I am a shallow soul in many ways when it comes to books. If there is one thing that is almost guaranteed to get me to pull a book off the shelf, it’s the promise of a stunning cover. Of course, plenty of great books have really boring looking covers, and plenty of terrible books have amazing ones, but that doesn’t stop me from sighing over truly beautiful book covers. I can’t help it. My little bookish heart loves pretty things. While I’m a sucker for most good-looking covers, there are three styles more than any others that catch my heart and my eye more than any others.
Artwork
What is there not to love about a book with an amazing piece of original artwork on the cover? They’re stylish, they’re intriguing, they’re unique. Sometimes they have little details woven in. Plus a series with striking artwork on the covers, makes a great room decoration as well. Plus they’re usually a lot more unique than covers made with stock photos, where you might see the same elements on the a dozen different covers. Also, artists are just such talented creatures and I want to admire their work as much as I want to read books.
Minimalist
I love a detailed cover where you discover something new every time you look at it and you’re just drowning in colour and texture and glorious images. But you know what else I like? Minimalistic covers that are simple and clean and not fussy at all. Ones that have lots of blank space that allows your eyes to be drawn to the one or two important details without overwhelming you with too much all at once. There’s such a clean kind of beauty to these covers, sleek and elegant and simply delightful.
Word Art
The two things that catch most people’s eyes, including mine, before they ever open a book is the cover, and also the title. Sometimes the title is the cover, and actually that is rather a lovely thing. Word art and typography is a recently discovered love of mine. I mean, I love words in general, and I think they’re artsy enough as it is, but when you get a cover where the words are the focus and the beauty of the whole thing, well, you know I’m going to fall in love with the cover at once. Simple, pretty, eye catching, and also practical. It’s a good mix.
Mine 🙂
And of course, I’m going to be cheeky here and sneak in a fourth category of covers I love, and that’s my own. Because I am genuinely in love with the covers of my own two books. Any opportunity to share pretty pictures, right?
What is your favourite style of cover? What is one of your favourite book covers? Does it matter to you whether a book has a stunning cover or not?
