feeling robbed

Was recently looking through some favorite blogs, and came across these new John Wyndham re-issues on the UK Penguin blog. I rarely read science fiction or fantasy, but the cover art here is enough to entice me to give these particular books a try. Sought them out on US Amazon only to be very disappointed with the cover design on this side of the pond. This is not the first time this has happened recently either. A few weeks back, I saw Cornflower’s review of the new Gaiman novel, The Graveyard Book, and responded enthusiastically to both her review and the cover art. US design? Another disappointment. And again, this summer, when it was announced that The Tale of Beedle the Bard would be published in December, I had to wonder why the Bloomsbury edition cover was so much more attractive to me than the US version. 

No one wants to admit that his or her reading choices are strongly influenced by something as shallow as cover design, but I am going to say it anyway – mine sometimes are. Covers are designed to lure you into picking them up in bookstores or clicking on them online. What do these differences in visual sensibilities say about the differences between US and UK book consumers? Or about me? How do you weigh in on jackets?

 

Comments

[Audrey Griffith]

Absolutely! Cover design makes a big difference to me. I hate to say that I am attracted to certain books because of "how they appear", but I am. Look at your own copy of The Ice Queen on your Blog. How beautiful.

[melanie]

if browsing, covers are the first attraction and i am guilty of judging lots of books by their covers. i agree that the us covers are typically lacking a subtlety found in int'l design.

[Frances]

Subtlety. Exactly the word that escaped me. Here is something else that struck me a few days back as I walked through a book store. Have you ever noticed the preponderance of red and black on jacket/cover designs in the US? Again, bold, stark, and lacking subtlety.

[Tara]

I am also one who often prefers UK cover images. Though I have to say, there is something different about the UK bindings that seems to make paperbacks harder to read.