Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Twenty-One: Literary Fiction (Part 2)

“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 Cover Love on her blog One Page At A Time, and 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!

For the twenty-first edition of Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover I’ve decided to re-visit the Literary Fiction genre, one which I know admittedly very little about but have always been fascinated by, if for no other reason than the ingenuity and creativity of its covers, and today’s selection is no exception. I adore the vibrancy of colour, the simplicity of design and the heavy reliance on illustration as a design technique. The latter in particular is something I’ve always responded well to, and think it is utilized very smartly in this genre, particularly in examples such as Calling Invisible Women, which interprets the book’s subject matter in a clever and interesting way. Some of my favourite covers this week include Wet Apples, White Blood by Naomi Guttman, Perforated Heart by Eric Bogosian, The Nightingales of Troy by Alice Fulton, Where The Moon Isn’t by Nathan Filer and At the Bottom of Everything by Ben Dolnick.

Now it’s your turn! What are some of your favourite literary fiction covers? Did I list one of your favourites here or is there one I forgot that just has to be included? Let me know in the comments!

5 Responses

  1. Yay, you’re back! And what a beautiful post to come back to 🙂 If I saw any one of these novels on a shelf, I would totally pick them up. My eye has always been drawn to literary fiction covers. I especially like The Dead Wife’s Handbook. Very, very striking.
    Ginger @ GReads! recently posted…Open Road Summer by Emery LordMy Profile

  2. Okay, I legit SQUEALED when I saw A Fraction of the Whole! It’s such an underrated book and despite its length (my copy is 700+ pages!) I tore through it and have been pushing it on so many people for years now. There are a few different versions of the cover, but my favorites are the ones with the dots – I’ve never seen the dog one before, but I think I need it!! The best part? Those dots are actual holes. 🙂 Love it.
    Leah recently posted…stacking the shelves 3/8My Profile

  3. I love this post! I’m so excited that you’re back and this post is such a wonderful post to come back to. I love all these covers and I love how you sorted the covers by color scheme, as usual! Literary fiction covers are so pretty and I love how the sometimes designers read the book first and decide how to portray the novels based on what the book is.
    alice-jane recently posted…10 Random Facts About MeMy Profile

  4. I love these posts– they are always so pretty! My favorite of this bunch is The Nightingales of Troy– love the colors and the birds.

    I have been wondering if you can add links to the photos. Sometimes I want to find out more about a book and while I can type in a title to goodreads or amazon, clicking is simpler. Just curious.
    Elizabeth @ Don’t Take My Books Away recently posted…A Game of Thrones- George R.R. MartinMy Profile

  5. In the UK, Where the Moon Isn’t is published under The Shock of the Fall – I’ve read that and it is an incredible read! I really like the first cover your presented here for that novel, it depicts the story amazingly but in a subtle way.

    I really like all the colours in these covers, I think it’s the use of colour that captures my eye.

    🙂
    Jade @ Bits & Bobs recently posted…Susan Hill | The Mist in the MirrorMy 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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