I’ll be the first person to say that you “never judge a book by its cover”. But at the same time, you have to admit, that a pretty cover certain does draw attention. There are quite a few times that I’ve come across a book and started flipping through the pages because the cover caught my eye. It might not have drawn me in with the title alone, but the design made me look twice. And publishers know this! When you’re walking though a book store with SO MANY options, they need to do something that makes their book stand out, catch a readers attention, and pick up the book to read a synopsis. Here are 5 books that made me do just that!
Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme where I explore different topics. If you are interested in participating I would love to have you! Here is a list of my Upcoming Topics in February – please remember to ping back a specific post of mine so I get a notification and I will add you to the participants list!
I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson
Many years ago, before I got into BookTube, blogs, and the book community in general, I didn’t read a whole lot of YA. I had been out of the reading game for so long and I assumed that I had outgrown YA because I was no longer in the age group. But while looking through the Chapters Indigo book store, this cover caught my eye. I almost walked past it but kept coming back. Once I read the synopsis I was hooked and it kind of kick started my renewed love of YA!
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon
I started at this cover for more than 6 months before deciding that I needed it. I absolutely LOVE this cover! I love the doodle type illustrations with all the bright colours. I love that it frames around the font – basically everything! I read the synopsis dozens of times but I still wasn’t sold. It wasn’t until I saw it on sale that I decided I needed it for my shelf. Turns out it was a good call because I loved the book itself 🙂
VENGEANCE ROAD by Erin Bowman
I guess this one is a true definition of a cover buy. I saw the cover and added it to my cart before reading the synopsis all the way through. I just had to have it! I knew it was a western which is new to me and out of my comfort zone. But I never would have bought it if it wasn’t for the cover. Sadly, I still haven’t read it, but the cover is proudly displayed on my shelf. I’ll be getting to it this spring hopefully.
MY BEST FRIENDS EXORCISM by Grady Hendrix
You all knew this was coming – don’t roll your eyes! I was running through the book store one day, short on time. I went in there with a very specific book in mind. I had my head down looking at my phone and as soon as I looked up, this book was staring at me. It spoke to every bit of my 80’s childhood heart!! I had heard of Grady Hendrix before so once I put this cover together with the authors name, I knew I had to get it!!
YOU BRING THE DISTANT NEAR by Mitali Perkins
This cover is just so beautiful! It’s cultural, sophisticated, elegant, and soft. The image mixed with the font was so well done and speaks to what’s inside. This ended up being one of my favourite books of 2017 and I’m glad that the cover grabbed my attention enough to pick it up!
TOP 5 TUESDAY PARTICIPANTS:
- Robyn – Robyn Reads Books
- Nina – The Cozy Pages
- Birdie Bookworm
- Alex – Coffee Loving Bookoholic
- Rachael – Beach Bookworm
- Joe – JW Martin – Storeys of Stories
- Crystal – Paper Royalty
- Kyera – Kyera’s Library
- Hannah – Hannah’s Novel Nonsense
- Lauren – Books Are Only The Beginning
- Mnemosyne – The Memory Rune
- Jillian – Jillian The Bookish Butterfly
- Aakankshya – Shrestha Logs
- Katie Lou Create
- Mini – Book And Corner
- Rebecca – My Life As A Sports Fangirl
- Nia – Shades of Paper
- Sophie – Beware of the Reader
- Erin – A Red Head’s Rambling
- Rose – Stuck In Fiction
- Hadeer – Hadeer Writes
- Leetha Rose – Life Should Be Lit
So those are the top 5 books who’s covers are what grabbed my attention and make me just a little more interested in them. Aside from the one that I haven’t read yet, I ended up loving all of them! Are there any books that you’ve bought because the cover spoke to you?
Until next time, happy reading!
Vengeance Road cover is just amazing. 😍
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Yes it is 🙂
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We have such similar tastes when it comes to covers. I definitely bought I’ll Give you the Sun and Everything, Everything based on the covers!
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Glad I wasn’t the only one!
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I’m a firm believer the cover matters. It’s the first lens through which you interpret the book. Once you see it you can’t help but think about the narrative at some level through that lens because you can’t unsee it. It stays with you. A good cover goes a long way with me.
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Exactly! I always connect the story to the cover once I’m done reading it! And in a world where so many books are published on a monthly basis, the publishers know that covers will help attract attention 🙂
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Yeah, they wouldn’t spend the money on the artist and printing if it didn’t help sales.
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I can’t tell if My Best Friend’s Exorcism would have caught my eye or not. It’s not until I really look at it that I see its awesomeness.
