Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Top Ten on Tuesday: Book Covers Worth Framing

Many thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for these prompts and coordinating this meme! Go check out what other bloggers have posted -- it's a great way to find new reads and new blog writers to follow.

This week is devoted to celebrating the art of book covers. Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? I know I have and while sometimes it hasn't worked out, the practice has also led me to some of my all time favorite books. So here are ten books that have covers that are spectacular and content to match. There's a broad spectrum of literary styles and genres represented here, some of which are well known and others that deserve to be more widely read, but all are gorgeous to look at.




Leaving the Sea: Stories by Ben Marcus
The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway





The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart
Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov




Amphigorey by Edward Gorey (for that matter, this list should include any book cover for his own work or others that he designed)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (This cover is here to represent all of the magnificent Penguin Hardback Classic editions created by Coralie Bickford-Smith -- collecting them will yield a wonderful library of timeless books and they look amazing together)
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

What covers do you love? Are there covers you love for books that you don't?

5 comments:

  1. I love your selections! 'Boy, Snow, Bird' is probably one of the prettiest covers I've seen in a long time. I almost put most of these on my list, too. It should've been a top 100 book covers, not just 10 :P

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    1. 100 would be a lot closer to the appropriate number. Cover artists are generally thoughtful and creative. I love it when web sites interview cover designers about the process of choosing the final covers. It's amazing to see the evolution of great designs.

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  2. Beautiful covers, especially love Teh Tower, The Zoo and the Tortoise.
    http://crushingcinders.com/?p=723

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  3. Gorgeous covers! The only ones I've read are Jane Eyre (with a more boring cover) and Tale for the Time Being (a favorite book from last year.)

    In response to your comment from a while back (sorry I'm way behind on blog visits) I don't have any immediate plans to visit Vinalhaven Island, but I'll let you know if I do as I'd love to see it some day. My fictional island is a mash up of Monhegan, Chebeague, and the Harpswell islands.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I've never been to Vinalhaven either. My home in Maine is on Islesboro which is a lot less stressful to get to, but is a lot less interesting to visit!

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