April TIOLI - Striking Cover Art

This thread has been set up to complement Challenge #1 of the April 2011 TIOLI Challenge (main thread) to Read a Book With Striking Cover Art.

Here’s what to do:
1. List your book on the wiki as usual.
2. Post the book title and author.
3. Post an image of your book cover on this thread.
4. Name the person who created the cover art. Add a link to more info about the jacket designer, if possible.
5. Tell why you like the cover art.

To learn how to post a book image, follow the directions on this thread. (Thanks, Tad!) (Addendum: I can't seem to get this link to work, but see message #58 below where I reposted TadAD's directions).

FYI: Do not post a book image a second time if you are "matching" a book. Feel free, however, to add comments about the cover art of your matching book.

----------------------------------------------------

Simpler (?) Directions for adding the graphic:
or "Yes, you can learn how to do this!"

Posting a graphic is not hard. Print out these directions and do it one step at a time.

Here is the code:
<IMG SRC="XXXXXXXXXX">

1. Go to the work page of the book.
2. Right click on the image.
3. Click on "properties".
4. Now see where it says Address (URL)? Copy that URL (Hint: begins with http://). You can copy and paste it, so just take it and subsitute it for the XXXXXXXXXX above.
5. That's it!

Septembers of Shiraz - Dalia Sofer

(image removed as I'll not be completing this book this month)

The jacket design for this book was done by Allison Saltzman.

Without even knowing what this book was about, I was immediately attracted to its cover. The dark bluish purple jumped out at me. It's been sitting at bedside of my lavendar walled bedroom for many months. It just looked pretty sitting there.

My guess is the blue door is related to the Muslim custom of painting doors blue to scare away the "Evil Eye". I'm also guessing that the coffee pot (Isn't it stunning?! I love copperware but hate to care for it!) has something to do with hospitality. I'm not sure why it's hanging on the door. Guess I'll have to read this book to find out. :)

Looking forward to seeing the cover art judged "striking" by other TIOLI challengers...

COMPLETED

Jacket by Cliff Nielsen

The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe

I won this book on Ranting Dragon and my mouth fell open when I opened up the package. One of the most striking covers I've seen in ages.

Edited to add the link, duh.

Oooh, what a perfect excuse to bump this to the top of my list:

King Rat - China Mieville



It's surreal, it's menacing, and it's a heartstopping red.

It's designed by Victoria Kuskowski.

> 3

One of the most striking covers I've seen in ages.

I think it's the purple-blue combination! ;)

*loves the color purple*

>4 swynn: Just to prove that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," that cover completely turns me off. I'd never be likely to pick it up.

The one and only time I ever chose a book for its cover occurred when I bought Brian Morton's Starting Out in the Evening.

Its cover just blew me away. Almost haunting looking. Taking a closer look at the actual cover, it looks like New York's Central Park on a snowy winter's evening at dusk (perhaps facing the Plaza Hotel).

The jacket photo is by Barry Marcus and the jacket design is by Megan Hill.

It's a nice cover but I won't be getting to it this month after all.

> 7

Who did the cover art for that book, Linda?

This is pretty opinionative, right?

I'm not at home so I don't have access to my copy. (I recently did some bookshelf reorganizing and this one might be momentarily misplaced.)

Is there an easy way to find out, without having the book in hand? I didn't see it anywhere on Amazon.

> 9

This is pretty opinionative, right?

It really is!

OK then!

> 10

I looked, Linda, and could not find it. A shame, isn't it, that it's so hard to find out who does a striking piece of cover art without book in hand?

SqueakyChu - thanks for the instructions about inserting images - very helpful. I'm away off to practice!

Norabelle has kindly offered to post the cover art for Venice: Pure City. When I get done with my work day, I'll go in quest of cover art info.

What I really loved about it was the flap thing on the outside -- the fact that the illustration (which is great & evocative) is right on the cover itself (no dust jacket) and the dust jacket is abbreviated, about 1/3 of the book's height. I've seen this done occasionally, and I always am intrigued by it -- it makes the book itself and not just the dust jacket more of a work of art.

My runner-up is The cottagers, a book I bought this weekend SOLELY because of the cover illustration. I figured at first glimpse that it was set in the islands off Vancouver, and sure enough... It's a perfect photograph that instantly conveys a sense of place -- and perhaps a sense of the novel?? Book design is by JAM Design -- no further info provided.

> 15

If you can't seem to make it work or you have questions, please ask.

This is for Suzanne (Chatterbox)!

COMPLETED

My submission will be a young adult title called Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson. The cover art was done by David Frankland. It drew my eye at the library because of the contrast of images...there was the recognizable sweet Cinderella Castle from Disney World, but in a dark, foreboding setting. I also liked the shadow figures in the foreground.

I have no faith in my ability to do this, but I'll give it a try:

IMG SRC="http://pics.librarything.com/picsizes/77/46/7746acde9919c3f5935787a5677434d414f4541.jpg"

It's so sad when our worst fears about ourselves are realized. OK, see what I did? What should I have done instead?

After the IMG should go a number, such as 150. After the SRC, should go a link. I right click on the cover photo on LT and then copy the Amazon link.

I'm no expert on this and have to look up the html tips everytime I have to do it.

I used a member uploaded cover, so I changed to the amazon cover, but I don't know what that number is that you mentioned. I'll try it again.

IMG SRC="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553280643.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"

looks to me like I did it right, I'll try it without the capitals
img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553280643.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"

that never works for me. I have to use the whole a ref thingie

What's the whole ref thingie? I am truly a dunce when it comes to doing anything but typing on a computer.

Joyce, put that whole shebang into pointed brackets.

<IMG SRC="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553280643.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg">

You have it RIGHT so far. You just haven't finished it!

Let me try this...

(img src="XXX" /) I replaced ( with brackets

> This is a pointed bracket.

Joyce: This is what needs to be posted:

<IMG SRC="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553280643.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg">

To all:

Grab a post and start practicing! If you do it wrong and you have no pictured graphic, do you think anyone will care? We will only to the extent that we want to help you figure out how to do it!

Have fun... You might even eventually get a picture! :D

I've choses The Splendor of Silence by Indu Sundaresan

COMPLETED

I love the bright pink ( I have a matching hot pink bookmark as well) and the woman's eyes are so compelling.

The cover was designed by Paul Dippolito.

> 30

Beautiful picture! I've never seen that book before. I would have been attracted to the bright pink color and that woman's eyes myself had I seen that book on a shelf of a bookstore.

The Game by A. S. Byatt COMPLETED



This is a composite of two images. This is the original painting



by Lucas Cranach

The snake is © Planet Earth Pictures.

There is just something about the juxtaposition of the two images that I find striking. The blurb on the back cover explains the connection of the novel with snakes but I'm not sure why the early Sixteenth century painting is used as the background. I'll have to read it to find out:)

edit - typo:)

Easier to understand code:

<SRC IMG="XXXXXXXXXX">

XXXXXXXXXX equals the URL you copy and paste from right clicking the work image on LT.

@6:

Yeah, it's definitely targeted at a particular demographic -- which apparently and cheerfully I fit.

