# Favorite book covers
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 4, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281 "2009-03-04T16:01:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/1 "2009-03-04T16:01:57Z")
I really like Mercedes Lackey’s _[Reserved For The Cat](http://www.firebirdarts.com/mercedeslackey/books/bmlreservedcat.jpg)_.
And on a lighter note, _[Uncle John’s Unsinkable Bathroom Reader](http://images.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/59/223/916/1592239161.jpg)_.
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### Author:  [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/2 "2009-03-04T16:42:20Z")
Way back in my youth, a paperback with a stunning [image](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/robin-mckinley/blue-sword.htm) of a masked rider on a golden horse compelled me to buy it. It was **The Blue Sword** and it was the first of many titles by Robin McKinley that I eventually read. I like to think that I don’t judge a book by its cover, but if I’d first seen it with the [boring](http://booksxyz.com/profile1500356.php) [art](http://www.anobii.com/books/The_Blue_Sword/9780141309750/0011701263047ea662/) it got later, I might never have picked up this book.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/3 "2009-03-04T16:44:32Z")
Carrie Fisher, [Wishful Drinking](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R-AhPgfJIeo/STr1AwEzO7I/AAAAAAAAClg/1IyrFMgz3Co/s320/wishful-drinking_l.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/4 "2009-03-04T16:46:57Z")
I don’t know if I’d call them my favorites, but in the late 1960’s two moribund pulp franchises were brought back to life, primarily due to effective paperback cover art.
[Conan the Barbarian,](http://www.rehupa.com/images/lancers_conan_conan_front.jpg) illustrated by Frank Frazetta
[Doc Savage,](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/49/Manofbronzebama.jpg) illustrated by James Bama
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/5 "2009-03-04T16:49:35Z")
Any of the original covers for Pterry’s Discworld novels, the ones from the first British editions.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/6 "2009-03-04T17:12:08Z")
This cover hooked me when I was in high school, and it’s been a favorite book of mine ever since. I’ve always wanted to get a poster of it: [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n10/n53491.jpg](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n10/n53491.jpg)
Likewise but more recently this cover: [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c498.jpg](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c498.jpg)
Tolkien did this cover for his own book: [http://artofmanliness.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/hobbit\_cover1.jpg](http://artofmanliness.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/hobbit_cover1.jpg)
…but I actually prefer this one by Alan Lee: [http://edubuzz.org/blogs/campiep7b/files/2008/04/illustrated\_hobbit.jpg](http://edubuzz.org/blogs/campiep7b/files/2008/04/illustrated_hobbit.jpg)
Rockwell Kent did some very striking illustrations for a 1930s edition of Melville’s _Moby Dick_: [http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2368/2257942579\_07469b0799\_o.jpg](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2368/2257942579_07469b0799_o.jpg)
…one of which even made it to a recent postage stamp: [http://giam.typepad.com/100\_years\_of\_illustration/images/kent.jpg](http://giam.typepad.com/100_years_of_illustration/images/kent.jpg)
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/7 "2009-03-04T17:19:13Z")
There are several versions of [Roger Shattuck’s **Forbidden Knowledge**](http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0156005514/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0) out. They each employ elements the same painting and it I do adore.
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### Author:  [@Clare\_de\_Loone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clare_de_Loone)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/8 "2009-03-04T17:29:42Z")
The paperback of Bradbury’s _Dandelion Wine_ from the late 80’s or early 90’s. Blurry yellows and greens with a boy.
I’ve always wanted a poster of it.
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### Author:  [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/9 "2009-03-04T17:31:22Z")
The title typography is kinda boring, but other than that, it’s a sweet cover.
[The Days Are Just Packed](http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/32240000/32249013.jpg).
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### Author:  [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/10 "2009-03-04T17:43:21Z")
I love this thread. Feels so naughty to be judging books by their covers.
I’ve always loved this image:
> **[Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid: Hofstadter, Douglas R:...](https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567)**
>
> Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid \[Hofstadter, Douglas R\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
I also like the simplicity of Malcolm Gladwell’s book covers:
[http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb\_ss\_\_1\_4?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=gladwell+malcolm&sprefix=glad&sprefix=glad](http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_ss__1_4?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=gladwell+malcolm&sprefix=glad&sprefix=glad)
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/11 "2009-03-04T17:50:13Z")
The painting by Julian Scott on this cover is perfect for the subject, and the elegant Times Roman font matches it well:
[http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41C3A85X2RL.\_BO2,204,203,200\_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76\_AA240\_SH20\_OU01\_.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Generals-Combat-Leadership-Civil/dp/0609801732&usg=\_\_GqxK-UeTP5BC6dxmYo5Ao6nOGPU=&h=240&w=240&sz=14&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=BM5CDkq6G3IWCM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=110&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522warrior%2Bgenerals%2522%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41C3A85X2RL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Generals-Combat-Leadership-Civil/dp/0609801732&usg=__GqxK-UeTP5BC6dxmYo5Ao6nOGPU=&h=240&w=240&sz=14&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=BM5CDkq6G3IWCM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=110&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522warrior%2Bgenerals%2522%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den)
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### Author:  [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/12 "2009-03-04T18:08:37Z")
I spend more time than I should thinking about book covers. Right now I’m on a dystopian fiction kick, so let me throw out a few of those that I particularly enjoy.
