Book Blogger Hop No. 6: Book Beauty Wins Over Budgeting

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, and 

to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.

This Week's Question

Have you ever bought a more 

expensive edition of a book, when

a cheaper edition was

available, just because you 

preferred the cover of the

more expensive one?

(Submitted  by Maria  @ 

A Night's Dream of Books)

My Answer

Since I consider myself a bibliophile just as much as a bookworm, the answer is definitely "YES!!" After all, a book's cover is nearly as important as the content within the book. The cover is a portal into the wonders of the book itself, whether fiction or nonfiction. It's also what entices a potential reader to open an unfamiliar book in the first place. 

Whenever I've gone to "Paradise", which is what I love to call my local Barnes & Noble bookstore, I have seen books with beautiful and ugly covers. I will only glance at those ugly covers once, and then quickly move on. A beautiful cover, on the other hand, will pull me toward the book, just as surely as a magnet is pulled to metal. Such a cover will make me want to take a closer look, to investigate the book's content. Sometimes, I'm disappointed by the fact that a beautiful cover will belong to a book whose content, on closer inspection, I am not at all interested in. Usually, however, the content will be well matched by the gorgeous cover.

When a book has been a bestseller for several years, it will have been published in several editions. This happens frequently with classics. Although of course the content is usually the same in each edition (unless the book has been abridged, and or a foreword or introduction has been added), I will be more willing to buy an edition with a beautiful cover, even if I have to pay more for it. Absolutely! I just don't want to own a book with an ugly cover, if I can help it. Lol.

The fact that I prefer books with beautiful covers does not mean that I will splurge on a VERY expensive edition. I certainly cannot afford to buy books from The Folio Society on a regular basis, or even AT ALL. Nor can I afford books that cost more than $25.00, for example. However, books with beautiful covers need not be THAT expensive. I have found gorgeous ones for less than $20.00. The new B&N hardcover collector's editions are very reasonably priced, and believe me, they are GORGEOUS!

Here's a very obvious example of two different editions of a classic -- one with a gorgeous cover, and the other with an ugly one.

 

Since I totally ADORE this novel, I actually own several editions of it, each with a beautiful cover. The one above is probably my favorite. I think this cover is just EXQUISITE, and it captures Jane's personality so very well, too. The composition, the colors, the model's pose -- everything about this cover is beautiful and harmonious. This edition is currently available new directly from Amazon for $14.32, although third-party sellers have it for less. You can check it out HERE.

I consider this cover to be a MONSTROSITY. I can't believe that B&N actually was responsible for this edition! There are just SO MANY things wrong with this cover! For instance, the hand is much smaller than the face, and is very awkwardly placed. Even non-artists are aware that either of one's hands is almost as long as one's face! It even looks as if a child's hand is grabbing Jane's chin. This hand certainly does NOT look like it belongs to the person pictured here. Another very wrong thing about this cover is that it looks like she has a black eye! What's up with that? And there are more things.... In the novel, Jane is 18 years old when the events between her and Rochester take place. The woman pictured here seems to be in her fifties! Furthermore, she has such a dejected, defeated, depressed expression on her face! Jane, in contrast, is a fiery, passionate woman, although she does present a quiet exterior.

In short, I would NEVER want this edition of this wonderful novel, not even if someone GAVE it to me! It's currently available directly from Amazon for..... only $.99! Hahahaha!! And it's a hardcover, too. Third-party sellers have it for higher prices. But the fact that Amazon itself has it for such a low price indicates that I'm not alone in considering this cover to be HIDEOUS. You can check out this edition HERE.

I wouldn't think twice if a bookstore had both of these editions in stock. Without hesitation, I would reach for the first edition pictured above, and totally ignore the second. In fact, I have done so, because I never bought the second edition when it was for sale at B&N, nor have I taken advantage of the VERY low price on Amazon! Lol. Instead, I bought the Everyman Library edition (the first one pictured above).

I could give many more examples of gorgeous and ugly covers for the same book, but then this post would be much too long. The examples above will, I'm sure, get my point across. 

In my honest opinion, owning a copy of a book that has a beautiful cover gives me such aesthetic pleasure, that I consider it well worth the money spent. What good is it to save some money, and have to stare at an ugly cover every time one picks up a certain book? 

What are your thoughts on

this topic?

If you're participating in this hop,

I'll go comment on your 

own BBH post.

If not, I will then comment on one 

of your blog posts!

Thanks for visiting!!!  
 

The Cozy Book Corner No. 7: Twilight-Inspired Book Covers for Classics

Welcome to my Monday 

bookish feature!

In each weekly post, I explore 

my thoughts on several 

book-related topics.

There is a series of five classics -- four novels and one play -- with covers that were 

supposedly inspired

by those of The Twilight Saga.

They were produced by Harper Teen, beginning 

from 2009 to 2011. They were meant to attract 

young adult audiences to the 

perennial classics of English Literature.

Some people were not very happy 

when these editions were published.

They somehow considered it insulting

that time-honored classics should have to be promoted under the Twilight banner.

I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about.

These covers are absolutely gorgeous!

So here they are -- "The Twilight Classics"!

These covers are very, very beautiful!!  

I can't say it enough!

The colors are indeed similar to those in 

The Twilight Saga's four volumes,

except for the rather obvious fact that 

the color green is not much in evidence

on the Twilight covers. 