I find it arresting, and for the cover's sake alone I pulled it from a remainder bin years ago before I'd ever heard the name "China Mieville." It wasn't until I read Mieville's gobsmacking "Perdido Street Station" last year that I was even tempted to read the contents.

Here's the cover art (photograph actually) for Pym by Mat Johnson. The photographer was Harald Sund and here is a profile about him:

http://www.westseattleherald.com/2009/09/27/features/personal-profile-harald-sun...

Pym is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's only novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket," so I'm planning on reading that first. What initially struck me about the cover was the typography of the title and then it was blues and whites of the iceberg at the top.

I definitely will pick up a book to get further information based on it's cover art. That's why when I shop in actual bookstores, I head to the tables first since you see the covers immediately. I hate browsing in the stacks where there are just spines showing -- I'm only going to the stacks if I have a specific book/author in mind.

> 35

That's why when I shop in actual bookstores, I head to the tables first since you see the covers immediately

I like to do that, too!

and I hardly ever look at covers. of course I buy ebooks, so they aren't as prominent.

I also think it's interesting to look at the cover art chosen for the UK version of a book versus the US version. As well as different editions of a book. Funny what catches different peoples' eyes.

I think it's the same sort of computer problem that chatterbox is having, so I'll try on another computer but this one is also in my house on the same network and has been worked on by the same people as the last one. So again, my hopes aren't high.

IMG SRC="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553280643.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"

Did you add the pointed brackets in front and back? If so, that is truly weird!

Joyce, see if this code will work for you. Just copy and paste it to test it from your computer.

<A HREF="http://www.librarything.com/work/57032"><IMG SRC="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553280643.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"></A>

Thank you majkia for posting my cover. Obviously there's something wrong with either my network connection or my computers.

The cover art by Gate to Women's Country is by Wilson McLeon in 1989. Strange it's by a man because this is a feminist science fiction/fantasy book written in the rather aggressively feminist 1980's. I'm a sucker for art that has an object in front of the moon, and the wooden gates with an engraved man and woman tell the story.

testing:

Joyce, it worked from my computer. Copy and paste the code from message 40 to see if it works on your computer.

Also try this code from your computer:

<IMG SRC="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553280643.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg">

See if none, either, or both work just by copying the codes I gave you.

Oh for crying out loud! As it happens, that's not even the book I'll be reading. I'm reading one fromt the same aggressively feminist era but maybe somewhat nicer to men. Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. I'm going to give it a try

IMG SRC="http://pics.librarything.com/picsizes/06/a8/06a88f59a85b414593857515367434d414f4541.jpg"

> 43

Tell me which cover is on your book, and let me post it for you. You add the comments.

Choices are: posted on this page.

It's the one with the square containing 6 women in the upper right hand corner. It's the picture on the main page.

I'll have to go to my daughter's one of these days and see if I can do it from her computer.

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy

.....COMPLETED

This is CitizenJoyce's selection. She will now proceed to tell you more about the cover art on her chosen book....

Take it away, Joyce!

:D

The cover of Woman on the Edge of Time, again on this feminist book was done in 1979 by a man, R. B. Kitaj (whose parents are Jewish and so is Marge Piercy, which has nothing to do with anything, but there you are). I like the cover because the bottom right woman is old and thinking about the others. Not a lot of old women on covers.

Thanks so much, Madeline.

You're welcome, Joyce.

THere were several images of the same book cover. I tried to pick the one that was the clearest.

I've also never been able to get an image into a post, but, I'll give it another try.



ETA -- didn't work. I always get a little blue question mark box or red x box. Does the fact that I don't have a mouse and therefore can't right click as in the instructions make any difference?

I have about given up on ever getting images into posts.

30 Days in Sydney by Peter Carey.

COMPLETED

I've always loved chiaroscuro in black-and-white photography (in this case it's kinda black-and-orange). The actual cover has considerably more contrast than the LT work page shows. I tried to find a clearer image, but to no avail.

The opera house and bridge are so universally known on sunny travel posters, jigsaw puzzles, etc. that I think this unusual and rather sinister nighttime view is exceptionally striking.

Martyn Rose is the photographer -- back soon with a link! ETA: www.rebeccavalentine.com/MartynRose

> 49

I can't answer your question because I don't know what code you're using to try to get the image to post. You cannot just cut and paste, if that's what you've been trying to do.

Which book are you trying to post? Let me know, and I'll post it for you.

# 51 Hi!
What I'm doing is :
{IMG SRC = URL of book copied and pasted from cover on work page} - replace the brackets with the pointed brackets

From the work page, when I click on the large picture of the cover on the left hand side of the page nothing happens. When I click on one of the smaller cover images on the right hand side of the page I get a URL that says some numbers and "cover image". That's the URL I'm copying and pasting into the above equation.

The book I'm trying to post is Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

edited because even my explanation came up a blue box

> 52

Does your code look like this?

<IMG SRC="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0061661295.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg">

Note: There still is only one space between SRC and IMG. It's just the way the code printed above.

If not, what is different between the code I posted above and the code you tried to use?

Did you include the quotation marks? If not, add them because they are important!

Is your URL the same? If not, you must get the URL from right-clicking on the image itself and copy the URL directly from the dialogue box you just opened.

Are you just clicking on the picture or "right-clicking"? In order to "right-click", you must press the right hand button on top of your mouse instead of the top left hand button.

If you don't use Internet Explorer, see message 58 below.

It's Beginning to Hurt by James Lasdun is a short story collection.

Jonathan D. Lippincott is credited as the "designer" of the cover art so I assume he did the artwork which is really quite beautiful. I googled him and did find this: Jonathan Lippincott is the design manager at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He has worked as a book designer for seventeen years, and lives in New York.

ETA I wish this image were as vibrant as the actual book cover which really pops out at you.

> 54

Wow, Bonnie! That *is* striking!

I know! Isn't it! Thanks for starting this this morning Madeline so that I had to pine for my shelves that were at home while I was at work;-)

Firedrake by Richard A. Knaak



I think it looks pretty cool or striking

This is a reprint from a message by TadAD:

To put a book cover (or any image) in your post

The format you want to type looks like the following.

<img width="XXX" src="YYY">

Replace "XXX" with the width, in pixels, that you want your image. This allows you to scale down big images that might, otherwise, really mess up the layout of a posts. It doesn't matter how big the image is really, that tag will cause it to scale. As an example, the cover above is set to width="150".

Replace "YYY" with the URL (address) of the image you want to use. You can get a cover image off of the book's page. If you use the ones from LT, they sometimes disappear. If you choose one from down in the Amazon section, those are stable. Select the image and:

- if you use Firefox, right click and select "Copy Image Location"
- if you use Chrome, right click and select "Copy Image URL"
- if you use Safari, right click and select "Copy Image Address"
- if you use IE, right click and select "Properties" then select the address field

The result will look something like:

<img width="150" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1558615105.01._SY190_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg">

------------------------

I have been giving instructions for Internet Explorer only. Note the differences above for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. See if that helps.

I use Safari. I've tried Tad's directions a few times and they haven't worked for me. Possibly because I don't have a mouse and therefore can't "right click" on anything.
Is anyone else using Safari on MacBook Pro?
If I have time Wednesday at work I may be able to try from there. A few of the computers have IE. Otherwise, I will continue to have one of the image-less threads on LT.
Thanks for all your help.

