There's a cute post on the US book blog Omnivoracoius that caught my eye. It features a series of book jackets and the alternative covers that were considered but ultimately rejected. I'm not sure who in the publishing house decided to open this particular vault of goodies, but whoever it was did us all a great favour. What it shows is just how random and weird a lot of what goes in to deciding on the ideal cover is. I particularly love the Michael Chabon alternative. Totally wacko.But would I have bought the book? Nope, not on your life.
We judge books by the covers all the time. That's why we got adult versions of JK Rowling. (When I first heard about them I had to leaf through one in a shop to make sure there weren't added swear words or sex scenes.) Indeed covers are part of what makes a book desirable, which is why the saying, don't judge a book by its cover is so ironic. So false.
I don't have a favourite cover as such, but the one photographed above is certainly one that has caught the eye recently. The book is an inside story of the Scott expedition by one of the survivors. Try to figure out what or who made the tracks in the snow. Bet you don't guess.
I am definitely drawn in by a book cover, whether it suspense or romance or fun. Interesting post. Thanks. Donna
ReplyDeleteI am a new follower via Blogspot. My blog can be found at http://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com
Would love a visit. Great blog by the way (yours.)
Great post - I definitely judge books by their cover (it's one of the ways I decide what to pick up in a bookstore/library - titles grab me/turn me off too). The Omnivoracious article was big fun - I think it's very interesting to see what people decided NOT to go with... Not sure I always think authors/publishers picked the best ones sometimes tho - I liked the brown paper bag looking cover for "Blood, Bones & Butter" a lot better than the real one...
ReplyDeleteI found you thru BookBlogs - great site and I'm now following your feed. If you are interested, stop by mine - www.Jill-Elizabeth.com - might see something that catches your eye one day, like the covers post did mine! :)
Thanks for reading. Hope you get the time to keep coming back. Will check out your blogs too.
ReplyDeleteDid you figure out what / who made teh tracks? One is a sled, the other is a penguin. Actually, probably penguins