated cover is HORRIFIC. It looks exactly like every other modern romance novel out there. I googled "Romance Novels 2021" in images and got this.

Not one of those covers interests me. In fact, they are a turn off. The art looks...juvenile? Immature? I can't even explain it. Just a step up from a cartoon.

Those book blob covers are also terrible because they are all the same thing.

I am also starting to have a visceral negative reaction to this font.

It's that half printing-half cursive chalk writing of ugh. 

 

 

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

I recognize those WoT covers and it meant I always knew I wasn't interested. That style of art just screamed "Fantasy" and I'm not a fan. The rebranding at least looks more interesting. 

Back to the original post, that illustrated cover is HORRIFIC. It looks exactly like every other modern romance novel out there. I googled "Romance Novels 2021" in images and got this.

Not one of those covers interests me. In fact, they are a turn off. The art looks...juvenile? Immature? I can't even explain it. Just a step up from a cartoon.

Those book blob covers are also terrible because they are all the same thing.

I am also starting to have a visceral negative reaction to this font.

 

The worst part of this for me is all of those books are trade paperbacks and therefore cost more.  The switch to trade for contemporary romance flat out sucks for a romance reader.  I am all for authors getting paid and I get publishing is a business; but, romance readers are voracious and the price increase is steep.  That Jasmine Guillory book is $12.99 on Kindle, and I could read it in a day.  I can't justify spending more than $8 on a book I will finish that quickly.  

I also hate the switch to trade paperbacks with illustrated covers in order to hide the fact that I am reading a romance.  I am not ashamed to read romance, and I am a bit offended that publishers think I would rather have a cutesy illustration over a shirtless man or a clinch.  They are also a cop out when the author and characters are POC.  Publishers need to spend the money to make their stock image catalogs more robust with cover models of various hues, shapes, and sizes.  

[blackwing]

On 1/24/2022 at 4:19 PM, Anduin said:

Darryl Sweet. And he is not particularly good. Adam Whitehead has a compare and contrast of Sweet to other fantasy cover artists. I personally give it to other every time.

Ahhh, I prefer Darrell K Sweet every time, because his images to me instantly say "fantasy".  The new covers, some of them look like they could be science fiction novels with the characters in outer space or on a bleak steel planet.

Sweet was also the longtime cover artist for the Xanth books by Piers Anthony.  That series is still going strong at 40+ books.  For at least one year, there was even a Xanth calendar featuring Sweet's art.  His paintings make me nostalgic for my childhood.

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, blackwing said:

Ahhh, I prefer Darrell K Sweet every time, because his images to me instantly say "fantasy".  The new covers, some of them look like they could be science fiction novels with the characters in outer space or on a bleak steel planet.

Sweet was also the longtime cover artist for the Xanth books by Piers Anthony.  That series is still going strong at 40+ books.  For at least one year, there was even a Xanth calendar featuring Sweet's art.  His paintings make me nostalgic for my childhood.

I like his covers too.  The newer ones are nice, but as you say, the Sweet covers just scream "fantasy".  I also really loved the work of Tim & Greg Hildebrandt, particularly the poster for the original release of Star Wars and the illustrations they did for The Sword of Shannara.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sword+of+shannara+illustrations&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS990&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&vet=1&fir=VdT_Oay70STWcM%2C_hNc2DiMf17kGM%2C_%3B5tGAeSiPubH2lM%2CV32XEoScMFp1qM%2C_%3BqBCc_0XMkenhyM%2CfyjzS1n-umhu9M%2C_%3BYgr6xTBN35p2GM%2CQ423nX2DU_fbZM%2C_%3BJhgKytWbhdV9nM%2CAUr3f8H9VcVjDM%2C_%3BP1dnPhAet_z-iM%2CV32XEoScMFp1qM%2C_%3B8qqPY9DUuLAUrM%2CK4royj4R6xUXRM%2C_%3BPeGARFJajE1isM%2CloaBPlwrXykVuM%2C_%3BNBqGvpI5yDjppM%2C-7at-oUS6ig4dM%2C_%3Bexfzcsmia5krXM%2C47AJKN0NHRwriM%2C_%3Bm0eazRPBH3AMOM%2CV32XEoScMFp1qM%2C_%3BPRTXPgSufmKR5M%2Cvd6oZo96jF0XnM%2C_%3BlA0IZ_Gp_x2T3M%2C9URShEaXQBGgRM%2C_%3BG0D9U56yr3vW2M%2Ct58Q-ppDJzcbEM%2C_%3B-l-gRnOHGAIwnM%2CDDwM2cpn5DUvtM%2C_%3BCpEDIRzEYOp0nM%2C4ao7Y22lRn7wEM%2C_%3Bhu7onuOPZpDqbM%2CLWq_8bY3E8Q2aM%2C_%3BN5-HMPWc5nOiQM%2Cg1XrVu2jucY9ZM%2C_&usg=AI4_-kRRWNCnZ1QrhG-muD8jo2UGJPou0w&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjK9Jm3rNL1AhWImHIEHenGC1IQ9QF6BAgQEAE&biw=1366&bih=657&dpr=1#imgrc=NBqGvpI5yDjppM