Posting for VioletBramble (Post #49, #52)



Please add your comments about this cover art, VioletBramble...

COMPLETED!

I've always liked the way the blue dress stands out against the sepia background of London. The only information about the cover is that it is a photograph of a London street copyrighted by Corbis.

Ahh, I forgot to put the cover copyright. I'll do that tomorrow.

Madeline, thank you so much for posting my cover. I am hopeless.

Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition By Campbell MGrath COMPLETED
cover art shown in post # 60.

This cover caught my eye while I was looking through the poetry shelves at my local, soon to be closed, Borders book store. I don't really care about the Lewis and Clark expedition but I love poetry and buffalo.
What I like about this cover:
1)Buffalo
2) the southwest imagery
3) the muted color palette

Cover design by Alison Forner
Skull image courtesy of The American Philosophical Society
Buffalo image courtesy of The New York Public Library
The back cover is beautiful as well, it shows an image from a Lewis and Clark Journal entry (courtesy of the Missouri Historical Museum) superimposed with the image of a moth (courtesy of The New York Public Library)
There is no mention of the original artists of these images.

The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed



Unfortunately there isn't any useful information about the cover photo, except to say that it comes from Getty Images. The novel is set in 1990s Kashmir, and I suspect the man in the photo is standing on the Line of Control that separates the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir from the Pakistani-controlled portion.

I like the natural beauty of Kashmir in this photograph, as the man stands on the border and contemplates (IMO) the effect of man's need for power and greed on this peaceful setting.

Yay! I finally did it.

The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor

The cover is a reproduction of the painting 'Primulas' by Audrey Johnson. I love the delicate flowers against the sky- it reminds me of spring.

COMPLETED

The Various Flavours of Coffee by Anthony Capella - :::::: COMPLETED ::::::



I loved the steam rising from the coffee cup, emphasized by the swirly words printed on the steam and the stylized floral flourishes on the sides of the picture. Then the elegance of the coffee cup with its elegantly detailed golden background. Just lovely!

DeltaQueen(@72) - I always knew you had great taste!

Added 4/20/2011: "Book design by Helene Berinsky" is all it says. A quick little web search shows a lot of books with that note, but I didn't find anything specifically about the artist. Interesting note: The cover I posted above shows "Flavours" while the one I got from the library says "Flavors".

Icefields by Thomas Wharton - :::::: COMPLETED ::::::



The monochromatic effect of the fields of ice, and their stark simplicity, even the simple title box and edge, drew me to this cover.

Will update artist info after I receive the book from the library. Added 4/20/2011: Alas, my library copy had a different cover, so I still have no further info on the artist of the cover I liked.

Socialism is Great: A Worker's Memoir of the New China by Lijia Zhang (2008)

COMPLETED

There is no credit for the cover design in my copy of this book. I've tried googling various links but have come up with nothing.
What makes the cover so striking is the vivid colour - in real life the woman's dress is RED not orange. That shining, smiling face is very endearing. And the lambs' wool is drawn in detail. This is a dustjacket for a hardback - the spine of the dustkacket is black (good contrast) and the hardback itself is red. I just love the whole thing.

> 65

Yay! I finally did it.

Hurray! I was beginning to thing that all of my tutorials had been in vain.

I am going to submit a second one.



Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo. Cover art is by Michael Storrings.

I like the perspective with the fields all pointing to the farmhouse on this cover. I also like the colors...the red farmhouse on the white fields, and the colors of the sky.

cover removed due to not completed

The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

What really intrigues me about this cover you can't tell from the picture. When I bought it I liked the font and the bright colors. The top half and the bottom half just looked like pretty designs. It wasn't until I saw a picture of the cover on LT that I could see the woman's head and arms in the top half. Even now when I look at the real book, I don't see her as easily as I do in a picture.

#66 - Countrylife - I was going to submit The Various Flavors of Coffee as well. I may join you in reading this if time permits as I've signed up for quite a few TIOLI reads already!

Note: This is Nancy 618's book which I entered for her.
COMPLETED!

>74 Donna828: My friend Donna was kind enough to "fix" my attempt to post a cover. (I just panicked and immediately deleted my first attempt, along with my message!) So, thanks, Donna! :)

My love of Tiffany lamps and stained glass in general, along with the superimposed black profile, made this cover a "striking" choice for me!

The jacket design and illustration was done by Shasti O'Leary Soudant.

My choice for this challenge is Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker.

I don't normally buy books because of the cover but I saw the first volume in this series in a bookshop and bought it because it looked so stunning. It's fully illustrated throughout by the author and the cover is also designed by him

COMPLETED

I especially like the fact that the title still says Abarat if you hold the book upside down. Very clever.

Would all of you like to vote on your favorite "striking" book covers at the end of the month? If so, I could take your secret votes by private message and post the results after the end of the month.

I thought that we could each cast votes for our top three favorite book covers the last week of this month. I could post the results after the month is over.

By the way, if you need help posting your book cover, do request help (Honest...I promise I won't try to teach you how to do it any more!) so that all of the books for this challenge will be posted before the last week of the month. We've got some really interesting ones so far.

COMPLETED

Book Design by Melissa Lotfy

I think it's incredibly dramatic! Sort of runic and mysterious..... What shows up as yellow in the picture is actually metallic gold. And now that I've read more, I realize that those aren't runes or cunieform; they're part of a labyrinth. (Duh)

ETA: I'm also reading CitizenJoyce's Woman on the Edge of Time this month (posts 46 & 47), so I've added it to the wiki, and I guess that's another cover I can't vote for.

#77 I was wondering if we can vote more than once??
It might be hard to get a clear majority if we only have one vote. We might all vote for our own covers. Could we have three votes???? And perhaps not be allowed to vote for our own cover???
And since that would make more work for Madeline, I could collate the votes.

> 80

Let's do it then!

My suggestion *was* for three book covers/votes. See message #77.

Okay, Amanda. You get to collate the votes. Why don't you pick the dates as well? We can send *you* secret ballots of our top three choices via private message. When the month is over and you total the results, just post them in this thread. This should be great fun!

I already have my three favroites picked out! However, I'm sure some more exceptional cover art will yet be posted.

I'm not sure about not voting for our own cover, although I can see your point. If you are going to run this vote, Amanda, *you* decide the answer to this, but I'll post a poll below anyway. Your choice rules!

Thanks Madeline!
The rules:
1. Only covers of books actually completed (read) by the end of April are eligible.
2. You must not vote for your own cover. (I just don't see the point.) See further discussion below.
3. You must vote for 3 covers.
4. All TIOLI participants are welcome to vote, even if you're not in this particular challenge.
5. Please leave your votes on my profile page.
6. Deadline is 28th April.
7. Hope that's all OK.

> 82

Sounds fine to me!

Can other TIOLI challengers vote as well, Amanda? By that, I mean those who are not participating in the "striking" book cover challenge?

> 82

You must not vote for your own cover. (I just don't see the point.)

The point is that we might like our own choice the best!

