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Judge a Book By Its Cover: Hardcover to Paperback

This ALA I was able to take two teens with me-one was my cousin and the other a good family friend. Both girls are avid readers (and hopefully future librarians!) and they were in awe of getting to visit ALA and meet authors and have publishers tell them about new books. Throughout our ALA visit, we had many discussions on book covers and how we judge books by their covers. Both girls said they judge covers first, but will still read what the book is about. But it's the cover that grabs their attention and makes them want to know more in the first place. It's something we never grow out of-I still judge books by their cover!

Here are some recent cover changes that I came across that I thought would be fun to judge:

 The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Hardcover:


Paperback:


I feel like this cover change is to make the book appeal to an adult audience. It reminds me of the mysteries my mom reads, where the hardcover looks more teen to me.

 Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Hardcover:

Paperback:

I like both covers, but the hardcover has more appeal for me-it looks more pensive and thoughtful where the paperback just looks like another typical romance.

Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin

Hardcover:


Paperback:


I think this cover change is so interesting! It's so cool to see how zooming in one aspect of the hardcover (this picture appears on the dress in the hardcover) changes the look of the book. I like both covers a lot, but there's something about the paperback that is very appealing.

Venom by Fiona Paul

Hardcover: 


 Paperback: 


I really like the hardcover-it looks mysterious-where the paperback just looks awful to me. It looks like a terrible adult romance cover. It's another one I think is trying to appeal more to adults then teens.

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon

Hardcover: 

Paperback:

I like both of these covers, but it's another one where the paperback looks like an adult mystery and the hardcover looks more teen. I'm not even sure why, but the paperback doesn't tell me about the story but I feel like the hardcover at least lets me know I'm in for a suspenseful mystery. 

Do you like or dislike these cover changes? Any other changes you've seen recently that you noticed? 

Comments

  1. I'm pretty much in agreement with you on the cover choices. I especially love the paperback cover for Silhouette of a Sparrow. Is there a reason why the paperbacks were changed to reflect a more adult sensibility? Did the publishers get feedback or something?

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    Replies
    1. I'm not really sure why they changed-usually marketing-they want to appeal to a different audience, think a new cover would sell more. I'd be interested to know if it actually works!

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  2. It seems like the paperbacks are all less creative and more generic looking than the hardbacks - with the exception of Silhouette of a Sparrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know why I love that cover much more, but I find it much more interesting!

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  3. Loving the hardcover much more, except for Silhouette of a Sparrow.

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  4. I really like the cover changes for The Book of Blood and Shadow-I think you make a good point about the paperback looking more like an adult novel. Wonder if this change will work?

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  5. I love The Book of Blood and Shadow's new cover; it's much more mysterious and has a more suspenseful feel. I definitely agree with the comment about the Just One Day paperback- even though I don't really like real people's faces on book covers, the original cover is more interesting and less stereotypical.

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