Best 12 Covers of 2012

Since everyone is doing these end of the year things, I figured I may as well. I am going to stretch it out for a couple of days because I don’t think I can do it all in one post. Today’s post is a look back at the books I have read (but which were not necessarily released in 2012) that, in my opinion, had some memorable covers. So, without further ado, let’s get on with this journey!

Confession: I bought this book simply because of its cover. I was lucky that the story inside was very intriguing as well.

I loved the story so much so the cover was just an added bonus. I can’t wait for Haskell’s new novel.

The gothic feel of the cover is pretty stunning.

This might be one of my favourite books of the year. The cover is absolutely gorgeous too.

At first, I felt that the cover was too stark. Too simple and needed to be embellished a little. Then I read the novel and the tone of the novel fits perfectly with the cover. So.

This makes me think of summer, warm days and the sun on my skin. All these things are missing rather conspicuously from my life right now.

I love, love, love this cover. Photographed in motion, she looks like she’s flying and the colours of her dress are so vivid. I don’t know if it’s Tinkerbell who narrates the story or Tiger Lily who is the protagonist but either ways, I love it. Oh and the book put my heart through a blender but I liked it like that.

Do I really need to explain why this made the list? I mean, really, just look at it!

The composition, the colours and the font come together to create a brilliant cover that matches the story inside. Lovely.

I dislike the novel intensely but it doesn’t stop me from appreciating the cover. Love the colours.

This works really well for me. I love the colours, the atmosphere and the composition. And it’s way better than the first cover.

I came across this graphic novel by chance in the library and immediately fell in love with the art inside. So gorgeous.

And that’s it, you guys! Stay tuned for more Top Number lists in the coming days.

Cover Luuuurrrrrve: The 2013 Edition

Pretty covers to pretty up your bookish life. Here are some of the prettier covers (in my opinion) that are going to grace the covers of the books due out next year.

I love this one. The silhouette, the red, the heart and the typography of the the title. Plus, I like Yovanoff’s writing so I’m sure the inside will be just as amazing.

I love the colours in this one. They suit the subject of the novel so perfectly. Plus it’s the girl who looks like she’s rescuing the boy or perhaps haunting him, either way, I’m a fan.

When you look at this book from a distance, all you see is the title and it looks rather cluttered. However, a closer looks reveals all sorts of interesting thing. The cliff, the water swirling dangerously, the two people either arguing or holding their hands on top of the cliff, the moon, the clouds, the pine and the atmosphere. It comes together really well. Plus I like how the word “Devil” is in red.  It gives the title a burst of colour and makes it pop out.

Isn’t this awesome? Like an old photograph, the ghostly being, the aviator (?) glasses, the expression on the model’s face and the antique chair, even the wallpaper at the back. It’s just kind of comes together with the typography of the title and the author’s name helping the cover make itself distinct from other covers.

I read Anne Nesbet’s debut novel and liked it so I was happy to see that there’s a new book by her due out next year. I really like this illustrated cover. Mostly for the colours.

The girl’s eyes are really blue, aren’t they? Especially with her orange hair peeking out. I like how the hair and the title match giving us a hint who this flame is.

These three are placed together because they kind of resemble each other. Somewhat. And they’re all beautiful. In their cloudly, wavey ways.

I find this cover so absolutely gorgeous. I hope the book is too.

Tell me you don’t think this is sweet. Seriously.

This is startling and new and I love it.

These are the covers I’m loving in 2013. Do you have a favourite?

Cover Lurrve: Strange Chemistry edition

Okay, so you may have heard of Strange Chemistry which is an imprint of Angry Robot. They publish fantasy YA novels and their covers are works of art. Seriously. Let’s take a look.

I love the colours and the silhouette of the city and the ship. The night sky and the Arabic calligraphy style. The font is awesome and matches the calligraphy-ish detail at the bottom and top of the cover. I would want to read this book from the cover alone.

I really do not have much to say about this other than: just look at it. The gorgeousness that is the cover. The colours, the composition. Ace.

And now, the early cover art for an upcoming title:

How incredibly mysterious and ethereal? The mask and the finger at her lips ensures that there is a tense feeling of expectation and anticipation even before the cover is cracked open. The book is called Pantomime, I believe. Keep an eye out for it.