[Grrarrggh]

On 1/26/2022 at 6:18 PM, blackwing said:

Ahhh, I prefer Darrell K Sweet every time, because his images to me instantly say "fantasy".  The new covers, some of them look like they could be science fiction novels with the characters in outer space or on a bleak steel planet.

His Wheel of Time covers definitely say "fantasy"!! Only in fantasy could a human body look like that lol. 

[BlackberryJam]

On 1/29/2022 at 3:14 PM, Grrarrggh said:

His Wheel of Time covers definitely say "fantasy"!! Only in fantasy could a human body look like that lol. 

One of my biggest turnoffs about fantasy novels (and superhero comic books), men are depicted in armor, women are depicted in metallic bikinis. 

 

[Ailianna]

9 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

One of my biggest turnoffs about fantasy novels (and superhero comic books), men are depicted in armor, women are depicted in metallic bikinis. 

 

That may (and frankly usually is) only on the cover, not the actual book. You might enjoy some of the many many fantasy books where women protagonists are well rounded and not sexualized. And many where no one is wearing any metal armor at all!

[Snow Apple]

That's another thing that bugs me. Covers that don't match the story. Don't have a redhead on the cover when they are described as blond. Don't have a cover showing a sailboat when book is about exploring a cave.

[BlackberryJam]

5 hours ago, Ailianna said:

That may (and frankly usually is) only on the cover, not the actual book. You might enjoy some of the many many fantasy books where women protagonists are well rounded and not sexualized. And many where no one is wearing any metal armor at all!

Fantasy is not my genre. I dislike books about star children, animals, mythical animals, (especially dragons), hidden princes/princesses/star children, purple eyes, silver hair, medieval social constructs, whatever the hell that lawful/neutral/chaotic chart thing is... I just do not like fantasy novels. 

I have no idea how I made it through the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series without throwing it through a window. I blame the hot actors in the show. I'm shallow like that.  Somehow I loved Dune though. I think it was the politics. 

I like science fiction rather than fantasy. Science fiction novels have some terrible covers. 

[Grrarrggh]

7 hours ago, Ailianna said:

That may (and frankly usually is) only on the cover, not the actual book. You might enjoy some of the many many fantasy books where women protagonists are well rounded and not sexualized. And many where no one is wearing any metal armor at all!

Then again, no metal bikinis for the Wheel of Time women yet they managed to be sexualized the hell out of. I think I would have liked it the other way around.... 

[Haleth]

20 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Don't have a redhead on the cover when they are described as blond.

Or a yellow labrador instead of a black one because people have an aversion to black dogs.

(The Art of Racing in the Rain)

Edited February 1, 2022 by Haleth

[proserpina65]

On 1/31/2022 at 2:56 PM, BlackberryJam said:

I have no idea how I made it through the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series without throwing it through a window.

You still haven't.  But then again, neither has the author. ;-)

[Haleth]

Curse you, Martin!  <shakes fist>

[festivus]

I still remember that there was a thread at Survivor Sucks called 'Get a move on, George R R Martin." I haven't posted there in over 10 years....

