books, the universe, and everything » book design http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:21:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Paperback vs. Hardcover Covers http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2009/05/06/paperback-vs-hardcover-covers/ http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2009/05/06/paperback-vs-hardcover-covers/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 12:01:53 +0000 chowmeyow http://booksuniverseeverything.wordpress.com/?p=843 I have been wanting to read the novel Netherland by Joseph O’Neill for a while, and I was excited that the paperback release date is being move up from June, to tomorrow (due in large part to the popularity Barack Obama brought to the novel when he mentioned in an interview that he was reading it).

However, I’m so disappointed that the cover has been changed from this beautiful hardcover art:

Netherland [NETHERLAND]
Joseph(Author) O’Neill

To this, generic and blah paperback design:


I’m sure it must have been changed because someone thought the hardcover looked too old fashioned to sell well, but it was gorgeous and stood apart on the shelf. The paperback design is so generic, I feel like I’ve seen that cover a hundred times before.

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

]]> http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2009/05/06/paperback-vs-hardcover-covers/feed/ 0 Olive Editions http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/09/30/olive-editions/ http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/09/30/olive-editions/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:28:30 +0000 chowmeyow http://booksuniverseeverything.wordpress.com/?p=686
Everything Is Illuminated: A Novel
Jonathan Safran Foer

Harper Collins is releasing new “Olive Editions” of three popular novels. They are super cute editions, and the best part is they are priced very affordably too. The list price is $10, and Amazon is selling them for $8. The first three Olive Edition titles are Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.

I was able to check out all three of them in person at Barnes and Noble today. They are a cute little size – a little bit bigger than mass market paperback size. I don’t normally buy a lot of mass market size, but these are very cute and feel sturdy, more like trade paperback size. Perfect travel size too, you could tuck them into your purse or bag very easily. You can’t tell from these cover images, but the sides are striped and also exceedingly cute.

I own, and have read and enjoyed, both Everything is Illuminated and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I like Michael Chabon, and have not read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I’m definitely going to get that one, and am seriously tempted to get myself new copies of the other two as well. :) They would look so cute together.

Here are the other two covers:

]]> http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/09/30/olive-editions/feed/ 0 Moral Disorder – Cover Designs http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/02/16/moral-disorder-cover-designs/ http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/02/16/moral-disorder-cover-designs/#comments Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:35:57 +0000 chowmeyow http://booksuniverseeverything.wordpress.com/?p=501

Here’s an example of a vast improvement of cover design from the hardcover to softcover release.

I don’t hate the hardcover design; it’s unusual and definitely stands out at the bookstore. And I think the design style somewhat fits her style of writing. (In general, I haven’t read this specific collection of short stories yet.) But I’m not sure it stands out in a good way. If someone had never read Margaret Atwood before, I doubt they would be likely to even pick up this book based on the hardcover design.

The softcover design looks like a modern classic. I also think it’s important that they added “And Other Stories” to the cover/title. The hardcover title and cover are a little vague, and you can’t even really tell if it’s fiction or non-fiction.

The softcover reminds me of two other covers. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor has a comparable (but more subdued) color palate and a similar concept of pieces of a woman’s face. It also bears a strong resemblance to The Female Thing by Laura Kipnis, a non-fiction book about how women can be their own worst enemy in battles for equal rights.

Most likely the design similarities to these two titles are a coincidence, but an interesting one. A Good Man is Hard to Find is a book of short stories, and The Female Thing explores feminism and female rights. Many of Margaret Atwood’s novels and stories explore issues of female identity and roles.

The Female Thing: Dirt, envy, sex, vulnerability (Vintage)
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]]> http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2008/02/16/moral-disorder-cover-designs/feed/ 0 Book Design: Half of a Yellow Sun http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2007/09/04/book-design-half-of-a-yellow-sun/ http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2007/09/04/book-design-half-of-a-yellow-sun/#comments Wed, 05 Sep 2007 01:57:04 +0000 chowmeyow http://booksuniverseeverything.wordpress.com/?p=347 I’ve been wanting to read Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for many months. Almost immediately after it was published I started seeing all sorts of rave reviews, from a variety of reputable sources. It also won the Orange Prize for Fiction.

That’s why I was very startled in Barnes and Noble when I stumbled across the just released U.S. paperback sitting on a table.

It’s 100% different from the U.S hardcover. (And in my opinion, bad different.) This surprises me because of how critically acclaimed this book was when it was released last year. Normally, if a book generates a lot of good buzz, or wins a major award, publishers like to keep the cover recognizable. That way, people who heard some of that good publicity might say, “Oh yeah, here’s this book, it’s supposed to be good, and oh great! – it’s in paperback now! Now it’s cheap enough to take a risk and buy it.”

An example that comes immediately to mind is Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. That one had a lot of great buzz surrounding the hardcover’s release, and the paperback looked identical.

So the decision to change the cover so dramatically was surprising to me, for that reason. Additionally, while there is nothing really wrong* with the paperback cover, it’s so boring. I feel like I’ve seen this book cover a million times before.

I guess this means that when/if I buy this book, I’ll have to hunt down a hardcover copy. I don’t judge books to read based (solely) on the cover, but I do base which edition to add to my collection based on the cover/design. :)

Here are the covers….what do you think?

*By “nothing really wrong” with the paperback, I mean nothing wrong except that after seeing the hardcover and several foreign editions of the book, it’s the only one that displays a full yellow sun, rather than a half. Interesting. Very rebellious.

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

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