Kaitlyn ([info]cognosco) wrote in [info]thequestionclub,
@ 2009-07-10 01:56:00
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1. What sort book cover designs appeal to you?

2. Will you post pictures of your favorite book covers?

3. Will you post pictures of book covers you really hate?

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[info]beelzebutt
2009-07-10 07:00 am UTC (link)
i don't like really busy covers or ones with BIG FUCKING COLORFUL LETTERS. all i need is the title, author and any other things i should know. maybe something pretty to look at.


only because it's one of my favorite paintings :B

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[info]beelzebutt
2009-07-10 07:30 am UTC (link)
i couldn't find a good example but i was bored enough to illustrate everything i hate.

imagine a list of even more review snippets with no details about the actual book. maybe something tacky like a skyline silhouette on the spine.

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[info]l3antha
2009-07-10 07:31 am UTC (link)
Hahaha, ily that you did that.

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[info]cognosco
2009-07-10 07:32 am UTC (link)
ahahaha, that's amazing!

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[info]cognosco
2009-07-10 07:04 am UTC (link)
1. I tend to like minimalistic designs with just the title and author, or else, a nice photograph or simple design. I hate the kitschy covers on a lot of fantasy novels.
2.



3. I liked the book, but I was embarrassed to carry it around because of this cover:

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[info]colour_my_w0rld
2009-07-10 07:14 am UTC (link)
agreed!

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[info]peradouro
2009-07-10 08:29 am UTC (link)
i agree. i like the author's name to be no bigger than the title. since when does a title go anywhere but in the most prominent place on anything? no one would appreciate it if car manufacturers started putting their logo dead center of the hood in six inch lettering. but then on the other hand people don't mind having clothing maker's names across their chest so maybe IDK WTF i'm saying

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[info]fieryphoenix
2009-07-10 07:04 am UTC (link)
I hate books with a big picture of the author on the cover (like this). I also hate books where the author's name is in humongous letters on the front (like this).

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[info]cognosco
2009-07-10 07:05 am UTC (link)
Joel Osteen has a serious case of doucheface. :(

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[info]fieryphoenix
2009-07-10 07:08 am UTC (link)
I don't think I've ever seen him without his creepy grin.

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[info]vaguely
2009-07-10 07:11 am UTC (link)
1. Very minimalistic. Title and author and maybe something small but nothing crazy.

2.
It was just so funny watching the dissection of all the book covers when they came out, as if they had the secrets of the world within their art.

3.
When you refuse to put the name of your book on the COVER of your book and are just selling it under your name alone, it has stopped being about the writing and has become about you. RESPECT THE ART, THE WORD COMES FIRST, THEN THE MAN.

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[info]notthequiettype
2009-07-10 07:14 am UTC (link)
i like stuff that's clean, but still compelling. i am drawn to random books in stores because of what they look like, so there needs to be SOMETHING there.













i also actually LOVE the covers of the twilight series. it's a shame they were wasted on such shitty books. and i love the dover thrift editions of pretty much everything. and vintage on the whole is great for covers.

i can't think of ones i hate. except i hate books that are all text and then a picture slapped on. most self-help books.

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[info]notthequiettype
2009-07-10 07:20 am UTC (link)
oh and i have thought about this a lot because i had someone design the cover for the novel i am going to write for my mfa and i love it so much that i actually have trouble not staring at it.

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[info]cognosco
2009-07-10 07:20 am UTC (link)
show it to us?

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[info]notthequiettype
2009-07-10 07:22 am UTC (link)
please imagine it as not michael cera since he obviously can't go on my real novel because he owns his own face

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[info]cognosco
2009-07-10 07:29 am UTC (link)
cool!

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[info]notthequiettype
2009-07-10 07:30 am UTC (link)
thank you!

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[info]lierre
2009-07-10 02:15 pm UTC (link)
lol you had someone design the cover for the novel you are GOING TO write? you didn't even write it yet and you have the cover art done? sorry i just had to clarify that :]

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[info]notthequiettype
2009-07-10 03:43 pm UTC (link)
haha, yeah. i was writing it for nanowrimo and a girl i talked to offered to create them for us for inspiration. i had a really specific idea in mind, but lacked the skills to push it any further than a really sad mock-up, so she perfected it for me.