[DearEvette]

On 1/30/2022 at 10:32 PM, BlackberryJam said:

One of my biggest turnoffs about fantasy novels (and superhero comic books), men are depicted in armor, women are depicted in metallic bikinis. 

Is it ok if they both have on metallic bikinis? 

Cuz the The feminist in me says Preach it! with this.

But  the perv in me is ok with chesty-pecs and metallic bikinis.  I posted a Boris Valejo pic up top and dude had no problem having both his men and women in metallic bikinis.  Here is one of a Conan cover:

[BlackberryJam]

9 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Is it ok if they both have on metallic bikinis? 

Cuz the The feminist in me says Preach it! with this.

But  the perv in me is ok with chesty-pecs and metallic bikinis.  I posted a Boris Valejo pic up top and dude had no problem having both his men and women in metallic bikinis.  Here is one of a Conan cover:

I'm thinking "how many cuts do they have on their thighs from those swords?" Also, "I didn't know medieval times had boob tape." And, "why do they need fur boots if they are essentially topless? Do they have swamp feet?"

While mostly, I'm all for an increase in male nudity in my entertainment, nothing about that cover would entice me to read that book. :)

[DearEvette]

The Hustler and The Color of Money are being re-issued with new covers and I think these are gorgeous.  I like the detail of the pool ball reflecting in the glasses on the Color of Money cover.  So much nicer than the more recent covers which made them look like instructional manuals of playing pool.

[andromeda331]

On 1/31/2022 at 8:31 AM, Snow Apple said:

That's another thing that bugs me. Covers that don't match the story. Don't have a redhead on the cover when they are described as blond. Don't have a cover showing a sailboat when book is about exploring a cave.

Same here. The Nancy Drew Files, Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley books were always doing that. That's how Mallory Pike from BSC ended up a red head despite in her book she has brown hair like the rest of her family.  Often times what was on the cover is why I bought the book in the first place. 

[Ailianna]

I wish they would stop changing the covers of ebooks already in my library every time they reissue the book. Mostly they are not as good and sometimes really awful. If I wanted a movie tie-in cover I would presumably get one. If I want the original cover that I associate with the book, I'm out of luck. Sometimes I can't even recognize the book because the covers keep changing. And it's not like I'm going to go buy the book again because they changed my cover. If anything, the few people who would want new covers now don't have to buy them.

[Jalyn]

5 hours ago, Ailianna said:

I wish they would stop changing the covers of ebooks already in my library every time they reissue the book. Mostly they are not as good and sometimes really awful. If I wanted a movie tie-in cover I would presumably get one. If I want the original cover that I associate with the book, I'm out of luck. Sometimes I can't even recognize the book because the covers keep changing. And it's not like I'm going to go buy the book again because they changed my cover. If anything, the few people who would want new covers now don't have to buy them.

For an ebook, they should probably just have multiple images available and, if the user cares, let them choose.

[JustHereForFood]

What I dislike is when a nice cover is spoiled by having some crap written all over it, like what list it made, or praise from other authors. I don't care, put that info on the back cover or inside the book.

[Ohiopirate02]

19 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

What I dislike is when a nice cover is spoiled by having some crap written all over it, like what list it made, or praise from other authors. I don't care, put that info on the back cover or inside the book.

With the proliferation of celebrity book clubs, I absolutely hate the way publishers are putting the book club seal on the chosen books.  From Jenna Bush-Hager's Read with Jenna book club to Reese Witherspoon's book club to Good Morning America's book club, multiple books every month have them.  For me, the worst part is when the celebrity chooses a work of literary fiction that I want to purchase for my home library.  Now I'm stuck with the Jenna or Reese seal of approval on books I purchased for other reasons.  I did not read Jason Mott's Hell of a Book because Jenna told me to, I read it because it won the NBA.  (I will begrudgingly admit Jenna has great taste in books.)  

[proserpina65]

On 5/20/2022 at 3:21 PM, Ohiopirate02 said:

With the proliferation of celebrity book clubs, I absolutely hate the way publishers are putting the book club seal on the chosen books.  From Jenna Bush-Hager's Read with Jenna book club to Reese Witherspoon's book club to Good Morning America's book club, multiple books every month have them.  For me, the worst part is when the celebrity chooses a work of literary fiction that I want to purchase for my home library.  Now I'm stuck with the Jenna or Reese seal of approval on books I purchased for other reasons.  I did not read Jason Mott's Hell of a Book because Jenna told me to, I read it because it won the NBA.  (I will begrudgingly admit Jenna has great taste in books.)  