#84 Well. of course we'll like our own choice the best! So if each of us votes for our own cover.. oh, never mind. Rules are rules!!!!!

I think other TIOLI challengers should be able to vote. I shall edit the rules.

> 85

Rules are rules!!!!!

LOL!!

Be sure to tell the other TIOLI challengers about this competition on the main thread - both now and a reminder before to April 28th.

Thanks for doing this, Amanda!!

P.S. I still like my book cover art the best! :D

I voted "no" on voting for our own covers because I believe that we all would. (I would!) That would essentially leave us with two votes. This way we have three. :>)

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld COMPLETED



I tried, but I couldn't figure out who did the cover art. Maybe the book's illustrator, Keith Thompson?

It's got shiny cogs and wheels, what's not to like? :) I'm finding it hard to come up with specifics; I think I just have a visceral reaction to a cover that I have a tough time explaining why I like it or don't, why it strikes me or seems boring.

COMPLETED

Cover design by Tolkein

I know this one is a bit old-hat, but I think this was a great representation of the book by a nonprofessional.

(Update: I'm afraid updating the wiki is too scary for me, but thanks again for the instructions on inserting images)

COMPLETED

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede
I love the colors (or lack thereof) in this cover. It looks so classic and old, but I know it's about magic. Since there is a washed-out background and a purpleish-blue pot in the front, it's almost like the opposite of Madeline's striking cover in message 2.

>89 Athabasca: That was totally the first book I noticed when glancing at my shelves to find striking covers. It is so beautiful and appropriate.

Gosh, I don't think I'll make it to my candidate for this challenge this month, but I'm going to post it anyway, with the full expectation that I may have to LI, because it's such an obvious candidate.

Please excuse the large image, the incredible resolution is part of the appeal.



Bird Coloration by Geoffrey Hill COMPLETED

>92 lorax: Woah.

Double Woah

>92 lorax:, 93: Woah, indeed.



Regeneration by Pat Barker. COMPLETED
Cover design and illustration by Robert Clyde Anderson.

I like this abstract illustration, the colors, all the little details (e.g., skeletal hand on the shoulder), which I hope relate to the story and I am very excited to find out how.

> 89

...but, but, but...updating the wiki is easy! Anything you mess up we can easily fix. Go play on it now!

> 90

it's almost like the opposite of Madeline's striking cover in message 2.

Yeah! Pots make for striking cover art! :)

It's getting harder and harder to know which I'll vote for. More fun though.

This cover for Vile Bodies (and the matching one for Brideshead Revisited) is the primary thing that brought Evelyn Waugh to my attention.



It's such a cool cover that I kind of wanted to own the book just because of it! Who cares about reading when a cover is so neat?

But then when I went to order the book from BookDepository, this is the cover I received:



It's still interesting and weird, and possibly even more intriguing for the purposes of this challenge, but it's not the super neat illustration that first caught my attention...

Oh, well. I'm not sure about the other one, but my copy's photograph is by Vanessa Wagstaff.

I wasn't necessarily planning to read this book very soon (I still have several stories by Eliza Haywood I'm wanting to get through, and also I wanted to finish some languishing currently readings), but I'll try to do it soon for the sake of this challenge. :P

 

ETA: Susanne, I am completely astounded that Peter Ackroyd wrote a book about Venice and not London. I half expect you to report when you're done that it was actually about London after all.

So...now I'm thinking that, in order to make my book cover look increasingly "striking" to others, I need to enlarge its size.

Your thoughts, everyone?

(deleted content as I thought it's better not to hot-link)

101> You could upload the image to your LT Junk Drawer (or regular gallery). The problem with hotlinking is that you never know if the site admin will see the hotlink, get irritated, and change it to something NSFW. (I have a friend who does that regularly, though mostly only when the photo is of himself or a family member - which happens a lot more than I would have thought.)

>92 lorax:

I'm adding a triple (or is it a quadruple?) "Woah!" to the bird graphic and just want to reiterate what lorax said...which was "the incredible resolution is part of the appeal". Indeed. If we enlarge our pictures without tending to their resolution, they tend to lose some of their appeal. Just sayin'.

> 99

What a bummer that you didn't get the book cover you liked!

> 104

That was a good idea, keristars.

ETA: Hot link gone!

I've chosen three books for this challenge:

 :::::COMPLETED:::::

The cover for The Inventions of Hugo Cabret was designed by Brian Selznick and David Saylor. It's a graphic novel so the whole book is visually outstanding, and the cover is a good representation of the kind of treat the reader is in for.

 :::::COMPLETED:::::

The cover for The Rehearsal was designed by Kelly Hill. Images: banner: Ali Duzgun, Khamitsevich, Vitali, Vladimirovich; border: Vectorkat. All images courtesy of Shutterstock.

What's interesting about this version of the cover is that it's made to look like it's a notebook cover with cheap construction-type paper (it even looks like it's aged, with some discolouration). I just love that kind of attention to detail.

 :::::COMPLETED:::::

The Subtle Knife art imaging by Ericka Meltzer O'Rourke and title lettering by Lilly Lee. I wanted to purchase the Knopf editions of this series specifically because I fell in love with the covers of all three books in the trilogy. The lettering is embossed into gold foil. Really gorgeous.

Incidentally, I'm *kind of* obsessive about my book covers and will often scan, rescan and colour correct them just so that they look their best in my LT library. Of course, I *had* to do that here to show off these babies. Consequently, it's taken me roughly an hour to put together this post, which is typical whenever I include visuals. Nuts, I know. I didn't burn out for nothing! lol

Here's mine...

Yay, it worked! This is a proof copy so there doesn't seem to be any information about the cover illlustrator. I like it because I love this sort of monochrome (um, almost monochrome?) prints. Unfortunately the resolution of the image is not really good enough to see the detail.

> 105

...will often scan, rescan and colour correct them just so that they look their best in my LT library. Of course, I *had* to do that here to show off these babies. Consequently, it's taken me roughly an hour to put together this post

I much appreciate this, Ilana. Your visuals are terrific.

By the way, if anyone else wants to, it's a good idea to make your graphics as large as possible (within reason, of course). I normally would not want such huge graphics in our threads, but since details of art are important to this challenge, let's show them off to the extent that we can.

This is not meant, however, to say you must do this. For those averse to fooling around with images, let it be known that to you, image size is whatever your little hearts desire. :)

> 107

Yay, it worked!

Hooray for wandering_star!

I hope that, for at least a few of you, some of the tutorials have actually allowed you to learn how to post images.

Others may feel free to jump in here to give other tutorials on image posting (such as uploading to the LT junk drawer or using Flickr, etc.). I don't want to spend my own time overwhelming others too much. However, I think there must be a few of you here who can explain this process better (or at least more simply) than I can. So...take it away...if you feel so inclined.

Tutorial: CATALOGUING COVER ARTISTS ON LT

I've often felt that not enough attention has been given to artists and photographers who do book cover design. Perhaps you, like me, will later want to include this information with the books you catalogue here on LT. If so, this is what to do:

1. Go to the book's work page.
2. Click on "edit book".
3. Scroll down to "other authors".
4. Where it says "enter role", scroll down to "cover designer" or "cover artist" and select one of those options.
5. Type in that person's name (lastname, firstname).
6. Click on "save" (scroll up or down to the green button with the check mark inside).