Cover Lurve

It’s been a while since I did one but oh goodness, I saw some very, very pretty covers that I really need to share with you guys. So let’s get on with it!

I don’t know why I like this. I just do. It’s so freaking beautiful. I want it just for the cover. The purple! So purrrrtyyy!

The skewed perspective and the colours win me over. I’m a fan of colour, you guys. The brighter, the better!

It’s just a face, I know. But somehow the composition is unbelievably compelling (why won’t Randomhouse approve me for this book? I want to read it so!). I especially like how her eyes are veiled and the hair is messy.

This has an aged feel to it that I quite fancy. The butterflies? moths? coming out of her hair is also a nice touch.

I really, really like this one. It’s so quirky and out there. It speaks to me of beautiful summer days in a tropical country or rather a warm country and since the story is set in Spain…well, how apropos.

Eerie. Chilling. Utterly fantastic. Such a clever way of speaking about the duality of a character without explicitly saying anything. The contrast between the two pictures, the expression in the second one. I like it very much.

Cover Lurve

You’ve missed it. I know you have. So today, for your pleasure, I bring you some covers that caught my eyes on my perusal of various bookish sites.

I have no idea what the story is about but dude, the cover, it speaks to me. In blue. This is what I call a cover in motion. The model could go up or down (most probably down, thisisearth) but she’s in motion, she’s almost flying and her exuberance transcends the mediums and it SPEAKS to me. In blue, I say. Under the stars, on a beach. I need to find myself a dress like that and some stars and a decent beach (I live in Canada, we get neither) and do something like that. So purty.

This is “A Girl in a Pretty Dress looking Conflicted and Being a Mother Ship (or a Portal) to the Stars.” But jokes aside, I love this cover. It’s beautiful, it’s eye catching, it’s beautiful and well, if we all wear black dresses on starry nights, we will set off the splendor of the stars so much better. Plus, black is slimming, ya know? And after all that birthday cake I ate, I need it. :D

Dudes and Dudettes, I seriously hope this is the final cover because I’mma buy the book for the cover. The story sounds pretty darned sweet too but hot dang it. Look at the dress and the girl seems to be either fleeing or flying. Either ways, it works for me. It’s like a firefly, a girl firefly, zipping around. Tinkerbell in an orange dress. Yes, I love the dress.

Okay, so that’s it for cover lurve this week. For some reason, I haven’t been seeing any great covers. I mean, I see covers obviously, I just have been very meh about them. These three are the only ones that managed to elicit some sort of reaction from me.

Oh and could you do me a little, tiny favour? See that Facebook widget on the side bar? Could you “like” that? Pretty please? I mean, cuz obviously we all know that I am totally awesome but you could show me your lurve. *cheese*

Have a wonderful day.

Cover Lurve: The Hairy Edition revisited

So, let me do something a bit different today. Rather than looking at (and talking about) each cover individually, I shall present them to all of you and then talk about them as a whole because really, the differences between each other is minute enough that I can do that. Ready? Tie your hair up first. Hur.

See what I meant? I know all these covers are (mostly) different but the effect of the hair is about the same. Emotional, depressed, unspeakable. I think I like the first two the best. They give off the “out of control” vibe that speaks to me on a visceral level. I like the cover of Between the least because the way the hair is arranged seems contrived and not as though the heroine has reached a point where she is emotionally defeated to an extent that it manifests itself on a physical level.

Though, honestly? I am not a fan of these hairy covers. One might have been interesting but this many? Yeah, am over it.

Cover Lurve: Silhouetted

Cover Lurve is back after a week’s hiatus in cover quandary…and I make no sense. It’s okay. I’m justified. It’s finals times. Anyway, on to the purty covers of this week. I chose silhouettes because they are so interesting. They say quite a lot without actually saying anything explicitly. You know what I mean? No? Well okay.

I think the use of silhouettes in this cover successfully creates the feel of an ephemeral summer afternoon, invoking the carefree days of childhood without being too in your face about it. I like it.

How beautiful is this cover? I love how the title says “beautiful” and the cover gives you a darkened silhouette that doesn’t really tell you anything about the girl except what you may see in her that you may find beautiful. I feel that the cover understands that beauty is subjective and is respectful to that while giving us a girl who is essentially a blank space on whom we can project our own ideas of beauty.

Dude, look at that. It’s gorgeous. And that’s all I have to say about it.