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I thought it was AWFUL at first. Then I noticed the tiny details. The back cover is just as glorious 😍
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Vengeance Road is one of those I’ve got sitting on my Amazon wishlist because of the cover but I haven’t made myself buy it yet!
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I bought it quick – just haven’t read it quick 😂
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I love finding pretty book covers with great stories between the pages!
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Also, these are all really pretty book covers. You have a good eye for them.
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https://katieloucreateblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/top-5-cover-buys/
cool post! I do love oggling at pretty book covers! 😛
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Perfect thanks! I’ll get you added to the list 🙂
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Love the covers for Vengeance Road and My Best Friends Exorcism!
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I totally forgot about the Everything, Everything cover. It’s stunning! And so is the I’ll Give You the Sun cover. Wow! I may need to buy that one. And of course, I have Vengeance Road on my list too. It’s too beautiful not to include!
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Hahahahaha the TBR list keeps growing! 😂
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I don’t know how many times I walked through the store and stared at Vengeance Road. That series covers are stunning!! I finally convinced my daughter to read it, so we ended up getting it. 😀
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Nice!! I still haven’t read it but I really like looking at it! Lol
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Hi.. great reviews and thoughts! Question.. What’s “YA”?
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Sorry! That’s the short form for Young Adult. I really need to stop putting things in short form!
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these are all amazing covers but for me, the exorcism book would be the last one i’d buy! 😂😂😂
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😂
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Love your choices 🙂 I love the I’ll Give You The Sun cover as well as the Everything, Everything one so, so much ❤
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OMG, that My Friend’s Exorcism cover – SO 80s – LOVE IT!
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I have been dying to read Vengeance Road!! Plus I agree the cover is flawless!!
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I’ve never seen the cover for Vengeance Road before, it’s so beautiful!
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Your exorcist cover is really frightening Shanah!!! As usual I am late (I think the day I’ll be on time Hell will have frozen LOL) so here is my url and now I’m going to visit all the other posts! Congrats as you gather more and more participants each week! http://bewareofthereader.com/top-5-cover-buys/
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I’ll get you added shortly. Just left the hospital. Unplanned trip for a cyst behind my ear. All will be good as soon as these meds kick in!!
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Vengeance Road is pretty awesome! I would totally have it as a picture on my wall ❤
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Everything Everything was totally a cover buy for me as well! Thankfully, I ended up enjoying it too, haha! I haven’t read or bought I’ll Give You The Sun yet, but ever since first seeing the cover, I’ve been in love. It’s just so good!
Lovely post, thanks for writing it 💕💕
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Out of the two, I think that I actually liked I’ll Give You The Sun more! Same great writing style but there was a little more in depth connection with the characters, their families and the world around them. It was amazing! Hope you love it!
And thanks for stopping by 🙂
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I like I’ll Give You The Sun more too as far as covers go, I just haven’t been able to get my hands on it yet! I’m hoping it’ll happen soon though 💕💕
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I didn’t realize we both included My Best Friend’s Exorcism!! It’s such a fun cover though so there’s no way to ignore it. I love the covers for I’ll Give You the Sun & Everything Everything too 😀
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Seeing that book in your list too made me so happy!
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Love this list Shanah! Everything Everything was a cover buy for me too (although I bought the eBook haha, it was the initial cover that attracted my attention!) I agree that the cover is an important selling point- Although we are told not to judge a book by its cover, I think we are subtly influenced by it. And as you mentioned, we are more likely to take a second glance at a book with an amazing cover!
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Covers are most definitely an influence. It’s hard to get a persons attention with a synopsis if they aren’t drawn in to even pick it up and read it!
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Yes, for sure, especially when there are so many other books on the shelf 🙂
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I really hope you enjoy Vengeance Road! It is a western, but I feel like its a good intro to the genre. It’s not over the top, and I really enjoyed it. It would be great to see your review on it!
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After reading and loving Gunslinger Girl I’m a little less apprehensive about it!
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😀
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You Bring the Distant Star’s cover is beautiful! I also bought I’ll Give You the Sun because of how beautiful the cover is.
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I looove the covers of Vengeance Road and Everything Everything! They are both stunning and have such a nice color theme.
Unfortunately I wasn’t the biggest fan of Everything Everything, but I’m excited to read VR😊.
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Great List, Shanah 🌸
I absolutely love Everything, Everything’s cover – it’s so beautiful and I liked the book and I absolutely loved the movie! I also like the cover for Vengeance Road, just like you I sadly still haven’t read it, but I do hope you love it when you get the chance to read it!
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The movie adaptation for Everything Everything was adorable! I watched it with my daughter and she became obsessed with the space man 😂
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That is SO cute! He was pretty cute though and I can totally see why she became obsessed 🌸
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