Here's something very cool:

If you can't find a description of that person's role (for example, I wanted to list Lisl Dennis as jacket photographer), this is what to do.

1. Follow steps 1-3 from above.
2. Where it says "enter role", click on "other".
3. You will now find a "Prompt" window into which you type the role (ex. jacket photographer). If this window does not open automatically, you might have to click on a permission link (as it is a temporary pop-up).
4. Type the person's name (lastname, firstname).
5. Click on the green "save" button.

If you've enjoyed learning this, I was happy to indulge you in this tutorial! :D

106,107> I think I've seen that cover at http://causticovercritic.blogspot.com in the last few months. But of course, now I can't find it. There's a whole series of similar covers to that one somewhere, though, with two-tone printing and a cut-out/carved feel.

Incidentally, CCC is where I first saw the Evelyn Waugh covers that interested me so. If you like cover design, it's a cool blog to browse through. For example, here are some cool Fitzgerald covers that were supposed to come out last October and I love these Hesperus Brief Histories... (I'd gone back to April of 2010, so I pulled both examples from there - there are SO many cool things I could've linked to, though.)

 

HOW TO USE YOUR JUNK DRAWER

1. Go to your Member Gallery: http://www.librarything.com/gallery/member/MEMBERNAME

2. On the left, click "Add Another Picture" (Or "Add a Picture")

3. In the light box that appears, either click "Browse" to upload from your computer or copy/paste the http... link into the second field.

4. The drop-down box says "member gallery" - click on that and change it to "junk drawer"

5. If you want, add Title/Description - perhaps list the book's title and the cover artist or something. You can leave this blank. Same with Tags.

6. Click on "advanced options". In the Copyright Statement box, leave a link to where you found the image.

7. Click "Upload Image".

You will automatically be taken to the picture. Then you can right click (or if you are on an Apple computer, hold the apple key while clicking) to get the URL.

Don't forget!

- An image's address MUST start with http:// and end in .gif, .jpg, .png, or .bmp to display.

- If it is on your computer, you MUST upload it to the Internet for other people to see it.

Thanks for the tutorial, keristars.

By the way, that link has some absolutely *stunning* book cover art. Thanks for sharing that link as well.

I thought both tutorials were great, and I'll definitely follow up on both.

I tried to upload to my junk drawer a few times and couldn't figure it out. Didn't realize there was a drop-down menu. I consider myself relatively computer savvy and it was driving me nuts!

eta: I just checked out the CCC link to F. Scott Fitzgerald covers (beautiful of course) and wouldn't you know it, I have the last two from Vintage US, which I purchased a) for the stunning covers and b) to read them of course! :-)

COMPLETED

Disquiet by Julia Leigh
Cover Design: Jen Wang
Cover Photograph: Diana Mayfield/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images

I like the contrast between the somewhat flowery and ornate top image with the cold, creepy looking bottom image. Also (and I hope it comes out in the posted image), the slash of red across the middle is quite striking. I am also a sucker for black and blue color schemes...

Edited to try to enhance image

> 113

The junk drawer made me nuts last night. I was trying to edit it and could not for the life of me figure out how to do that. I'd done it before. Then, just by accident, I happened to click one on of the pictures. What happened? I found the edit button!!

The bottom line? You need to click on an individual picture in order to edit it (in the junk drawer or in your gallery). Nowhere does it tell you this. :(

 :::::COMPLETED:::::

I just now had to remove The Shadow of the Wind from the March wiki as couldn't hope to finish it tonight, although I'm 3/4 of the way through (so I'm glad it fits into THIS challenge). The cover is made to look like an antique bound volume. There are touches of gold foil which don't show here, but which greatly add to the overall look. The circle with the photo of a man is actually a die cut (keyhole) and the image is printed on the following page, which also features reviews. I rarely buy books in brick & mortar book stores as usually purchase them for much less online, but the cover of this one just grabbed me and I ended up dishing out a lot more than I should have for it. I'm glad I'm enjoying the story and already looking forward to reading it all over again; this one is a keeper for sure. Cover design by Paul Buckley.

Well, after another hour with my tech guru today, tackling this from IE, Chrome and Firefox, I'm still stymied in getting the art uploaded. So I'm hoping that some kind soul will post the cover art for The Killer of Little Shepherds, which will be my other book in this challenge.

What I find intriguing about this cover is the way that it tells me what it's about, the era it's set in, etc. without my even having to read the title or subtitle. There are three sepia print illustrations in old-fashioned boxes in the middle of the cover, featuring violent crimes, the the subtitle is set in the kind of typeface one might have seen in a handbill posted on the walls of a 19th century city. The whole is black, charcoal, etc - except for a creeping dark red stain on the left hand side. The only splash of color, it looks as if someone has spilled something on the book -- until you realize it's the designer's effort at introducing blood into the otherwise very careful and symmetrical book jacket. The color and the uneven shape reinforce the idea that violent crimes and murder disrupt society -- thus reminding us that this is a book about society's effort to contain the damage.

The jacket was designed by Jason Booker (great surname!) using contemporary 1897 illustrations from Le Journal Illustre, featuring drawings of the crimes written about in the book.

Interesting -- a book cover can put me off a book, but I rarely if ever buy a book just because of its cover.

Incidentally, what do people think of the new line of Penguin Classics, eg Wuthering Heights? They have fancy new "funky" cover illustrations, the flap fold paperback covers, a heavier weight of paper and the ragged edges that are becoming more common -- publishers seem to think it gives a sense of a book being classy.

117>

I don't have much of an opinion about the Penguin cover - I mean, the big publishing houses redo covers for steady-selling classics like that pretty much annually (or so it feels). But I kind of like the funky illustration style of the new one, if this is what you mean. It's a nice way to feature different designers and have things stand out on the shelf.

I don't really like this kind of new cover. It seems cartoonish to me. I would probably like the style for a more contemporary book, but it just seems off somehow in the case of classic literature.

They are recruiting different designers to tackle different books -- there's a Dumas cover that looks like a cartoon strip. I think it's creative -- it might draw people toward some of these books that wouldn't otherwise pick them up. I rather like the Ethan Frome cover in the series.

I found the Graphic Penguin Classics covers of The Three Musketeers and Ethan Frome that Suz mentioned:

I love that Three Musketeers cover!

I actually quite like the Ethan Frome cover. Guess I shouldn't automatically dismiss all of them!

if the cover in #2 isn't your cup of tea, how about the cover from my edition:

. COMPLETED

Day of the Assassins by Johnny O'Brien

Although no specific credit is given for the cover, it says the illustrations were done by Nick Hardcastle. His website is www.nickhardcastle.co.uk but there is no reference to this book.

I found the simplified graphic nature compelling, and if you look closely, there is a stylized silhouette of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at the start of WWI. It's a YA book, clearly aimed at boys, and I feel the art does a good job of catering to that audience, but in a subtle way (bullet holes in the book, the symbol of the Black Hand (the group responsible for the assassination), the gun pointing at the car, etc.).