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[info]moonstruckangel
2009-07-10 12:35 pm UTC (link)
Yes! I kept wondering which book series was the one and durrrr it was the Twilight Series. I remember when I first saw it in the library,I was drawn by the covers. I really like how each cover has the same theme of red and black..they're very pretty! Yes it's a shame it got wasted by the shit story.

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[info]colour_my_w0rld
2009-07-10 07:16 am UTC (link)
i hate it when the author's name is enormous. i think authors can only get away with that if they're really really famous... like stephen king.

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[info]plugmebaby
2009-07-10 07:20 am UTC (link)
1. definitely something minimal and simple. nothing too busy.
2 & 3. i'm not a big reader but the above examples are pretty much it.

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[info]l3antha
2009-07-10 07:25 am UTC (link)
1. I like illustrative paintings that allude to the characters or story, but don't SPELL EVERYTHING THE FUCK OUT, and don't give away spoilers. Like, ok, har, har, these books are dumb, I know, but I like the cover because it shows you a bit of the terrain the two characters are traveling through and it shows the two characters, BUT NOT REALLY. It shows them standing there and stuff, but their faces are covered and undefined, and the terrain is very generic. It gives you an idea of what's going on, but it also allows the reader to keep their own ideas and imagination of what everything looks like, which is a big deal to me.

THIS, however, is my favorite bookcover EVER.


My copy of The Lord of the Rings bears this cover, and it is so amazing, I think. It is (to me) very aesthetically pleasing--the image (a watercolor, I think, by Alan Lee) and the text + box is in a nice color that contrasts well with the image. IRL, it's a bit softer and not as harsh as this internet image, and the color of the text box is repeated in the spine and back cover of the book. Even though it's a paperback, it's still a lovely package, and IDK, it just really does it for me...But that also might be because I fucking love this book so god damned hard. Idk, but again, it's of an important thing in the story (the city of Minas Tirith), but it is only alluded to, not completely drawn out, and there are no specific character faces to imprint on your mind, so you are able to use your own imagination.

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[info]beelzebutt
2009-07-10 07:37 am UTC (link)
oh man. i've been carousing used book stores for a good copy of lord of the rings FOREVER. almost everything i find either has orlando bloom or is valued at nine million dollars. :( fuck movie adaption book covers forever. fdsgsdfg that one is so perfect

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[info]l3antha
2009-07-10 07:47 am UTC (link)
Omg, yeah, I got that copy before the movie came out, so there weren't any HAY ELIJAHORLANDOVIGGO covers out then...BUT, I don't think you can tell, but the gold circle seal thing says something about, "Oh yeah, movie coming out within the next few years, keep an eye out!" so it's not completely free of the movie stuff...HOWEVER, COLLECTION OF TOLKIEN BOOKCOVERS. My library has all of the ones with the Tolkien symbol thingy, as well as the 1966 HM Hardcover edition of The Hobbit (first row, 7th column), so I'm hoping that when they update their stock, I will be able to find those books in the lobby for sale.

MY library is going through lots of changes, and has been selling off a lot of books, which is sad for the community, but AWESOME for me, because I can get fab books for cheeeeeeap, but I am getting off topic here, so I will stop.

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[info]beelzebutt
2009-07-10 08:03 am UTC (link)
omg ;~; that gallery is a thing of beauty. i'll probably buy them all online, go into debt and never see the sun again. i love fantasy covers so much when they're done well!

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[info]l3antha
2009-07-10 08:18 am UTC (link)
I know how you feel, bb. I know how you feel.

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[info]metalheavy
2009-07-10 08:33 am UTC (link)
1. Bright or something with an interesting photo.

2. These are by no means my favorite books, but these kind of covers always appeal to me.
Photobucket Photobucket

3. Anything that looks like "this is a period book" or typical chick lit covers.
Photobucket Photobucket
Sometimes they mask those period books in cool covers, but I can't pretty much spot a chick lit book from a mile away.

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[info]moonstruckangel
2009-07-10 12:24 pm UTC (link)
1. Not sure...D:

2.





I really like this one,I'm not sure why but I do. :]

3. Can't think of any. D:

Edited at 2009-07-10 12:32 pm UTC

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[info]saloonperfume
2009-07-10 02:56 pm UTC (link)
Love these covers:







Hate this:



I hate covers that are boring, that look like clip-art, or that are completely irelevant to the subject matter of the book (which I realize, of course, in retrospect).

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