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Weekly Geeks 2009-05: Judging Books by Covers

I had every intention of doing WG last week which was all about our passions other than books and blogging. You know what they say about intentions. Anyway, I think I got those mostly covered in other posts this week, between the interview and the letter E.

This week Becky asked us to "Pick a book--any book, really--and search out multiple book cover images for that book. They could span a decade or two (or more)...Or they could span several countries. Which cover is your favorite? Which one is your least favorite? Which one best 'captures' what the book is about?"

I picked The Secret Life of Bees. I was amazed at how many different covers were published for a book that's less than ten years old. Of course, many of them are in different languages, but somehow I don't expect there to be such a variety. Here's a sample:

**I have no idea why the table starts way down the page. Think of it as anticipation. Wait for it....





















1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

13


I'd have to go with #3, because that's the one I read and I'm most familiar with. And there's a simplicity to it that I love. Cover #12 is cute, but it seems like they're trying to tell the story on the cover with pictures, and it's a bit too much. I'm not particularly fond of book covers that try to render a picture of the characters; I find I like to imagine them myself.

And I'm really not fond of book covers with movie tie-ins. Though I've heard good things about this movie, it's not the same as the book EVER. I feel like I'm buying an advertisement for the movie whenever I acquire one of those and I resent that. If given a choice, I always pick the one that is NOT the movie stars on the cover.

See what other Weekly Geeks came up with. Thanks Becky for a fun Geek assignment!
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11 comments:

Lezlie said...

I completely agree! Given a choice between a movie-tie-in cover or no, 99% of the time I'll pick the no-movie edition. I say 99% of the time, because I have a vague recollection of seeking out the movie-tie-in cover for one book a long while back, but I can't remember what it was. For some reason I'm thinking it might have been "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein".

Lezlie

Erotic Horizon said...

I do like number 3 , but also number 6 - probably because i am partial to that colour.

Beautiful covers.

E.H>

Irish said...

I'm the same way...I hate buying the movie-tie in covers and always avoid them whenever I can. I like covers 4 & 5...there is a starkness about them that I find beautiful.

claire said...

Wow I also didn't know this book had so many covers. I like Number 10 the best. Number 12 is a close second, although I know what you mean about saying too much on the cover.

Anonymous said...

I read #3 too, but I kinda like #4. I think it's the house that got me.

Dorte H said...

Wow! Your covers are so great together that it is very difficult to pick one out. I really like all these yellow and orange covers put together.

marineko said...

I didn't realise there're so many covers! We only have 4 of the above covers at the store I work. I like the b-format.

Angela said...

I didn't love this book but some of those covers are lovely. I read the one with the third cover and have no real favorite except I agree about not liking the one with the movie tie-in. I don't think that I feel that way about every movie tie-in cover but I do about this one.

Anonymous said...

I read the book behind #3 and loved it. It was several years ago but I still remember it fondly. So, I was hesitant about seeing the movie until a friend talked me into it. It was well done and brought back memories of the joy I had reading the book. Good display of book covers.

gautami tripathy said...

I don't like movie covers. Give me a vintage one any day!

Covered!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I had no idea that there were that many covers for this book. I dislike movie tie in covers as well. I try to avoid them where I can.