I've got two books listed on this challenge, and I'll put the covers for both of them here.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (I'm not going to finish it this month--sorry!)

Cover design is by John Gall; the cover photograph is by Andreas Kuehn/Getty Images.

I find this cover striking in its simplicity. There are other covers on the work page, but this one conveys both innocence and sensuality.

COMPLETED

Jacket design was by Jaya Miceli; jacket photograph was by Jeff Bark; and image retouching by Tal Goretsky.

The image extends from the front to the back (I just noticed this!) and I find it even more incredible--the angel on the front cover has a chain around his ankle on the back cover! I'm sorry I can't show the back cover to you.

This cover immediately draws my attention to the fact that this is an angel, but maybe not a heavenly angel; this angel is in trouble.

Another few books that I am going to try and read for this challenge:

I'm going to join Citizenjoyce and LizzieD in reading Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy but my book cover is different:



It's not easy to see on screen but the cover is a lovely batik painting by Jane Downer showing a woman in the bottom left hand corner.

Other books I've chosen for their cover art are:

Silk by Alessandro Baricco

COMPLETED

I love the turquoise-blue of the skirt and I can almost hear the silk fabric 'swishing' as she walks. All I can find about the cover is that it's copyrighted by Getty images who provide stock photographs.

The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff



This is a 1960s hardback which I picked up second hand. I love the colours in the cover and the sense of movement it gives. I can't find any information about the cover artist but Charles Keeping did the illustrations for most of Sutcliff's books (including this one) and I think it matches his style.

1636: The Saxon Uprising by Eric Flint


Name of Person who created the cover art - TBD
Why I like: I like the combination of old world and new.

Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties by Lucy Moore COMPLETED



Cover design: Ghost
Cover image: Getty

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa COMPLETED


Cover design by Philip Earl Pascuzzo

I'm loving this challenge - I pick books by their covers all the time, and usually I am not disappointed. Since I attend a lot of publishing trade shows for work, I get access to lots of galleys. Unlike some, I don't just pick them all up. I'll look at each, and the art - even if it's not the final - will either attract me or deter me from a book.

. COMPLETED

The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead by elworkpaul::Paul Elwork

Like Disquiet in 114 above, I like creepy architectural images. This book seemed to indicate gothic, but it's actually set in the 20's, but still deals with ghosts/mediums.

I'm not sure if the final artwork will stay the same, but for now (which includes my copy), this cover has been designed by Meighan Cavanaugh.

Heather, your cover for Woman on the Edge of Time is much more visually appealing than mine. Thanks for posting it. I also loved the gray one with the two women, but again, I can't post pictures. You can't judge a book by it's cover, but the cover can entice you into giving it a try.

I really like the cover art for Sarcelles Dakar by Insa Sané. There is no individual credited with the jacket design but I liked it because it captured the grittiness of the novel and the way that the character is constantly in motion throughout the novel between France and Senegal.

COMPLETED

I like contrasting colors of the blues, magenta, and pink which make the white roses pop out. The illusion of depth by laying the roses on top of the illustration really pulls your eye in. I also like that the title is on one of the old round typewriter letter keys.

The jacket design and illustration are by Kelly Blair. Raised in Baltimore, she now lives in Brooklyn. She used to be the art director at Little Brown, but is now an independent. You can see more of her work at http://www.kellyblair.com/#/bio/0/

Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay

It's eyecatching and, well, colorful. The photo is attributed to Bernhard Schmid, but I haven't come across what it's a photo of yet.

Do you need me to post your graphic image, antqueen?

COMPLETED

Plum Gorgeous by Romney Steele
Photographer is Sara Remington. She has her own web page: http://www.sararemington.net/.
Why do I like it? I love the contrast of the open fruit, the whole fruit, and the rest of the cover. They are in the same palette, but the contrast is still there.

>137 thornton37814: My mouth is watering!

There are some seriously gorgeous covers on this thread. Gotta love it!

Love this challenge Madeline!
I come in here every day to look at the covers and try to decide which covers I will vote for. Very difficult but also fun.

As more people post pictures of their most striking book cover, I'm having a harder and harder time deciding which ones I like the best. Looking forward to the voting week, Amanda!

****I have edited The Rules to say that you must finish reading your book by the end of April for your cover to be eleigible.

>136 SqueakyChu: Sorry? Can you not see it?

> 142

Good rule...which will probably leave my book out. We'll see how life gets in the way. :)

This is going to be one hard vote. I have at least eight covers that I absolutely love, all for different reasons. I don't know how I am going to narrow it down to three!

If there's anyone doing this challenge who has not yet posted the cover art for your book, let me know so I can post it for you. You add the comments, though! :D

Madeline, I've just added the book Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge. Would you please add the cover for me? It's the white one with a woman's face with another woman's face coming out of a door in her forehead. The book is feminist science fiction about a woman sentenced to solitairy confinement inside her head. The cover art is designed by Amy Halperin with an illustration by Bruce Jensen that perfectly exemplifies what the book is about.

> 149

Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge
posted for CitizenJoyce

.....COMPLETED

146> How strange that you can't see antqueen's "COLOR" cover here - I've been seeing it just fine all along!

That's the one. Thanks so much, Madeline. It looks kind of creepy, doesn't it?

> 151

The graphic shows up on Firefox but not on Internet Explorer. It is double posted on Firefox now, but everyone (no matter which browser is being used) will be able to see it without clicking a link.

> 152

Yep. It sure is creepy-looking!

. COMPLETED

The Calder Game by Blue Balliett

The cover art and all of the illustrations for this book are done by Brett Helquist, but there is a note that the "Jacket Design" was done by Marijka Kostiw. So I'm not sure what that means - maybe she designed the fonts for the text on the inside flap, etc. because the artwork on the front is clearly the same illustrator as the rest of the series - Helquist.

On top of the neat design, I also like the idea of this series which is to introduce art to kids. My daughter and I just saw the BMW Art Car exhibit at the BMW Museum in Munich, and Alexander Calder did one of those cars.

This book, There are No Accidents: Synchronicity and the Stories of Our Lives by Robert C. Hopcke, was one I didn't intend to add to the TIOLI challenges, but, after finishing it, decided that it had a decidedly striking design on its cover. I got it through BookMooch and had to read it right away because the subject of the book, synchronicity, is one I've always found fascinating.

Now, without further ado, here is the book cover...

..........COMPLETED

I'm a bit confused because the attribution says book design by Ralph L. Fowler, cover design by Isabella Fasciano, and cover illustration by Rafal Olbinski/SIS. I'm guessing that the picture above was done by Rafal Obinski, but I don't know what "SIS" is. I'll let you know if I find out anything more specific to the cover art of my book.

I found this website with other surreal works by Rafal Obinski. Weird! ...but I love things surreal!!

142>

I'd assumed from the beginning that that would be the rule!

> 156

Phew! Well, I at least finished one of my books! :)

#156 Just being thorough, lorax. As a former school teacher I can tell you these kids will try to get away with anything!

