I was recently chatting with my friend, and fellow #coverho, Jennifer from Book-alicious Mama, and we decided to pool our efforts today and share our top five favorite covers of 2013. You can find Jennifer's droolworthy list right over here.
The first cover on my list, without a doubt, is A Tale for the Time Being, designed by my very favorite cover illustrator, Jim Tierney. I've fawned over his work ever since he was still in university studying illustration. He's just gotten better!
See Jim Tierney's design process for A Tale for the Time Being here.
By now you're probably noticing that I like very graphic, illustrated covers. Loteria and The Humans fall nicely into this category. Unfortunately, I couldn't find WHO designed these rad covers online, so I'll have to find out the next time I'm in the bookstore. The cover of Loteria is enchanting to me--designed to look like a loteria card. And there's something terribly alluring about all of that wonderful white space punctuated by the clean lines of The Humans.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane doesn't have the clean lines of the other two books, but it is quite an experience to hold this book in your hands. The cover is nicely textured, and the paper has a sheen to it that makes it almost glow in your hands. The blue depth of this one is intriguing.
Finally, Relish, by Lucy Knisley, is absolutely one of my super-faves of the year. I adore all of Knisley's illustrations, and for some reason there's nothing cuter and more charming than illustrated food. What??? It's a thing! I love the color combo of the sagey green background, the rosy portrait of Knisley with her little olive, and the typography on this one is just stellar. It's any book #coverho's foodie dream.
And a bonus. Because a #coverho just doesn't know when to stop!
Cinnamon and Gunpowder, by Eli Brown, is nothing short of luscious. The teal and green are two of my all-time favorite colors, the pirate and chef with their vivid colors and realistic renderings are perfection. And that type. OMG, that smoky type. I love everything about this one.
Watch for a preview of some great up-and-coming covers for 2014 right back here next Monday. Jennifer and I will be doing our best #coverho investigation to bring you some stunners.
What are your favorite covers of 2013?
Love these covers! I'm a cover ho, too. :)
ReplyDeleteMy physical copy of Loteria (an ARC) says "all illustrations by Jarrod Taylor." Doesn't specifically mention the cover but the inside illustrations have the same look.
OK yep the official Loteria page has a teeny fine print link to: http://jarrodtaylordesign.com :) It is even more vibrant and stunning in person!
DeleteThank you for checking that out! I definitely need to go take a look at his site.
DeleteAnd OMG, he did the cover for My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead! I love that cover.
DeleteI am also a CoverHo, Andi. I think it makes a WORLD of difference whether the cover is aesthetically pleasing or not. First of all, a good cover entices you to pick up the book. Secondly, the cover is a reader's first glimpse into the world in the book. If it doesn't match or if it is kind of lame, the reader subconsciously thinks the story will be lame. We are often surprised when it is not lame. I love to draw and I'm not great so if I look at a book and think I could've done much better? That's not a good thing! I also think word placement and font play a huge role in a good cover not just images.
ReplyDeleteYay for us #coverhos! I agree with everything you said here. People tend to think of the cover as just a thing. Just a measly part of the book, but it's SO much more!
DeleteI love the cover for The Humans, too. It's not often you see such a stark white cover like that. I think one of the first covers I fell in love with this year was for Ryan McIlvain's Elders and I've adored it since.
ReplyDeleteRight? I think that's what got my attention. And the lovely lines on the type really stands out. I went back and looked at Elders and that is awesome.
DeleteGorgeous list! And as I said it's fascinating that we didn't have any cross over! Can't wait to see next week's list!
ReplyDeleteRight??? I thought that was pretty nifty, too.
DeleteI'm a cover ho myself. I love me a good cover. And I love seeing the difference between US and UK covers. Makes you wonder about the designers at times.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I love comparing international covers too. When it comes down to a US or UK cover, I typically like the UK and have no problem ordering from Book Depository. hehe
DeleteI love everything about Relish, including the cover.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you.