The cover of the English translation of **Battle Royale** really struck me when I picked it up. I like the subtle details of the bombs and the gun between the girl and boy. [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/pbarmy/battleroyalecover.jpg](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/pbarmy/battleroyalecover.jpg)
Here’s my favorite edition of **Lord of the Flies**. A friend of mine glanced at it from across the room and asked, “Is that a fetus?” which I thought was very appropriate.
[ ](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/pbarmy/fliescover.jpg)
I dig the clean, pop art colors on this edition of **A Clockwork Orange**.
[ ](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/pbarmy/orangecover.jpg)
And, lastly, this book of short stories by Pierre Boulle (author of Planet of the Apes) grabbed my attention as soon as I saw it. The strange figures, the general air of menace - works for me.
[ ](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/pbarmy/timeoutofmind.jpg)
If you like cover art and the design skills behind it, I have to suggest the Caustic Cover Critic blog.
> **[Caustic Cover Critic](http://causticcovercritic.blogspot.com/)**
>
> One man's endless ranting about book covers and design...
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### Author:  [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/13 "2009-03-04T18:21:59Z")
The first one that comes to mind is [Sabella, or The Blood Stone](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/tanith-lee/sabella.htm); A Science Fiction Vampire Novel, by the great Tanith Lee.
And it’s a pretty good book, too…
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/14 "2009-03-04T18:32:20Z")
Another good Martin cover, to _Fevre Dream_. If you look closely you can see a vampire’s face reflected beneath the steamboat. Creepy and evocative: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Fevre\_dream.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Fevre_dream.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/15 "2009-03-04T19:57:03Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#):
>
> The cover of the English translation of **Battle Royale** really struck me when I picked it up. I like the subtle details of the bombs and the gun between the girl and boy. [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/pbarmy/battleroyalecover.jpg](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/pbarmy/battleroyalecover.jpg)
Well lookie that… there _is_ a gun in there. Just had the same :smack: moment as when someone pointed out the arrow in the FedEx logo a while back.
I don’t know exactly why I like it, but the cover for [The Yiddish Policemen’s Union](http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/yiddish.jpg) really grabbed my attention. It’s simple, but there’s something about the colour combination and the mixture of typefaces that I love.
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### Author:  [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/16 "2009-03-04T21:00:56Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#):
>
> Another good Martin cover, to _Fevre Dream_. If you look closely you can see a vampire’s face reflected beneath the steamboat. Creepy and evocative: [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Fevre\_dream.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Fevre_dream.jpg)
Yeah, except it always bugged me that a stern wheeler is pictured. The _Fevre Dream_ was a side wheeler. Looked more like [this](http://steamboattimes.com/images/steamboats_1861-99/natchez3or4_1872circa_loadingatneworleans1000x666.JPG) (the _Natchez_)
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/17 "2009-03-04T21:08:45Z")
> [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](#):
>
> Yeah, except it always bugged me that a stern wheeler is pictured. The _Fevre Dream_ was a side wheeler. Looked more like [this](http://steamboattimes.com/images/steamboats_1861-99/natchez3or4_1872circa_loadingatneworleans1000x666.JPG) (the _Natchez_)
Good point. Cap’n Marsh even makes a disparaging remark about sternwheelers in the book.
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/18 "2009-03-04T21:40:09Z")
Hmmm - where to begin? As a collector (unfortunately not as active as I’d like) of first editions, I have a few I love:
- [Brave New World](http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/BOOK/BD001~Brave-New-World-by-Aldous-Huxley-Posters.jpg)- gorgeous, kinda Deco
- [Ulysses](http://library.buffalo.edu/pl/exhibits/joycebloomsday/caseIX/71.jpg), first American edition. This photo doesn’t do it justice - it’s a big brick of a book and this spare design with a rough-textured paper - it just looks cool.
- [Catch-22](http://www.royalbooks.com/pictures/101017.jpg) is iconic
- [To Kill a Mockingbird](http://www.securenet.net/tbcl/27041.jpg)- I don’t particularly love it as standalone art, but it is iconic because it is my favorite novel…
- [The Rebel Angels](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AWMWDW8WL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)by Robertson Davies - a favorite book and this first US Edition began a series of books by him with the same cover designer…very cool.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/19 "2009-03-04T22:25:27Z")
1st Edition, _Starship Troopers_
[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/ff/St59.jpg/200px-St59.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/ff/St59.jpg/200px-St59.jpg)
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [March 4, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-book-covers/488281/20 "2009-03-04T22:50:02Z")
Harvard Lampoon’s **Bored of the Rings** cover:
It’s a parody of the then-current Ballantine edition covers, which were made by cutting the Lord of the Rings poster into thirds:
I like the original cover for Larry Viven’s **Protector** :
[.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Protector(1stEd).jpg)
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