 :::::COMPLETED:::::

I just started reading Apollo's Angels : A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans yesterday. I'd been wanting to get it since I read an excerpt in the NY Times Book Review, and was finally able to borrow it from the library. I've always been fascinated with ballet for the elegance and grace it represents and learning about it's history and historical context is right up my alley. The book is so well researched and filled with fascinating historical references that I may end up purchasing it and keeping it for further investigation.

Jacket design: Anna Bauer
Photograph: George Platt Lynes, Diana Adams in "La Valse," 1951, printed ca. 1953, gelatin silver print, © Estate George Platt Lynes (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York/Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1968/© The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource, N.Y.)

COMPLETED

It's F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night.

I saw this cover in my "1001 Books to read before you die" and had to get the book for my Kindle - immediately. So I don't own the edition with the cover, just the boring cover-less Kindle version, but the picture made me buy the book without even looking at the story, I hope that counts.

It's the cover of the first edition, which is now sold for 25.000 USD and more.
The artist was Edward Stenton.

It's the picture of an idyllic Mediterranean landscape and it perfectly captures the atmosphere of a hot and lazy summer day, which seems to fit very well with what I read so far of the story.

And I finally found out how to right-click on a Mac. Its ctrl+'normal' mouse-click.

#153: Ah. I'd flubbed the width attribute on the img tag. Apparently Firefox ignores one it doesn't recognize but IE just doesn't show the image at all. Fixed now.

> 160

the picture made me buy the book without even looking at the story, I hope that counts.

That sounds good enough to me!

> 162

Should I delete the image in #146 - which is the larger of the two images?

Hilary Spurling, Burying the Bones has been issued with several different titles and cover pictures. Mine is the new Vintage paperback edition published in the UK>

The design is by Peter Dyer using a photo from Gettyimages, I like the shades of blue and the landscape. I also think it's a good cover for the book because it shows both the woman and a landscape of her beloved China - and although it's not by a Chinese artist, I think it shows Chinese artistic influences.

Red Lightning by John Varley

I rather like space covers, and this one has two planets, spaceship, lightning in space. Need to remember to get teh image/cover creators/designers at some point.

163> If you like. I made mine bigger.

PS: I'm working on an iPad at the moment; for whatever reason, I can't get the image of my cover on here. Can someone help, please? It's The Riddle Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip, the blue cover with mountains in the background, and a horned animal watching two mounted people in the foreground. Thanks!

(Edited to remove my failed attempts, since calm has kindly found it for me)(ETS, would that be?)

Hope this does it humouress:)

Oh, thank you calm. That's the one. Next time, I'll try using the laptop (my favourite genre - fantasy - really suits this challenge).

It was printed (I think) in 1986, which was about when I started reading fantasy in earnest. Quite a few fantasy covers in my local library at the time used that pastel kind of look, with a lot of peaches and lavendar shades. I fell in love with "The Riddle Master of Hed Trilogy", so when I decided to add it to my personal library, I searched for that cover. (Would you believe I paid all of £1 for it!). I can't remember what originally attracted me to the cover, but seeing it (and others from the same era) sends a thrill through me that takes me back to that magical time.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any information on the artist. Inside the book, there is a map by Kathy McKillip, and an illustration initialed 'DS', but I don't know if there's any connection.

Ahh - I can do it on a PC. More later ...

Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt.
Jacket Illustration by Tony Mauro

I've read most of McDevitt's books, but this one didn't seem to be one I wanted to read, and in fact I put it off for a while. Then I saw the cover at the store and figured I'd read it. Drew me in, it did. An hourglass exploding in a clock with fate resemblance to an eye.

Eep. Hope this works.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris



I picked up this as an audiobook at the library and immediate thought of the cover art challenge. I think the skeleton is certainly striking enough. As for whether people think it's engrossing or merely gross, I'll leave that up to them.

Sedaris did come up with the best stop smoking regime ever. Well, I don't think I'd want to spend a month in Japan now, but at the time it sounded great.

172: I think it's very striking! Good pick for this challenge (but then I've been saying that about most of the entries).

What a clever idea for a TIOLI challenge!

Karen O.

I'm adding another book to this challenge. Affinity by Sarah Waters - cover photography by Jeff Cottenden.

COMPLETED



I'm not sure if it comes through in the picture but I love the quality of light within the dark border. The mourning locket is intriguing and the embroidery on the fabric beneath pops out at you in real life. A great combination of textures and colours.

>175 calm: not to mention Affinity is a wonderful story; it's my second favorite of Sarah Waters books.

An FYI about the voting:

Please remember to send your votes to amandameale and not to me! Keep the votes private (i.e. check the private option on the messaging box).

Wait, we're voting already? I thought we were waiting until the end of the month, so that people could actually finish their books and we knew which covers were eligible!

(Finished mine. Will update wiki.)

amandameale, maybe a nice public post on your profile would be helpful to us voters, to remind us of what the rules are, so we don't have to go hunting through the threads trying to figure things out. This is such a fun challenge and I love the voting idea, but don't want to do anything wrong whilst exercising my vote!

I added COMPLETED next to each of my images above to indicate they qualify for the "competition". I don't want to have to jump back and forth between this and the main TIOLI summary just to figure out which qualify - and I don't want to vote for something that doesn't qualify (i.e. if the person didn't finish reading it).

Does that make sense? Will it make it easier on everyone? We only have until next Thursday to vote

I think adding completed next to your cover picture is an excellent idea, people can than scroll this thread, look at the covers that are marked COMPLETED and make their decision on which to vote for.

I've marked my cover with COMPLETED.

I've added "COMPLETED" to the book that I've finished.

Karen O.

I have completed Disquiet and marked it as such on my original entry.

ETA: fixing touchstone.

I have a question about the voting. Can I vote for a book that someone else posted as their cover choice even though I read it and posted on the Wiki as well?

#178 You don't have to vote yet. Some people have already decided on their favourites and have voted.

#179 All you have to remember is to vote for three books.

#180-181 I'm keeping an eye on the Wiki so don't worry about going back and forth. If someone votes for a book which isn't eligible I will let them know.

#184 I think if you are not the person who chose the cover then you can vote for the cover.

P.S. The votes I've had so far have no duplications! No-one has received more than one vote. Very interesting. Looks like anyone could win.

I've marked all my covers with :::::COMPLETED:::::

I have completed the book in message #60 but because I'm not the person who posted the image (safari issues) I can't mark it as complete in the message. I did mark it as complete on the wiki.

I'm in the middle of both of my books, and I could finish either one of them, or both, or neither, by the end of the month. I will mark them as soon as I know, though.

Darn, two of my three favorites aren't even marked '''''Reading''''' on the wiki yet (~ 1 week to go).

Oh, well -- I picked three alternates just in case and I made sure they're all '''COMPLETED'''!

185>

You missed my point, I'm afraid; what are the people who have already voted going to do if one of their choices turns out to be ineligible?

Madeline, I finished both Woman on the Edte of Time and Solitaire, but since you were nice enough to post the covers, I can't alter them to mark them completed. Would you do me yet another favor and show they're completed?

#190
No, I understood. If that happens I will let the voter know and they can submit another vote. (I'm printing out the votes and keeping them just in case.)

UPDATE: Three more votes for another three entirely different books!!!!!!! I wouldn't take a bet on this competition!

