Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Challenge 2025 discussion

For all those who do judge a book by its cover (and that includes me) and want to talk up favorite covers, cover artists, quirky covers, cover contests, and more. Questions about covers are welcome. It's fine if you wish to point out that you are less than impressed about a cover or a type of cover, too, but be kind in your critique. 

I'm glad I am not the only one who looks at the covers even though the books I read are all ebooks.

Craftyhj wrote: "I'm glad I am not the only one who looks at the covers even though the books I read are all ebooks."

Oh yes, I'm a fan of a well-crafted cover to draw me into picking the book. :)

I am excited to join this discussion. I spend a small fortune on my covers, which is a shame since some of them still aren't exactly what I want. Of course, this is ridiculous since I am the last person who should have an opinion about my covers. I am not an artist. It is hard to stay on brand, appeal to a wider Regency audience, and stay true to myself when it comes to covers. At the same time, I have tons of opinions but I shall only point out what appeals to me, not what I don't particularly care for.

J. wrote: "I am excited to join this discussion. I spend a small fortune on my covers, which is a shame since some of them still aren't exactly what I want. Of course, this is ridiculous since I am the last p..."

You are most welcome to join in with your perspective, Joy. :) Mine isn't from any trained knowledge of art and is extremely subjective to the 'I like what I like' school of thought. Haha!

You are the best sort of judge then, Sophia.

I like the cover to reflect the content. I read a book recently which specifically declared Elizabeth to be dark haired in contrast to her sisters, yet the cover had a blonde woman. A small point maybe but it niggled me.

I also really dislike the 'bodice ripper' (maybe that is a UK term?) style with a Scarlett O'Hara frock and Darcy with his shirt undone revealing s strangely hairless chest. I am going to need some of my trusted reviewers to give that a good review to make me read it!

Craftyhj wrote: "I like the cover to reflect the content. I read a book recently which specifically declared Elizabeth to be dark haired in contrast to her sisters, yet the cover had a blonde woman. A small point m..."

I am the same about bodice rippers and bare chests. There aren’t a lot of good Regency cover model images to choose from so we often see the same ones over and over. A good designer can alter or change the hair and clothing colors.

You know what I have disliked of late? - This rash of AI generated covers with people on them with giraffe like necks. How can AI get the proportions of head-neck-torso sooooo wrong? And why does no one correct it?

Jen wrote: "You know what I have disliked of late? - This rash of AI generated covers with people on them with giraffe like necks. How can AI get the proportions of head-neck-torso sooooo wrong? And why does n..."

Those are creepy to me. I do have the urge to do some sort of click on and edit to fix them. :)

Craftyhj wrote: "I like the cover to reflect the content. I read a book recently which specifically declared Elizabeth to be dark haired in contrast to her sisters, yet the cover had a blonde woman. A small point m..."

Don't forget those bare chests are also oiled up with baby oil to really look odd for a Regency gent. ;)

A cover doesn't sell me, or push me away from a book
However, I have purchased quite a few paperbacks with covers that were too stunning not to.

Sam wrote: "A cover doesn't sell me, or push me away from a book
However, I have purchased quite a few paperbacks with covers that were too stunning not to."

Yes, I do the same. I don't typically buy print copies, but for a few very gorgeous ones that I also love the story, I can't resist.

Jen wrote: "You know what I have disliked of late? - This rash of AI generated covers with people on them with giraffe like necks. How can AI get the proportions of head-neck-torso sooooo wrong? And why does n..."

you're right - the proportions are definitely too elongated. And the men often wear strange coats that always make me think of "A series of Unfortunate Events"

Hello all! I'm jumping on the bandwagon for disliking the current fad of AI "Regency," giraffe-like neck people, as well as the bodice ripper style. But we may be in the minority. For one of my books, I thought I was being clever when I chose an 1882 drawing by Léopold Trouvelot entitled, “Part of the Milky Way." To my mind, it was a perfect fit for my celestial theme. Out of all of my books, however, it is the least favored cover. So much for trying to go "high-brow"...

Mirta wrote: "Hello all! I'm jumping on the bandwagon for disliking the current fad of AI "Regency," giraffe-like neck people, as well as the bodice ripper style. But we may be in the minority. For one of my boo..."

