Todays Thanksgiving Quote

"Fortune was not a house full of gold and jade, but something much more".

From Where the Mountains Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
This months selection from the Intergenerational Book Club that I participate in.

Note: Didn't love the book but the cover fits the book well.

Beautiful Things

Just finished this book and I loved the book.  Thought the cover fit the book well and it definitely made me want to pick up to read.  It is a book about displaced lives of immigrants from Africa who live in Washington DC along with some locals who could be described as displaced.














Found two other covers.

This one fit the book well but wouldn't necessarily make me pick up the book - not as "beautiful" or mysterious.

I definitely did not like this cover - much too literal as to the items in the book.

Elegance in Unlikely Places

While I have been reading allot - I haven't done my book cover postings so I figured it was time. 

Last night I finished "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery.  I enjoyed the book, but will say it is not for everyone.  Long passages on philosophy that I admit I found myself skimming through; but I did enjoy the story.

The picture above is the one from the edition I read.  I did not like the cover but picked up the book anyways since the book was an Europa edition, and I have liked many of the covers. I know, I know - you are not supposed to just a book by its cover - and that seemed to be one of the themes in the book.  While the doorway fit the book - I couldn't picture the younger protagonist looking that way.

The cover that I found that I thought fit the book the best was this one:

I was able to find many others:

A Two Book Weekend

Finished two books over the weekend - and both continue with the theme of having photographs on the cover (which is NOT why I picked them.

Book 1) "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot.  Very interesting book that I would recommend.    Cover fits the book well.  While I usually do not like photos of the person the book is about on the cover - this book needs the face of the person behind the cells that helped medical research.

Book 2) "The Sense of an Ending" by Julian Barnes

Cover from edition I read

The first one is the cover on the book I read.  I know I said that I don't like photographs on the cover but I believe this one is OK ---- it is not the author and the sepia tones fit the book.  I do not like the lettering - the original cover's letter is much more interesting.

Original Cover

I loved the lettering and fading of the original cover.  A bit to nebulous though with what the symbols are - but then again it fits the book.

Found two interesting references about designing the original cover:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8929045/Suzanne-Dean-the-secret-to-a-good-book-cover.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlzFDKcHLqI

Book about Words

I indicated that I do not like book covers with photographs on them (I would rather see work by illustrators - but at least this is not a photograph of the author.

The cover is a good indication as to what would happen to me if I tried to read the OED.

This book, "Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages" by Ammon Shea is a memoir about the year he spent reading that dictionary.  What a brave, crazy man.

I had trouble even making my way through the definitions of the commentary of the words he included in his book.  But I enjoyed the other parts about his thoughts and struggles as he read.

This book was recommended to me when I indicated that I liked books about books.  I have decided I am not a real fan of books about words - I have a terrible memory for words.  I give credit to those who can remember words like this author - and all those who are beating me with Words With Friends.

Only found one other cover - to the Australian edition.  
Same picture - different cover font.  For a change - I like the American edition better.

Tales of the Dead

 This was my "purse book".  The purse book is the one that sits in you purse and you read when you are "stranded" somewhere with no one to talk to.  It has to be a book that you can put down for months and not loose your train of thought.  So short stories, articles or essays work best.   This one I started mid last year so you can see how long it took.

Did not like the cover at all.  It struck me as very egotistical.  Of course that did fit the writing in the book.

I liked to cover below much better.

I also liked the third cover I found better than the cover of the edition I read.  

My Secret - I Liked the Cover Better Than the Book

I loved the cover - but unfortunately did not love the book.  I so wanted to like it since I had read another fictionalized account of Emily Dickinson ("I Never Came to You in White") a number of years ago that I loved.

When I got on the internet to check out other covers I did not find any - but this one got written up on some lists as a "best" cover.

Theft

As I said before - I am a sucker for books about books.

I picked up "The Book Thief" from the library based on the title.  It wasn't until I was half way through that I saw that it was on the best seller list for "chapter books" in the children's section in the New York Times best seller list.   I was somewhat surprised to see it there.  Yes, it is about a young girl, but the narrater is death.    You can see a review of the book here.  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/books/27masl.html

I would recommend the book.  I thought it an easy - intriguing read.

While the cover was interesting and did represent the book well, I would have wished that it was an illustration rather than a photograph.

When I went out to the internet I found a large assortments of other covers -
http://inkcrush.blogspot.com/2010/08/covers-of-book-thief-markus-zusac-35.html

I liked the UK adult version and the Russion versions the best.

Liker - Not a Lover

Just finished "The Lover" by A.B. Yehoshua. I liked the book but did not love it. I hated this cover. I dislike when they make the authors name the most important element. Also do not believe it fits the bookwell. Found two other cover examples on the internet.  The next one - while more to my liking it too much like the previous book I just read.   I believe it fits the book better.

The next one is the cover I really love.  Of course - I am a sucker for anything made up of type. 

Last 2012 Book Catch U

I am almost embarrassed to say that I picked this book up to read since it was about the Princess Diana accident.  In fact - I put it down a couple times at the library before I took it out.   I have always been turned off by the obsession of people about the fatal accident and the aftermath of the accident to a bystander is the topic of the book.

That said - I liked the book and glad I picked it up.  I had read a book by the author Laurence Cosse previously, titled "The Novel Bookstore" which I LOVED.

This book is a fictional portrayal of someone who was in the tunnel during the accident,  left the scene and what happens to her after.   The writing is lovely and the book really holds you.

That said - I had wished the book cover looked less like a photograph and was more of a sketch.  But now that I write this - maybe the photo is more appropriate since the paparazzi was part of the problem.

She Was - I Am Not - Ice Bound

Thought January was a good month to read a book about Antarctica even though we had a relatively mild January.  Antarctica does  not sound like a pleasant place to spend the winter.

I found the book very interesting but the cover not so.  I found the earlier cover much more interesting but once it became a best seller it changed to play up the person versus the cold.

Earlier cover

 

Breakfast

The second book I read this year was "Breakfast at Tiffany's".  I was very surprised at how different it was from the movie version we all know and love.

Much better cover than the first edition cover.

First Edition Cover

Book Cover Review #1: A "Pip" of a Cover

In the Design for Print and Web class on Saturday - he spent some time showing us pictures of various book covers which he considers good places to look at both good and bad design.

I decided to look back at the book covers of those books that I have read so far this year.  The first book was "Mister Pip" by Lloyd Jones.   In looking on the internet, I found lots of different covers before I found the one on the edition that I read.

I found a blog that looked at three different versions below of the books cover and rated which they preferred.  I agree with the author in preferring the British edition.

British Edition

Canadian Edition

American Editon