flight paths discussion

If you've been online for any length of time, you've probably already stumbled across one of the 3,481,306,294,925 discussions about cover art.

Oh well. We haven't discussed it here yet, so.

What do you like and dislike about book cover art? Colours, fonts, pictures, designs? What works for you and what doesn't and why? Do you go out of your way to obtain particular covers, or conversely, to avoid certain covers? Or do you really not care in the least?

Prompting me to ask this question was the discovery of this website: http://bookcoverarchive.com

Discuss.

I will be pleased to follow this up, because I am very fond of covers...I photocopy my absolute favorites [author:Pramoedya Ananta Toer|101823 the covers of the Buru quintet all of them extraoridanary but unfortunately not displayed on GR
Think I mentioned how I hated the cover of Sybil,kept me from reading the book for years.

Magdelanye wrote: "...but unfortunately not displayed on GR."

Since we can't see them, can you describe them to us, and tell us why you like them?

they are like batiks, each equisitely rendered in jewel glowing colours. In fact, it was the cover of the book, face out on the new arrivals shelf, that first attracted me to this series. Of course, the power of the writing and the story, so welded with the truth, carried me along.
Buru Island, the setting for most of this book, was uninhabited when made into a prison camp by the prisoners themselves who cleared and built their own village. Toer himself was imprisoned because of his writing and politics, and remained there for decades.
His books began as stories told at night to his fellow prisoners. He was not allowed paper or pencil and it was years before he was able to begin to write them down.

Apparently, the overall consensus about this topic is that people in this group really don't care what the cover art is on the books they read. :) Or maybe everyone has just completely missed this thread.

well I hope that you have had the chance to check out the covers of PA Toer mentioned above. It will arouse a great desire to have, hold, and read the book. Thats what great covers do for me, and the most successful ones are evocative in such a way that we are given a glimpse into the soul of the book.

If the cover of the book is lurid or vapid,chances are the soul of the book is lurid or vapid too, but thats not always the case. Sometimes a cover can be downright misleading. Or even boring. The worst is as Kinkajou described above, too imposing.

It used to be that authors had no control over the cover but I believe that has changed now.

Kink, I totally agree about books with people on the cover art. Especially movie-tie ins...those drive me bonkers! Conversely, though, I don't mind abstracty art depicting people, like this:



And I do like WW2 love story books that have pictures that echo that famous NY Kiss photo, like this:



and

And speaking of movie tie-in cover art, a publisher (I forget which one) has created this weird line of books that features a quote from the movie. The title of the book is only in tiny print at the bottom of the cover. Like this:

Wild Lavender checking out your comment, I discover that the book itself has elicited the gamut of opinions from 2 to 5! I seem to prefer this cover; and then there are these two,
which fall squarely into K's objection>>> What does bother me is if real people represent the characters in the book. I want to form my own ideas of of how these characters look, not have them foisted on me via bad cover art.<<<
I am wondering just how much the cover influences expectaions.

Just to throw my 2 cents into this discussion: I love cover art; generally acutely dislike people photos on the cover especially if they are movie tie-ins which is about the only kind of edition I actively avoid.

I get a little tired of some of the Penguin Classics pomposity. If I need to don black & a somber expression before reading, I'd rather go play elsewhere.

I had this dream that I posted here but I can't find it now. Odd but at the risk of repeating something appearing elsewhere (although I can't imagine where that would be):

I love cover art. I can spend forever just gazing at the cover of a book & imagining the story (of course, for me, "forever" is probably 3-5 minutes, but still...).

I also dislike actual people photos on the cover, especially movie tie-ins which are about the only editions I actively avoid buying (unless the price is incredible, in which case I throw my scruples to the winds).

I also get tired of the pomposity of some (or maybe it's just the aggregate) of the Penguin Classic covers. Makes me feel like I need to wear black & a somber expression before opening the covers & trying to read their too-small & faux-antique font. Unless I'm for some reason highly motivated to read a particular book and that's the only edition I can find, I'd rather go play elsewhere.

I also really love the first cover. I don't even get the point of the others. I mean, I'd probably never look twice at that book except for the pretty colors & misty look.

HRO: thank you, thank you, and thank you again for that wonderful website. I am spending many wonderful hours (well all right, probably more like 5-10 minutes, but please stop being so picky!) perusing it.

Sooooo much fun. Really almost as much fun as reading. And since I'm doing more of that at the moment than actually reading, maybe more.

But really, thanks!

btw, I checked out a few of the other sites.

I really liked http://www.faceoutbooks.com/

I'm back off to check out some more.

Where would I be without GR? Wasting my time cleaning or working on lesson plans or some such frivolity no doubt.