If the same artist designed these,

as well as the Twilight ones, 

then it stands to reason that there would be 

some similarity of style.  

Well, there's nothing wrong with that!

If the publishers wanted a "similar look"

when they commissioned the covers 

for the classic novels, 

with the purpose of attracting a teen audience, 

I for one think this is a wonderful idea!

After all, these five books are love stories,

with the sole exception of Wuthering Heights,

which is really a tale of misplaced revenge. 

(The only thing I love about that book is the cover...)

Does putting such covers on these classics

mean that Twilight is on an equal 

literary footing with them?

Well, that's a loaded question...

If one looks at the writing styles in which 

the listed classics were written,

and compares them with the prose 

of The Twilight Saga, then obviously not.

However, if one looks at the dynamics of the plots

of these books, and the Twilight books,

one can't help but notice that 

the characters and events in all of them 

evoke some very, very similar

emotions.  They all touch the heart.  They all provide

that powerful catharsis present in all 

great literature, the grand drama that stirs the 

emotions, thus changing the reader forever.

These books all possess that elusive quality

that makes them timeless.

Is The Twilight Saga already a timeless classic?

Without a doubt.

So I am very pleased and happy that these 

five classic novels now have covers 

 designed in this style.

Whether or not it's similar to that

of the Twilight books, it's still quite fitting.

Love, after all, has always been linked 

to the color red,

especially in such flowers as roses and tulips.

Of course, I am collecting all of these books, 

not only for the covers, but 

for what is contained within each book.

(This is not the case with Wuthering Heights,

however. I only like the cover of this book.)

The only classic I'm missing at this point is

Sense and Sensibility, but it won't be 

for long... it's in my Amazon 

Wish List, waiting for me to bring it home

with one swift click! 

What are your thoughts 

on this topic?

What do you think of these covers?

Please leave a comment

and let me know!

The Cozy Book Corner No. 6: Sudden Book Love, Part II

Welcome to my Monday 

bookish feature!

In each weekly post, I explore 

my thoughts on several 

book-related topics.

Love at first sight, as I stated in my first post on this topic last week, can hit book lovers, as well.  Furthermore, it can be just as pleasantly surprising as it is between two human beings. 

Last week, I concentrated on one book, with which I actually fell in love, sight unseen. It was a guote from that book that actually reeled me in. It was such a beautifully-written quote, and expressed such a timeless truth, that I was struck with literary love..... You can access that post HERE.

This week, I want to explore this topic further, but from another angle: falling in love at first sight with a book cover.

All of us book bloggers have heard the old adage: "Don't judge a book by its cover." It is indeed true that some books have very beautiful covers, yet, the inside content is totally unappealing. Conversely, there are books with very ugly covers that contain breathtaking content. I am very well aware of this. Still, I do tend to get hooked by gorgeous book covers! Of course, if the plot and characters of the book -- in the case of a novel -- do not thrill me, then my love affair with the book will be very brief indeed. The same goes for nonfiction books, which, for some reason, don't seem to have covers that are immediately appealing, for the most part.

If I happen to have fallen in love with a novel (or a nonfiction book, for that matter) that has an ugly cover, then the solution is simple. I merely search for an edition with a more appealing cover, and donate the one with the ugly one to my local Goodwill store. Lol. 

In fact, I have been known to prefer buying an edition with a cover I love, even though I have to pay more, than a cheaper edition with a cover I can't stand! This is because I'm a bibliophile just as much as a bookworm!!  

Here are some books with covers that I think are GORGEOUS. I have not read all of them, but they are definitely on my mind.  I could pick one of them up at any moment. 

    

I featured this book in my most recent Tuesday Intros post, which you can access HERE. I LOVE horses, as well as the color blue, so I fell in love with this book HARD. Not only is the cover beautiful, though, but so is  the prose style, as well as the plot.

I own this book, and really need to get to it very soon!!

I find this cover to be absolutely exquisite! The composition, the colors, the font....everything just reels me right in! This one also passes the test of having a great plot, as well as wonderful prose! It's sitting on my shelves, and I hope to be able to get to it sometime this year.....

This is another stunning horse cover! The horse is absolutely GORGEOUS! I can see that it was influenced by a drawing done by Leonardo da Vinci, interestingly enough. The overall composition is just enchanting, as the horse floats over the stormy ocean waves. 

This book is a collection of fantasy stories, all dealing with horses, hence the title. The contributors are the very BEST in fantasy writing, too: Anne McCaffrey, Jennifer Roberson, Mercedes Lackey, Judith Tarr, and others. While I don't own this treasure, I am already looking for it online. It seems to be out of print, but that won't deter me!

This cover is just breathtakingly beautiful!! Of course, it immediately reminded me of King Arthur drawing the famous sword, Excalibur, from the stone. The subject matter of this novel is books, naturally, as one can see, not only from the cover image, but also from the title. I own this one, and love the plot and writing, as well!

I absolutely ADORE this cover! In this particular case, I read the book years ago, and wanted to find an edition with a cover I could love. So I looked and looked online, until I came across the above! Not only does it have a LOT of blue in it, but is very elegantly designed. The book arrived covered in Mylar, too, which was a HUGE plus! 

This is a collection of stories written by the great SF master, Ray Bradbury, so I have more than one reason to love this book!

What are your thoughts 
on this subject?
Have you ever fallen in love
with a book at first sight?
What drew you in?
What do you think of these covers?