This is another one of those fantastic covers that make brilliant use of colour. Clearly I’m a genius at finding covers. Hur. But look at it. It’s brilliant.

 

Cover Lurve: Face Off!

Today’s edition (yes, I’m a bit late but well… I don’t think anyone minds?) is about faces. I know some people hate faces as book covers but if done right, they can be stunning. Here are five I found that I particularly like.

Before you go running off to GR to find this book, let me break the sad news. It has only been published in German and so far, there are no English translations in site. Mores the pity. Because the cover? It’s kickass. Oh and guess what the book is about? Go on, guess. Yeah, I knew it wasn’t difficult. Hur. Anyway, this is such a beautiful cover. I don’t even know why it appeals to me as much as it does – maybe it’s the mood created by the colours, her closed eyes and the “tear.”

Her eyes have got to be one of the more interesting ones I’ve seen. The pale skin and the dark hair complement the piercing intensity of her eyes and go well with the title of the book.

I like this cover. It’s very clever. Well, for me at least. Here too, the eyes have prominence but then again, so does the hair which is a tawny colour. The colour of the hair led me to believe the book would be about shapeshifting and I was right! (I am a bit strange.) But the cover colours are so gorgeous, the green and the orange (well, you suggest a colour that matches her hair). I like it.

I love this cover. Love, love, love it. Doesn’t it give off a distinctly paranormal vibe? Don’t be fooled. The book is quite a serious one dealing with the war? Or some other contemporary issues. I don’t know. But anyway, I love how her face has become transparent and the side is now disappearing – it shows the protagonist’s transience and fragility. And the colours are gorgeous.

This is one of the more brilliant covers. I won’t say anything about the book (I have to review it) but I love how chilling the cover is. The colours used are cold and augur danger and the bare tree branches suggest winter and more cold. The model’s eyes look haunted (though that just might be having trees in her face, hur) but the trees also suggest a forest and more danger. All in all, very chilling, very apt.

And that’s it for this week. See you next week in the Cover Chronicles.

Cover Lurve: Illustrations Abound

Don’t you love awesome art on a cover? I do. And I’ve recently across some really gorgeous covers that make my eyes happy hey are alive. Covers, let me share them with you.

How gorgeous is this tree against the star studded sky? My heart, it fills with glee and I abound with nonsense and tears at 1 am in the morning. But it’s so beautiful that I want my own magic. My own wild magic. Hur.

Dude, that’s one ride I would totally ride. I love the colours and the sheer abandonment of the cover that perfectly portrays the halcyon days of childhood. Sigh.

My favourite part of this cover has to be the swirly puddle that the girl is stepping out of. The second favourite thing is her hair. How awesome is her hair? Just awesome. Plus the blue is kind and peaceful to my eyes.

Be honest, how many of you were struck with the worst kind of envy at that girl’s flying carpet? I know I had to keep silent for a good second because I got too green to think, let alone speak. But the cover is gorgeous. Night skies are my thing. And again, the blue is kind to the eyes.

This is my favourite cover and I am going to buy the book just so I have a copy of the cover on my shelf. Just…look at it.

I am not too fond of the face but I dig the way the water thing is refracted. I like the composition of the entire cover in its entirety. Plus, the colours are beautiful.

Cover Lurve: A Series of Splendor (Part 1 of Many)

I’m always very interested in how the covers of a series are related to each other so I looked some up and was suitably blown away. If you have any other suggestions for a great continuity in covers where the series is concerned, please feel free to inform me.

 

How awesome are these covers collectively? As far as I’m concerned, these books are strictly collector’s editions because individually, they don’t do much but when brought together, the effect is whoa. And how awesome is it that it starts from the legs and goes to the head suggesting a growing maturity that moves from the  physical into something deeper. Plus, the covers are just cool. Seriously cool.

Let me tell you a secret. I love these covers so much that even though I’m not as enamored with the stories, I’m getting the books just so I can look at the covers and hug them once in a while for the beauty. I love, love, love these covers. The colours, the rendering of the characters, the other worldly beauty of them. Love.

I seriously love these covers better than anything they have put out for this book. Simply because of the little details in the way the colours are kept to a minimum. I really like how the title colour matches that one other splurge of colour on the cover. It keeps things simple, elegant and understated. I need to get myself copies of these covers.

And that’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed this week’s splendiferous covers.