Sometimes those seals are removable stickers.  Or at least some used to be back when I worked at Borders and had to put the damned Oprah Book Club stickers on books.

[Ohiopirate02]

4 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Sometimes those seals are removable stickers.  Or at least some used to be back when I worked at Borders and had to put the damned Oprah Book Club stickers on books.

Unfortunately, they are part of the cover and are not removable.  Jenna, Reese, GMA, and Oprah all choose the books with enough time for the covers to get the seal included in the printing process.  Even the copies the publishers send to Baker and Taylor, who is now only supplying libraries, have the seal already on them.  

[proserpina65]

3 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Unfortunately, they are part of the cover and are not removable.  Jenna, Reese, GMA, and Oprah all choose the books with enough time for the covers to get the seal included in the printing process.  Even the copies the publishers send to Baker and Taylor, who is now only supplying libraries, have the seal already on them.  

Well, rats.  That does stink.

[LindaHarris]

On 1/24/2022 at 6:46 PM, DearEvette said:

I noticed we didn't have a topic about covers which, imo, are an important part of books.

So ... awful cover and wanna snark?

Gorgeous cover and wanna gush?

Interesting cover and want to figure it out?

Cover and book don't really mesh?

Books that got re-branded with new covers for the better (or worse?)

 

I'll start --

In Romancelandia there is an ongoing conversation about the rise and proliferation of the illustrated (some say cartoony) covers that are now seemingly on every contemporary romance novel.  Marketers/Publishers and some authors like them because they appeal to people who wouldn't normally see themselves as romance readers since they signal something closer to Rom-Com or simply a more modern light fiction than the "clinch" or more photo-realistic covers that were more associated with romance.  But some died in the wool romance readers feel that in many cases they are false advertising.  Promising a funny, quirky light-hearted story when in fact the story is darker and angstier than the cover would suggest.  Also added to the stew is the fact that some of the cover art is just place bad looking -- making the cover characters looks blobby, indistinct and the composition looking amateurish or the bright primary colors looking a bit juvenile.

Right now on twitter is a great thread about a book that had come out previously with a photo-realistic more recognizably 'romance' cover but then to be on-trend, author/pub decided to re-brand with an illustrated cover.  It is a story about a guy who is a tattoo artist who proposes a space/share with a bookstore owner -- hence the name of the book, Ink.

The Original:

 

The rebranded:

 

Part of the dismay at the new cover is the fact that the guy on the illustrate cover's tats are so poorly rendered that they look like he is wearing a sweater, not tattoos.

I admit, I'd give the first cover a second look but my eye would 100% pass over the second cover.

And then there is the re-brand that just doesn't fit the book:

In this book, the original cover fits the mood of the story.  I hated this book, tbh, because the characters came straight for the Tragedy Factory with all sorts of angst and issues and dark thoughts.  It was a downer.  But like I said the cove fit:

 

But the rebrand makes it look all cheerful and stuff.  This is not a happy sitting on a bench in bright colors book!

 

Not all illustrated covers are bad.  There are some super lovely ones out there.  I just recently finished this one and the story was fab and the cover is perfect for the story and it is gorgeous:

And in general, I wanted to say that book covers affect my opinion of the book and play a role in my decision whether to buy it or not. So when I find a good book with a nice cover it's like a perfect mix. And I have to read something very often because I'm a student. Sometimes I also need to write different papers, and books are the best helpers. Also, if there is an urgent need, I use https://essays.edubirdie.com/nursing-assignment-help because sometimes it's so hard to finish writing, and not miss a deadline, you need to act fast and find out of the situation. And such help is beneficial.

For me, covers are really important. Of course, when I want to buy something, I pay attention mostly to the short annotation, but still, cover matters.

And I don't really like illustrated covers.

Like the first example you provided. The original one is good and I'd buy such a book. But illustrated version is just not that attractive

Edited December 28, 2023 by LindaHarris