The main motivating factor for my purchase of Wild Lavender was the cover! I saw this



and gave a happy sigh. It's an alt cover for ISBN 9780007202805 that I found on a British book site. It's set in France, so I'm holding onto it (probably) until next year for Paris in July.

Which brings me to another question (or perhaps a personal preference). Why are British covers and titles so much more attractive than the US ones? They just seem so much more Old World artsy (in many cases) while US books tend more toward Hollywood glam.

Ellie - Penguin Classics...you mean the ones with the orange spines? I agree, the font in those is dreadful! And thanks for that link - that will be my reward for accomplishing today's To Do List. :)

actually the first cover HRO posted and check out the French editions

Ellie said "I can spend forever just gazing at the cover of a book & imagining the story"

When I was little and subject to my mothers rules, we were allowed to listen to a record or two on Sunday afternoons after we had cleaned our rooms.
There was no tv in our house,as far as we were concerned it had never been invented (it had, but the news had not reached us yet) Our greatest pleasure was on these Sunday afternoons, after choosing what we wanted to hear, while my mother ceremoniously lifted the lid of the cabinet and carefully put the record on the turntable, my sister and I arranged the record cover against the mesh of the firescreen and sat, facing the fireplace, to "watch" the music.

Magdelanye wrote: "..and check out the French editions."

Oh, very Monet! (Or Manet?) I always get those two confused.

And this book is definitely proving to be an excellent example of how different covers give a different impression of a book!

All right HRO - & Mags - I have just spent at least a half hour trying to track down the cover art & discover what painter's work it is. I'm out of ideas. Anybody else have any?

On a happier note, like Kinks I'm loving the comments. What a great story about your mom, Magdelanye. Took me out of my moment as well as any story (better than most, in fact).

I agree about the relative worth of a lot of U.S. cover art. I think British editions are often far superior to U.S. ones. And I've seen Harry Potter cover art from all over the world & I think we come in the weakest. Dutch covers are also great I think. French-well, not so much the Gallimard (I do hope I have that relatively close to right spelling) with their incredibly brittle spines & teeny tiny art reproductions.

But I have to confess that the way I stack books, it's just as well that I love cover art in bookstores, museums and web sites.

Still no luck but I had to share these incredibly cute yet funky shoes-hope the link works:
http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxful...

More shoes. I think. These are thanks to Van Gogh. Don't ask how I ended up there.
http://www.nordic5arts.com/artists/ru...

My computer does not like the faceoutbooks page. :( Too graphics intensive, or something. But from there I found this blog which I'm having ever so much fun with! http://causticcovercritic.blogspot.com/

There's a post on that blog about the movie quote covers, which I mentioned above about Memoirs of a Geisha.(http://causticcovercritic.blogspot.co...) Gah, these are hideous!

Ellie, those shoes are FABULOUS! :)

can you imagine walking in those shoes?

or are they just for a reading accessory?

Her Royal Orangeness wrote: "My computer does not like the faceoutbooks page. :( Too graphics intensive, or something...."

Too slick...or something. I dont find these covers appealling.
I dont like the book-as-unit-of-merchandise mentality.
That must be why.

I think the shoes are a reading accessory.

Although I can certainly walk in them in my mind while reading.

just to note: I chose the book I am currently reading because I loved the book itself...cover, texture, illustrations....and the writing is just as elegant

I love covers, etc.

What book are you reading Magdelanye.

now ellie I have been reading the sensualist

Looks beautiful-seems to live up to its name.

in fact my copy has a different cover !Barbara Hodgson


but it is an amazing delightful book and I will talk about it more in the appropriate section.

are you familiar with Barbara Hodgson?
I have just come to the conclusion that this is steampunk!

Yes-I agree. I will follow you to the appropriate section.

What would that be?

uh, sorry if i was sounding pompous.
Its just that since you post on the weekly what are you reading section, you must have known what I was reading from that. There was also the small trauma of forgetting it at work the other day which I discussed...somewhere. I should not assume that everybody reads everything with the same interest as I seem to have.
Im also doing my updates with little quotes and will do a full review when Im finished. I think you will love it!

No Magdelanye-once again I failed the "how to convey feeling in an electronic post". I was just feeling inadequate. I tend to be more reactive then proactive & always have trouble finding the appropriate threads! :(

You didn't sound pompous at all.

If anyone here ever reads fantasy, maybe you have seen the covers that are works of Kinuko Craft. They are truly amazing. If you like that sort of thing of course.

I love the detail and etherial quality of her painting. I admit to buying a particular book just because she was the artist for the cover. Oops. Book wasn't so good.

