Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Forty-Four: Profiles In Silhouette

“Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover” is a regular feature on Pop! Goes The Reader in which I pay tribute to some of the best and brightest the publishing world has to offer in the way of book cover design. This feature is inspired by Katie’s feature Cover Love on her blog One Page At A Time. The idea is being used with her gracious permission.

I think we’re all familiar with the age-old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. And you know what I have to say about that? Rubbish! Covers are an invaluable part of a book’s package. A truly great cover can tell you a lot about the novel contained within its pages. Book covers can also catch your attention and attract you to a novel you might otherwise ignore. So go ahead, judge a book by its cover – We all do it!

It’s with a great deal of excitement (and a little trepidation) that I announce that I’ve decided to do a little something different with today’s edition of Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover. As regular readers are likely aware, I usually organize and examine the covers I share by genre. Unfortunately, with a finite of books released each month, and the number of well-designed covers even more limited, this isn’t a feature that is always easy to sustain over the long term. So, rather than focus on any one particular genre, today I’ve decided to take a look at one of my favourite cover design trends: Profiles In Silhouette. Some of my favourite covers this week include Little Bee by Chris Cleave, The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, He Said, She Said by Kwame Alexander, The Golden Road by Caille Millner, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman, The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu, Jane Austen Cover To Cover by Margaret C. Sullivan and The Healing by Jonathan Odell.

One Day by David Nicholls ● The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand ● Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley ● The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende ● Little Bee by Chris Cleave

In Darkness by Nick Lake ● He Said, She Said by Kwame Alexander ● The Golden Road by Caille Millner

The Age Of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker ● The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman ● The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu ● A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Susannah Carson ● The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

And Nothing But The Truth by Kit Pearson ● Jane Austen Cover To Cover by Margaret C. Sullivan ● A Teaspoon Of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri

A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee ● Havisham by Ronald Frame ● The Hairdresser Of Harare by Tendai Huchu

The Healing by Jonathan Odell ● The Defiant by Lisa M. Stasse ● The House Girl by Tara Conklin

So, what do you think about the twist on today’s feature? Is there a particular cover trend that you would like to see highlighted in a future edition? Let me know in the comments – I would love to hear from you!

15 Responses

  1. ♥ The House Girl ♥! It’s definitely one of my all-time favorites (READ IT! if you haven’t already) and for the holidays, Estelle sent me a handmade card inspired by the cover!

    The Age of Miracles is also a PHENOMENAL book. Although I prefer the original cover, I think this one is more practical – the original has little holes punched into it and they snag on things really easily. 🙁

    Lovely, lovely picks for this one, Jen!
    Leah recently posted…weekly wrap-up 2/22My Profile

    1. That card is absolutely gorgeous! I’ve been lucky enough to receive two handmade cards from Estelle and I never fail to be amazed by her talent. She always manages to capture the essence of the covers so beautifully! And I’ll definitely be adding The House Girl to my to-be-read list. Any recommendation from you is an automatic buy!
      Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader recently posted…Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Forty-Four: Profiles In SilhouetteMy Profile

    1. Agreed – It’s so hard to choose between the two Little Bee covers because they’re so interesting (and so different) in their own right. I particularly like that the first cover has a miniature silhouette inside the larger silhouette. (See: Where the eye would ordinarily be) It’s so clever! Cleave definitely lucked out in the design department.
      Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader recently posted…Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Forty-Four: Profiles In SilhouetteMy Profile

  2. Oh gosh all these covers are so pretty. I could stare at this post forever. I do really love that UK cover of Lies We Tell Ourselves. <3 I haven't read any of the other books yet but I'm really looking forward to reading The Last Time We Say Goodbye! I can't decide whether I like this silhouette cover more or the other one with the sticky note on the mirror. They're both so pretty.

    I really like both covers of Little Bee, although maybe I prefer the one in the second row a little more! It's just so striking.
    Cynthia @ Afterwritten recently posted…2015 Book Blogger Love-a-Thon: High FiveMy Profile

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed looking at it, Cynthia! I completely agree re: The Last Time We Say Goodbye. I always find it so fascinating to compare U.S. versus U.K. cover design. Often times the interpretations are so wildly different but they both achieve such lovely results! In this case, I think I prefer the U.S. cover a little more as I think the teal colour used in the background is especially striking.
      Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader recently posted…Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Forty-Four: Profiles In SilhouetteMy Profile

  3. I love what you did here! It’s fun to see a theme and how it’s spread across genres. I never realized the eye in Little Bee is also a silhouette and I’ve seen that cover more times than I can count! (Excellent attention to detail, me.) And obviously I love seeing the Jane Austen silhouette reused creatively. A few years ago I blended photos from the different adaptations into her silhouette (because I’m a big old fangirl) and I’ve always wanted to print it out and stick it on my bookshelf or something, haha.
    Casee Marie recently posted…Notable New Releases: March 2015My Profile

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Hi! I’m Jen! I’m a thirty-something introvert who loves nothing more than the cozy comfort of home and snuggling my two rescue cats, Pepper and Pancakes. I also enjoy running, jigsaw puzzles, baking and everything Disney. Few things bring me more joy than helping a reader find the right book for them!

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