DeleteThe Humans cover is really cool. The first thing I always judge a book by is its cover! (Only actual books, I promise!) I'll even buy other editions if I find a cover I like better. I had a U.S. edition of The Book Thief and when I taught it we discussed how different book covers make you look at the story. I ordered the UK edition from AmazonUK and out my U.S. edition on my classroom shelf. Just loved that UK cover!
ReplyDeleteYou're a woman after my own heart. I order scads of books from BookDepository so I can get around US editions I don't like. lol
DeleteI didn't think to check BookDepository! Will keep that in mind!
DeleteLove Neil Gaimain's cover. He has more great ones. My favourite cover this year is the NOS4R2 cover the green version.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I'm seeing the green version and I really like it!
DeleteLovely choices! A Tale for the Time Being really jumped out at me from the library display shelf yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It would jump out at me too. And it's maybe the only one I haven't actually run into in real life.
DeleteI love covers too, which sometimes makes me wonder if I'm a terrible person because I, literally, judge books by their covers ;-) Few of these I haven't read yet, so thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteHaha! I think for many of us judging by a cover just goes with the territory. :)
DeleteI have to admit that while covers may influence me here and there I don't really pay as much attention to them as some... Especially nowadays where I try to only buy books that are parts of series or by favourite authors... These are all great, though!
ReplyDeleteWhile I love them dearly, it won't make me buy a book or discount a book. I might try to get an edition I like from BookDepository if I'm already going to buy based on content. I sure do like looking, though!
DeleteI am not really someone who notices covers all that much, so I am going with the book I reviewed most recently - These Broken Stars - for the cover I think is the best for 2013. Since I buy most of my books in e-form, I don't see the covers when I decide which book to read next, and I don't pay attention to them elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteFrom the books you mentioned, I think The Humans has the cover that might entice me the most to read the book :)
I hope you had an excellent Thanksgiving weekend, Andi :) Have a great week and happy reading.
Lexxie g (un)Conventional Bookviews
Lexxie, buying digital books has influenced or decrease by #coverho'ness to some extent. Obviously it's a non-issue when it's a digital book, but I will order internationally (BookDepository) if it's a book I want to keep but want a particular cover. This usually applies to Penguin books in particular. :)
DeleteI don't know enough about cover designers to consider that I merit the hashtag. But I do love beautiful covers -- it shouldn't make as much of a difference to my reading choices as it actually does. I cannot resist the prettys.
ReplyDeleteI love a gorgeous cover. Loteria and The Ocean at the End of the Lane would definitely be a couple favorites. I also love the Perfect Ruin cover and The Kings and Queens of Roam (just glancing at the "finished" stacks behind me -- I'm sure there are plenty more I love). Oh, and Simon Van Booy's latest, of course. His covers are always lovely. I don't often buy a book merely because of the cover but . . . well, sometimes I do. I think the cover should speak to what's inside a book but sometimes it's okay if they just seduce you without saying a thing.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree about The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It's a beautiful book to just hold.
ReplyDeleteI love it when you talk about covers and use terms like "luscious." I find your #coverho-dom enchanting.
ReplyDeleteAre there readers who don't love a beautiful cover? Thanks for sharing some of your favs!
ReplyDeleteI still can’t decide if I love or hate the cover of The Humans. On the one hand, I love it, but then I start thinking about why I love a nose…..
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for a blog post, thank you! I think cover art is so important. Writing a novel is a creative endeavor so it seems natural to use creativity in "packaging" it as well. I can't wait to see your 2014 cover list next week!
ReplyDeleteI love this! Yes I'm a coverho. I've bought plenty of books just because of the cover. Some covers are so beautiful, you want to put them on your wall...
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you went to art school!
Yay #Coverho!!! Aaaaaand A Tale for the Time Being was also a genius book!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit of a coverho, too. Penguin covers are just to die for -- no lie, I recently bought one of their books JUST because it was so pretty. I like all of your choices!
ReplyDeleteGreat coverho post! I'm also a sucker for covers woaaah. Is there actually a non-fiction book about covers? Like how they evolved and stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a coverho and I agree with A Tale for the time being - gorgeous cover. Loteria too!
ReplyDelete