Although not to say it's not true that a good book will have a good cover and vice versa far from it, I just like to point out that you cannot honestly feel that a book will have a "mysterious" feeling and all those buzz words you describe a genre if it was just a white page.
I used to love reading books, I had alot of time on my hands in between my CITV days and lack of internet and being able to download programs to watch days. So i read books, I also LOVE and admit a partial .... possibly an average OCD-ness about stationary and liking design and artwork. From an early age I always admired beautifully designed things and try to re-create them myself (of course failed). But it never stopped me from analysing the way things were designed/laid out.
No onto books. I was walking around WhSmith today and just browsing their book selection, I say only browse and with no intention to buy because books are expensive unless I KNOW i am going to buy something worth my money then i don't mind "splashing out" and paying *gasp* full price or if it's really new then with like a £5 new book discount. So i'm wandering around the book section and i behold something that was pretty darn awful but striking not because the cover was great but rather the cover I have recognised it with all my years has been pretty much white spirited and ripped off and someone has pencilled in a cover of some sort. Apologies for my lack of eloquence, descriptive writing has never been a strong point of mine. also the covers I saw just disturbed me to the point of uncontrollable blabber.
The books in question are ....... Artemis Fowl series.
To the left are the 3 original covers (UK versions in case yours are different) I didnt' see anything wrong with them, I really liked them and after various rebranded versions I still like them the most out of the others. I feel that the text is quite fitting for Artemis Fowl and his heritage of wealth and position. Simple but I think iconic enough to brand the whole series as so.
Welcome to the "new generation" of UK rebrand. Artemis face is in full view and the colours have bled out. As much as I appreciate that they released this to celebrate the paperback version of The Atlantic Complex, it's kinda p-taking since there is one book to go. At least with Harry Potter they kept the original style of release throughout even after it shot to fame. and while going along be able to release 300(exaggeration of course so don't quote me) different cover versions. So what's the deal yo!?
When books reach milestones or popularity they get new designs (i.e Girl with dragon tattoo, Twilight, LOTR) fair enough, but why make them uglier? i never thought Artemis was ugly, my imagination just imagined a suave and a little up himself teenager, now the new covers make me hate him already. Would i still want to read ..that? It's cute how they kept the silhouette in the 'O' but uhm yeh i like the cover when the colour starts to even out across the book...basically the title and yeh the catchy "Criminally good" is pretty fitting. So uhm yeh good points and bad points, but I definitely will not be purchasing the new covers. Fingers crossed they still release in the old version for the last book. *tissues out* bb Artemis Fowl books.
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Sorry, went off on a tangent, as you can see i'm an avid Artemis Fowl follower...I even imagined him to be handsome........guess that went to hell.
But also in general, I don't like faces on books, I don't want something/someone staring back at me while i look at book and decide to read or not read. Creepy really, I would say mirror but the cover a blond haired dark eyed boy isn't really me. So yeh i've never liked mirrors cos of the whole "ooh someones lookin?..(O.o)" so books with faces are a no no.
Here you see The Replacement, book which has lately been on sale at your local book shops. Left is the original and right is the "new generation" branding. I put new generation in quotes because this style is clearly aimed at the Twilight hype. I didn't realise this was a re-cover of an original and thought it was just a new book from the Twilight hype but when i had a quick search to see if my random purchase was at least a good purchase (bought on sale 1/2 price, yay me) I found it was a new cover. Such a shame as I really would prefer the old cover as it signifies more about the story than the one on the right. Brief synopsis since i've just read a few chapters, boy is a vampire with severe allergies to blood, consecrated ground and iron as in both metal and haemoglobin consistency (this is the added "new-ness" i presume from all the other vamp books). He was switched with a human baby when..he was a baby and the human family has accepted his deficiencies without question and advise him to "not draw attention to oneself" to get by in their little town. Apart from the likeness to Rosemary's baby.
So the new cover is more......in Dean's words of Supernatural, because Dean speaks gospel truth "these aren't vampires.......they're douchebags". First cover is more interesting as it shows baby = epitome of innocence (unless you're Damian...) and with all that creapy setting and stuff hanging around (knives and scissors?) above the pram clearly not exactly a mundane average upbringing to be spoken about. Cover on the right......some Beeber (spelling? don't care, don't like then you know where to stick it...) haircut boy with Twilight book of mysterious (not much) i.e untanned douchebag.
People, if it ain't broke.................
*disclaimer: all my own opinion, sorry if offend, this is just a place to let me wind down and express myself to myself both in bad/good english and keep on record and blah blah, dun like then move on thank you pleash