Melissa wrote: "If anyone here ever reads fantasy, maybe you have seen the covers that are works of Kinuko Craft. They are truly amazing. If you like that sort of thing of course...."

You will notice that most of us read fantasy, but I cant recall Kinuko Craft. Can you give us some kind of references/ titles?

She did the covers for most of Patricia McKillip's books, I believe.

Check out her webpage for examples of the covers and other work:

http://www.kycraft.com/

Sounds like a sales pitch. Sorry about that, but her work is most wonderful.

Also, she did the covers for the books Wildwood Dancing and Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier.

I think my favorite cover is from The Tower at Stony Wood because of the magnificent dragon.

very lovely work.
Did she do the daughter of the forest and that series I wonder.
That is a very subtle dragon on the tower cover...I thought at first he wasnt real but part of the frescoe.

I don't believe she did the work for the Daughter of the Forest series, it has a very different style, although I was drawn to those books because of their covers as well. So dramatic with the woman in the cloak, although somber.

Yes those covers were very evocative.
I also loved her writing and I am very fond of the series. But I havent yet come across anything else of hers, and was surprised when I checked and saw that she has a lot!
In fact, I read these about 8 yrs ago and had forgotten her name, wanting to enter on my shelves I had to wait until you brought this up, so thanks.

Are you talking about McKillip or Marillier. I love McKillip and I've read almost everything she's written. IMHO her characters are easy to relate to, and the atmosphere as the stories unfold always seems just a touch mysterious or peculiar or something I can't really describe. It's just enought to capture the reader, but not emphasized.

Its been a long time since I read McKillip, and she suffered from the fact that at the time I was also reading LeGuin,
and Jean Auel, and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Have you read the darkover series, and the avalon stuff?The Mists of AvalonThe Dispossessed

I've only read one LeGuin, Always Coming Home. My intentions are good, I just don't get to her books before another one squeezes in :) Which of her books would you recommend? And why? I'd be interested . .

I have not read any of MZB. I did read a bit of Jean Auel years ago when the Clan first came out.

gee, I was sure I already answered this one.
I remember searching my memory, having a hard time to decide which one would be the best intro.
I cant remember now what I decided then, because I love pretty well everything that leGuin has written, but this moment I am sure it is the Disposessed.

Jean Auel has a new installment, dont know title yet.
MZB quite rocked my world with the darkover series. Its a bit uneven, but each of the 30 or so volumes in the series adds a fresh perspective. Some are real short and others a more standard size. It took me ages to collect them all, but one gloomy february I got out my box of them, and just started. It kept me thrilled for a whole month!

Not everyone loves Mists of Avalon as much as I did.

Wow, thirty volumes? That would keep you busy.

I read Auel many many years ago. I rated the book low because I'm conservative in my ratings, but I think I should go back and read the Clan again.

And I really have no excuses for not trying MZB. I'll look for the books from the Darkover series. I love the concept of Mists. Unfortunately, I'm a bit weary of Arthurian themes.

MZS gives a whole other perspective.
Arthurian themes was once (for many years) my March reading theme. I found some great stuff, and after a year break, was always glad to return to that exciting time and place

Craft does amazing illustrations of fairy tales. I love the Cinderella one...I have it in my collection of Cinderella Stuff. :)

As part of my job in the bookstore, it is my responsability to keep the shelves in good order. I actually love to do so, because in the process I discover much that is interesting. I am not the buyer for the store, but I get to see everything that comes in.

Naturally, some of our sections are more and some less interesting to me, but the one that creeps me out and where I am nevertheless obliged to spend some time every day, is of course the horror section with its grisly and lurid covers.

Especially unappealling to me was that thick paperback, of which we had 3 copies, with its grinning golden skull.
I note this here and now because, as you may have noticed, I am readingServant of the Bones against all my earlier revulsion,and I have totally bonded with this book. So found myself, as is my habit, meditating on the cover for a few minutes before putting it down and the fact that I love this book and now understand the symbolism of the cover, completely transformed my perception as well as my feelings. I dont actually love it, but I can touch it and look at it with a certain fondness.

Could it be that none of us has read servant of the bones? I have the ridiculous feeling now when I tidying the horror section, that I have a friend in there.

Regarding the book I am now reading,Stranger from Abroad: Hannah Arendt, Martin Heidegger, Friendship and Forgiveness The more I look at the cover, the more I hate it. In fact,it creeps me out. I am really enjoying the book, but when I close it, I dont want to spend my customary moment vaguely staring at the cover in silence while I process and disengage, I turn it face down.

Even if it was her face on top, I think the photo of MH is deliberately yucky.