I guess all the variety in the votes shows that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

#193 You can say that again Judy!

#193 It's so true. I can see that from the covers I'm considering myself. That is, I know that someone else might not be drawn to the same cover as me.

I'm loving collecting the votes!!!!!!

> 191

Done!

Thanks, Madeline.

You're welcome, Joyce.

Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter

Jacket art by Sam Weber

Here's a link to the actual painting:
http://sampaints.com/2009/10/prospero-lost/

There is such a lovely, lonely bleakness to the character, Miranda, that fits her perfectly.

#199 Thanks so much for the link to Sam Weber's site... so inspiring!

Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen



I love that this cover first looked abstract to me, but really depicts many of the animals of Africa. The colours are primarily yellow and green: sun and vegetation.

I just COMPLETED Mike Briggs's Time Travelers Never Die (post 171), so I'll go add my name to his on the wiki. I don't know whether he's read it or not.

SqueakyChu mused when she posted her challenge on the main thread, The question remains…can you judge a book by its cover? Let’s go find out!

My findings were 50/50. I posted two covers. The Various Flavours of Coffee was my favorite cover, but a worthless book. Icefields had a great cover, and a great story to go with.

What have you all found? Did the story match the strikingness of it's cover?

I read two books for this challenge.

I loved Affinity - stunning cover and stunning book.

The Game was slightly different, it was the first cover that jumped out at me as I went through my TBR for this challenge but I was slightly disappointed with the story. Not a complete waste of time though.

I read just one book for this challenge. I picked Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition off the shelf just because I liked the cover. I had no interest in the Lewis and Clark expedition. But, this poem, that tells the story of how George Shannon, the youngest member of the expedition was lost for 16 days in the Nebraska and South Dakota Territories, was inventive, fun, sad and informative. I'm so glad I read this book. I gave it 4.5 stars. I may actually read another book about the Lewis and Clark expedition.

I read two books for this challenge. The cover I posted was The Splendor of Silence and it was ok but, for me, not up to this author's usual standard. Then I read The Various Flavors of Coffee, a cover which really caught my eye when Countrylife posted it. Unfortunately I agree with her assessment of the book. So I didn't do too well on the reading side, but I cleared my shelves of a couple of books!

I read The hobbit and Silk for this challenge. I found The hobbit disappointing - it only came alive for me in the last few chapters. However, it was interesting to read as a precursor to LOTR. So great cover, not so great book.
I found Silk much more engaging. A lovely cover and a cracking wee story that I think I will come back to many times in the future. Great book, great cover.

ETA ; trying to fix touchstones

This is a little book with very simple cover art - but I like how bold it is:



ETA: I struggled to find out who designed this, but it's listed in very small print on the back of the book as "gray318". Hmph. I'll try to pick one with an actual painting next time ;o)

I read 2 books for this challenge: Woman on the Edge of Time had a very appropriate cover for an insightful book. A rather plain ethnic looking woman is looking on at other women seeming to enjoy their lives. This was poor Connie to a T. The other book I read Solitaire has a more striking cover to go along with a more modernistic corporate intrigue centered science fiction book. So, both covers were equal to good books.

I enjoyed Socialism is Great: A Worker's Memoir of the New China. Interesting to read about China and the foundations of capitalism. Lots of references, contemporary, old and ancient to Chinese culture. My cover was either a real propaganda poster or a mock-up of one so the cover and the content matched up pretty well.

COMPETITION UPDATE
Only two/three days to go and there are two frontrunners, each quite different in style.
There are four covers currently competing for 3rd place, but with more votes everything could change.

Of the 5 books I listed; The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Rehearsal, The Subtle Knife, The Shadow of the Wind and Apollo's Angels, all have ended up being excellent reads, with only The Rehearsal not really doing anything for me.

I just finished Vile Bodies and I daresay I think I might prefer the cover I received than the one that initially caught my attention! (The quality, though, leaves a bit to be desired - that's what you get with Penguin Modern Classics, though, I suppose.)

As a reminder, it's this cover here:


Though I still like the design of the other cover, this one fits so very well with the content of the book, particularly the rather glum expressions on everyone's face. The ennui practically seeps from some of the characters. The only thing that would make the cover more appropriate is towering glasses of champagne, I'm sure.

where is the voting for the cover art?

> 213

Send a private message to amandameale with your top three choices. She is doing the tabulation secretly and then will anounce the winner.

I've removed The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed from the wiki, as I wasn't able to finish it last night.

Second place goes to lorax for:

Equal third place to Nancy618 for:

Equal third place to antqueen for:

Equal fourth place:

Icefields
The Blind Contessa's New Machine
Apollo's Angels

Equal fifth place:
There are No Accidents
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Plum Gorgeous
Tender is the Night
It's Beginning to Hurt
Sarcelles Dakar
Prospero Lost

Congratulations to all the winners. I loved this challenge. It was fun seeing the variety of cover art.

Thank you, Amanda, for all your hard work in tabulating results.

Thanks, Amanda!! :-)

Thanks for your work on this, Amanda.

I enjoyed seeing the results of our voting so much. From now on, even though the contest is over, I'll probably still be seeing books that would have made a good entry.

Congratulations to all the winners!

This was such a fun challenge, very inventive. Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to Amanda for putting all the results together.

This was a fun challnege. Congrats to the winners, great book covers.

This was a really fun challenge. I love challenges were we are prompted to post cover art, as I've always been one to choose books for content AND cover. When purchasing a book, I almost always choose the edition with the most appealing cover, even it costs a couple of dollars more. I figure the expense is worth it since it makes my reading experience that much more enjoyable and makes for something pretty to look at while the book is sitting on my coffee table or bed stand.

Thanks to those who voted for Apollo's Angels. 4th place is nothing to sneeze at! I finally published my review for it after nearly a week of daily work and editing. Don't know if the effort was worth it for just a review (couldn't I put that effort toward writing my own book?), but in any case, I hope at least a few people will have a glance at it! lol

As an aside, I think The Various Flavours of Coffee truly deserves 1st place for the visual aspect—and I say that as a graphic designer and art director—but have to say that hearing the book wasn't that great influenced my decision and I didn't vote for it for that reason. After all, true beauty must come form within! :-)

This was a terrific challenge! It was interesting to try to judge a book by its cover.

Karen O.

Good review, Ilana. It was worth the effort.

#228 Thank you so much, seeing your comment made me smile inside and out. :-)

#226 One of my votes went to Apollo's Angels!

It was interesting compiling the votes and seeing what appealed to different people. In the end, I think, the top covers were definitely striking.

Yay! The cover I posted for the Striking Cover Art TIOLI last month was the winner in the voting contest! And even more yay-ness: a new book was the prize! I decided to choose one from the actual TIOLI entries, and my prize came in the mail Friday: The Dress Lodger. Thank you to Squeaky for the challenge, and to Amanda for the voting contest, and for purchasing the prize book. I'm really looking forward to reading it, and hoping to fit it into a TIOLI next month!

(Cross-posted to the May Take It Or Leave It main thread, since I'm not sure that many people read these once the month closes.)

Congratulations, country life...and a great big thank you to Amanda for sponsoring the contest with such a nice prize!