Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Lovely Book Covers

Oh man.

Book covers.

My weakness for interesting/beautiful/cool book covers can sometimes sway me into buying a book (I know! *gasp*). I'm especially vulnerable to depictions of vintage images and works of art, which pretty much puts me at the mercy of all the latest editions of the classics.

Here are some of my favorites, both covers and stories:






See what I mean? Gorgeous.

These next, newer books I didn't initially know very much about but was so captivated by the beautiful covers that I had to bring them home with me (again! I know.) I've read and loved them all so far except for Mangoes and Quince and Good to a Fault, which are both still waiting on my ever growing TBR shelf. Chances are good that I will love those ones, too.










A Top Ten meme from The Broke and The Bookish


32 comments:

jesspoole said...

I picked Prodigal Summer based on the cover too! (off my friends bookshelf!) I didn't think to add it because it wasn't on my shelf, as I gave it back to her

Beth said...

And they say you can't judge a book by its cover! You seem to be having success doing just that... :)

Kailana said...

I owned Rebecca for years, but it was this ugly romancey cover. People kept saying it was so good, but I just couldn't make myself read it. I decided to get it through the library and see if that helped. It was the cover pictured above and I did finally read it! I also turned around and bought a new copy using the ISBN of the library copy...

Trish said...

jess - I found my copy in the middle of January so it was impossible for me to ignore all that summery green on the cover. I took it home and started reading right away!

Beth - it's worked out pretty well for me so far. I think this is why I can't bring myself to go e-reader. The cover disappears as soon as you start reading! No good.

Kailana - I know just the cover you mean! I avoided Rebecca for decades because of that silly red and swirly cover. It was this new gothic cover that finally swayed me to read it. It's a more accurate representation of the psychological thriller that it is.

Shannon (Giraffe Days) said...

That cover for Elzabeth Gaskell's Gothic Tales is awesome! So atmospheric! Plus I'm eyeing it because I don't have that one.

Passion for Novels said...

I love the cover of The Thirteenth Tale!!!

New follower :D

Tanya said...

Love the list! The cover of Reckless Appetites is so haunting - and I love Gothic Tales too.

Trish said...

Shannon - it's a really good collection of short stories. Great for this time of year!

Passion - Yes, it's one of my favorites. And thanks! I'm returning the favor.

Tanya - that one was truly an impulse buy at a thrift store. I just loved the cover and the story was really good, too. Bonus!

Anonymous said...

Very nice covers! I love especially Gothic Tales and Reckless Appetites ... just added to my books-to-buy list!

Here is my top ten book covers/titles ...
http://butterybooks.com/?p=42963

Beth D. said...

^_^ You are the only other person that has the Birth of Venus on their list I have seen so far! I love some of the classics covers you have up. The painting on Wuthering Heights is beautiful.

Beth ^_^
http://sweetbooksnstuff.blogspot.com/

Daisy said...

Those covers of Rebecca and The Thirteenth Tale are so much prettier than the ones I own... My Rebecca cover is actually pretty meh, but I really wanted it! And the story is amazing :)

Epiphany Renee said...

These are some very intriguing covers. They aren't the kind I would want to stare at for a while but rather ones that really make me curious to know what's inside.

I do love The Thirteenth Tale cover, I bought the book partly because of that cover. Sadly it's been in the middle of my TBR pile for about three years....

Susanne said...

Great list! I really like the cover of The Thirteenth Tale.

Susanne

Tracy said...

I don't buy books for their covers, especially, but if I don't like the image on the front, then I won't buy it. The ones you've chosen are wonderful, love The Birth of Venus edition you've got (mine is predominantly orange)

Trish said...

Annie - I hope you like them as much as I did!

Beth - Yes, I was surprised there weren't more covers like this on peoples' lists.

Daisy - the story is really good, isn't it? It took publishers a looong time to get the cover right.

Renee - Oooh you should get to it! It's really good :)

Susanne - It's beautiful, isn't it? I just want to reach in a touch all those books.

Tracy - Yes, covers can be a real turn-off, too. For me, the covers are more of a bonus; the synopsis has to also be interesting for me to actually buy it. There have been many pretty covers that I've turned down because the book subject just isn't what I want to read.

Anonymous said...

You have some really great books on this list! I didn't have this on my list but Thirteenth Tale was another that I picked up because of the cover, I really enjoyed it too.
I've never read Rebecca but I really like the cover you have here, it's much more interesting then the one I normally see.

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

I chose to focus on titles, but I need to do another post on beautiful covers. Yours are lovely!

Kayla said...

The Thirteenth Tale has one of my favorite covers ever! I would have bought the book even if the cover was ugly, though. It's such an amazing story.

Trish said...

inlibris - it's amazing it took so long for me to finally pick this book up. It really was a case of the cover finally convincing me that this was not actually a romance.

Deb - titles are pretty important, too. I'm not fond of long convoluted ones, with the exception of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime. I loved that book!

Kayla - I was so glad it turned out to be such a good story.

Alexa S. said...

The Thirteenth Tale has such an intriguing cover, doesn't it? I feel like I should reread it now after seeing that cover again...

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

I love the cover for Mangoes and Quince...it's the most striking to me, if that's odd...I dunno haha I also love The Alchemist. :)

LBC said...

I feel like there is a very consistent aesthetic here. Calming.

I always want to buy old vintage classics for their covers. The only problem is that I don't like to read them because they are too delicate.

Come visit my list at The Scarlet Letter.

Toni D. said...

The Thirteenth Tale's cover is so beautiful! I've added it on my to-read list on goodreads. Story sounds very intriguing. Oh, and yes, The Last Lecture is heavy on the sentimental stuff. I'm following you now. :)

Bonnie said...

I actually checked out The Thirteenth Tale for my book club all because of the cover.

There's nothing wrong with being swayed by the cover every now and then. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Thanks for visiting my blog last week too. I left you a reply, but in case you miss it - I recommend reading The Vampire Lestat first if you want to try the Vampire Chronicles. Lots of people get turned off by Interview, I began with Lestat, and I didn't feel I missed out by skipping Interview.

Gomzy Decor said...

Yes i agree with LBS that there's consistent aesthetic. I read that from memphis university bookstore

Trish said...

Alexa - I always thought it would be a good one to reread.

Melissa - it is striking, isn't it? I can't believe I haven't read it yet.

LBC - I don't go in much for bells and whistles. Or sparkles and fireworks.

toni - thanks! I'm returning the favor.

Bonnie - okay, thanks for getting back to me about that. I will definitely give lestat a try.

memphis u - yes, I like clean and simple.

Tracy said...

It's the one thing I would really miss if I got an e-reader.

Anonymous said...

Ooh, nice covers. I particularly like Dracula, Gothic Tales (so creepy!), and The Thirteenth Tale. Some good books behind those covers, too, which is more important.

Trish said...

Tracy - Yes! The reading experience would just not be the same. A book as an object brings me such pleasure.

couchpotatocritic - It's so great when it all works out like that, isn't it?

Raine said...

I just looked up "The Thirteen Tale" and it's teasing me. lolz. A missing tale? Oh, will check this one out. :D Great looking covers. I have the habit of covering my books to protect from creases. :D

Trish said...

Raine - oooh Thirteenth Tale is good! I don't mind creases in my books. The more banged up and dog-eared the better. They feel more loved that way. Funny, the rituals we have about our books, huh?!

Harvee said...

Mangos and Quince make me hungry, for fruit and for the book~