Top Ten Favorite Covers of Books I’ve Read
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely folks over at The Broke and the Bookish post a top ten list topic so that book lovers like you and me can pour over our shelves and make our own lists. You can check out all the other Top Ten Tuesday’s on their site!
Friends, I have to admit to being pretty superficial about book covers sometimes. I’ve read and loved books that had so-so covers, but there’s something really arresting about a book with a pretty/intriguing/different/eye-catching cover, and these are ten of my favorites.
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
I just couldn’t decide between the hardcover–which features such a badass WOOD CARVING that I CANNOT EVEN–and the paperback, which is wood-carved and PURPLE. I just adore the covers for SERAPHINA. Bonus that the book itself is legit. First cover I thought of for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelley
I’m a forever big fan of covers that have basically anything other than photos of people on them, but this cover has the added bonuses of, one, being mostly yellow; two, having really pretty flourishes of leaves and birds; and three, being a simple but gorgeous cover for a simple but gorgeous book that, despite being a Newbery Honor book a few years ago (it lost to WHEN YOU REACH ME), should totally get more attention.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
You all probably know by now how much I LOVE THE SCORPIO RACES. The truth is that the cover of the hardcover is kind of…well…blah. I think the paperback version is gorgeous, though. I love that the image has such movement in it, and how it looks like the horse is tumbling around in the sea. WAY better.
Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara
I wish that you guys could see the cover for LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP in person, because it’s pretty striking and I think some of that doesn’t come through on a computer screen. Part of what I love the most about this cover is the whiteness, and the way it looks with the purple/pinkish tones in the photo. Plus there’s some sparkle. It’s the perfect cover for a really lovely, thoughtful book.
The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith
This cover is SO GORGEOUS, right?! The blues and greens are so pretty, and the tornado looks so incredible. I am a huge sucker for illustrated covers, and this is one of the prettiest ones.
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
I love this cover because the illustrations on it are so spot-on. It makes me happy that these characters are so perfectly rendered on the cover in all their fantastical glory.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Big fan of this cover, friends. I think it sets a great tone for this book with the black, like the Darkling, and the white, like…the opposite of the Darkling (trying not to spoil!). Plus it’s got the antlers and that whole Russian vibe, which is something that attracted me to SHADOW AND BONE in the first place.
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
The original hardcover of THE GOOSE GIRL, my absolute favorite Shannon Hale book around, is so perfect. It’s got an old fairy-tale vibe, PLUS OMG THE CRACKLE FINISH. But this illustration makes me think of the pictures in an old Mother Goose book I had when I was young. Seriously. PERFECT.
Supergirl Mixtapes by Meghan Brothers
So, I liked this book fine, but I didn’t love it. That doesn’t mean that I can’t show love for the cover, which is all kinds of awesome. I love that the entire cover is a cassette tape, and that the title looks handwritten in marker the way REAL mixtapes always looked. I love, too, when titles are a part of the artwork of a cover as opposed to a font over an image, and this cover is the example I always think of when I’m looking for examples of that.
Bunheads by Sophie Flack
I just love how the ballerinas on this cover give the illusion of a kaleidoscope. So, so pretty. Good book, too.
Nice choices!!! I love so many of them, but I think my favorites are:
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Lovely, Dark and Deep
The Scorpio Races
& Bunheads
Shadow and Bone made my list too. 🙂
YAY! I have to check out your list to see your pretties! I am so glad that you love the cover of Calpurnia. It’s one of my faves 🙂
Ohhh Shadow & Bone seems to be a popular choice among a lot of people participating today. I haven’t read the book, but I love the cover. I love the use of Russian Architecture elements. I love the cover of Supergirl Mixtapes. It’s such a cool cover :). Lovely, Dark and Deep is beautiful too!
Great list!
Shadow and Bone is a great cover, right? I love the antlers, myself. And I’m a big fan of the way the cover of Supergirl Mixtapes is an actual tape. So cool-looking!
I absolutely love the cover for Lovely, Dark and Deep. I must find out more about this book!
Yes, you must!! It’s such a great book that not enough people are reading. I hope you get a chance to pick it up soon! 🙂
YES! I love that cover of The Goose Girl so much more than the photo cover I think it has now, it’s just so classy and mother goose-esque.
YES OMG. This cover is one of my favorites, and the new one with the photo on it looks so juvenile. This book is always one of my first examples when I think of book covers that have horrible redesigns. How could they get rid of that crackle finish?!
Yay, yay, yay, yay for The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. It was on my TTT post as well. And it’s one of my favorite books. I actually liked it a lot more than When You Reach Me, but I usually tend to favor the honors more than the Newbery winners.
YAYAYAY!!! I’m so glad to find another Calpurnia lover! I too liked it way better than When You Reach Me. By a lot. But it gives me warm-fuzzies that you love it so much! Calpurnia is such a vibrant character. LOVE HER. 🙂
You have a few of my beloved reads on here — love The Storm Makers cover and also Super Girl Mixtapes SO UNDERRATED BUT GREAT. Made me smile to see these on your list 🙂
And no, I have not read Bunheads yet but will. Before Santa comes. I swear? haha
I love the Storm Makers cover, too. Any cover that has any kind of illustration on it is going to catch my eye, and this one is especially eye-catching.
Supergirl Mixtapes was an ok read for me, but I did like. I was really frustrated by the mother. But the cover is so cool. Definitely an underrated read. 🙂
I’ll hold you to that Bunheads promise!! haha
So, Shadow and Bone just WINS all the time. Seriously – it’s GORGEOUS. I absolutely LOVE the typography. I love the image on it. I love the colors. I LOVE THAT FREAKIN’ BOOK. That is all 😉