The design of a book can greatly affect my reading enjoyment. I read to relax and books that have beautiful, oftentimes romantic cover designs help me relax. There is something comforting about viewing a cover that makes you want to read the book more than just the reviews or summary. I also enjoy looking through the additions to Covers, a website dedicated to book covers.
I've had a copy of Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy since 9th grade English class. The sole reason I could never depart with it was the cover. I only recently read the book but I've held onto the worn copy for years because the painting on the cover haunted me. The painting, by Francis Danby, is called "Disappointed Love". It made me want to read the book.
Sometimes I've been misled in purchasing a book because I liked the cover but was disappointed the writing. My most recent experience with this was Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter by Shoko Tendo. I liked the simplicity and statement the cover makes but I believe that the story has been lost in translation. I have already listed the reasons why I prefer hardcovers and I still stand by those reasons, especially bullet #3 in this case. I'll also admit that if a cover has painted tulips on it I'll usually buy it. I love tulips and since I can't have the real thing all year round in Idaho I like to be able to look at paintings of them.
3 comments:
I rarely even look at a cover, much to my shame, so I'm really interested to read about that web-site. I'm going over there now to have look. Thanks for the link.
I have a copy of Black Beauty that has the most beautiful cover. Despite the fact that it was a gift from my grandma, I'll never get rid of it because it's the nicest book in my collection!
Beautiful covers always make me want to hold onto a book forever.
Post a Comment