Least favorite? I loved that cover for your book. I love when covers fit the storyline and yours really does. :)

Sophia wrote: "Mirta wrote: "Hello all! I'm jumping on the bandwagon for disliking the current fad of AI "Regency," giraffe-like neck people, as well as the bodice ripper style. But we may be in the minority. For..."

Thank you, Sophia! I appreciate that very much!

I did not know where I could put this - It does have to do with covers, lol. I really despise the trend of repetitive cover changes and this will make it even worse...

Goodreads policy update that will decimate those like me that keep track of library and specific editions via GR: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I miss when Goodreads was independently owned by the creators. Obviously this is an Amazon decision and puts more responsibility on the bots... I am pretty sure we have all seen how unreliable they are.

If you have ever looked at my reviews and wonder why I waste my time adding cover and edition information (and am working through old ones to do the same), THIS is why. I knew Amazon would eventually ruin GR beyond repair :(

I have been copying book information to a spreadsheet for the last year too but I have almost 1,500 entries and it is slow going.

I don't understand why the authors are always changing the covers.
Because of trend changes?

Nicole wrote: "I did not know where I could put this - It does have to do with covers, lol. I really despise the trend of repetitive cover changes and this will make it even worse...

Goodreads policy update that..."

So, do I take from this that whatever the Kindle or Audible bookcover is, that is the only one in use on GoodReads?

Sophia wrote: "... whatever the Kindle or Audible bookcover is, that is the only one in use on GoodReads?"

Are paperback covers often different?

As to changing covers, I can answer. In my case (I am changing 5 of my covers), it is because the ones I made myself are horribly ugly and amateurish.

I am also changing two of the titles.

Lord Happened's Daughter is becoming Lord Longbourn's Daughter because I thought it was generally known that a university had calculated that Meryton must be Harpenden, which is now a posh area. Since I was wrong, I decided to change it to something that is more obviously a Pride and Prejudice variation. Unfortunately, whilst rereading to update the name, I found that the writing left much wanting. Therefore, I have rewritten the entire book, though not changing it in essentials but to improve the storytelling...

Silence Implies Consent is changing to Pemberley's Imposter. I didn't know when I published that the title insinuated rape. It is unfortunate and misleading, which is why I plan to take it down and republish with a new cover and title. I shall add a warning that it has been published before, and the previous title at the top of the description.

I hope this explains why I choose to change covers/titles :)

Good luck Elin! I like the title change for SIC. I have that one and Still Waters in my paperback wishlist, I'll wait for you to republish to purchase.

Liz H wrote: "Sophia wrote: "... whatever the Kindle or Audible bookcover is, that is the only one in use on GoodReads?"

Are paperback covers often different?"

Usually ebook and paperback are the same, but often the audio is different, sometimes drastically so.

Elin wrote: "As to changing covers, I can answer. In my case (I am changing 5 of my covers), it is because the ones I made myself are horribly ugly and amateurish.

I am also changing two of the titles.

Lord ..."

Makes perfect sense to me and with the note that both are re-releases under new titles that should help people not buy a duplicate.

Sophia wrote: "Nicole wrote: "I did not know where I could put this - It does have to do with covers, lol. I really despise the trend of repetitive cover changes and this will make it even worse...

Goodreads pol..."

They are updating existing entries and older covers will have to be recreated which is not efficient way to accomplish their goal and will majorly affect readers' GR bookshelves and the quality of the GR entries - some original pictures of covers cannot be found or can only be found in bad quality images. All the work I have done (like many others) in the last 13 years trying to make sure my GR bookshelves accurately reflect my library is wasted and what were accurate records will be destroyed. A big part of their issue was brought about due to the repetitive cover changes and "special editions" of books, many for no reason but to make more money and sell multiple editions of same book to a reader (not in JAFF community). It is reasonable for a book that was published 100-200 years ago to have many many editions, but a book published in 2016 with like 15 active paperback or hardcover US editions currently being sold is just about greed.

Goodreads was created for readers, but not surprised by change since bought by Amazon... now for authors and marketing.

Nicole wrote: "Sophia wrote: "Nicole wrote: "I did not know where I could put this - It does have to do with covers, lol. I really despise the trend of repetitive cover changes and this will make it even worse......"

Yes, this clarifies the issue a bit for me. Thanks, Nicole!