What do you look for in a book cover?

So, I recently did a post about judging books by their covers, because lets face it, a lot of us do it. What is it though that you are looking for when you do that?

Another recent post was about different editions where I said that I basically pick the edition that is prettiest, but what makes a book “pretty” or not to you, what matters? Big words? An unusual font? Bright colours? Realistic pictures? More cartoon like pictures? Is it more just the general overall look rather than a specific thing you look for?

I think for me it’s more the overall look that makes me like a cover. I guess I wouldn’t be very helpful in a publishing focus group! If I compare the books I have with covers I love they are all actually really different. Most of them are all quite colourful but the colours really vary, as does the general artistry. There is one thing they have in common though….none of them have photos of people on the covers. The only ones that have people in any sense are the Penguin deluxe editions of the classics and some of the Harry Potter books.

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Different editions…

So, when you see a book you like how do you decide which edition to buy? Obviously sometimes there isn’t a choice, at least in actual bookstores other than maybe hardcover or paperback, but when there is a choice what makes you pick one edition over another?

Take Harry Potter for example, there are so many editions! I actually don’t have a matching set of all seven books, I have a boxset of the first four and then bought the rest as they came out. I want a matching set of hardcovers and I have just picked the ones I find the prettiest, well the two sets actually and in each set I like all the covers. Two sets I suppose isn’t crazy but what if you like say five or six sets, what do you do? Buy them all? Just buy one set? How do you pick that one set? What if you love some of the covers in one edition, but don’t like others in the same edition? Do you buy some books in one edition and others in another?

Why am I thinking about this? Well, I have started getting a few classics. Classics, like Harry Potter come in a huge number of editions. Some are just boring and I would only buy them if I just wanted a really cheap one to see if I like the story, but there are a lot of really nice editions too.

Beautiful Bookstore

Like most in the online book community I love going into a bookstore (even though I love the convenience and prices of Amazon).

Recently I went to a bookstore in Bath, in the south of England that was really beautiful. I have also been to one of their other branches in St Andrews, in Scotland.

I thought I would just show a bunch of pretty pictures of the stores for you all to enjoy! The shop is called Topping and Company Booksellers and they have branches in Bath, Cambridge and St Andrews. They have a website with a few more pictures too. They aren’t the cheapest but they seem to have a lot of signed copies and they wrap all the books in clear plastic to protect them which I really like. I still have the plastic on my illustrated Harry Potter even though I read it ages ago! They even offer you tea to drink while you browse!

Bath

February Reading Wrap-Up

So, February has been another good reading month for me. The last week was a little slower than the rest of the month but I am still pretty pleased with myself. I have finished 9 books so far this month but should finish my current one this evening.

I have read a good mix of genres this month, YA, thrillers, crime, contemporary and non-fiction!

I have also read a variety of formats this month. Until about six months ago I read almost exclusively on my Kindle but this month I have read ebooks, hardcovers and paperbacks. I have managed to persuade my fiancé to take me on two trips to the bookstore in the last few months and am building up a nice stack of books on my desk as a result!

Harry Potter Spells Book Tag

So, I have been reading a lot lately so have been posting a lot of book reviews but…. I love a good book tag, and I love Harry Potter, so a Harry Potter book tag seemed perfect!

I found this tag on Becoming Bookish but if you read that, it has been around blogs and BookTube a bit.

1. Expecto Patronum

A childhood book connected to good memories

I just loved this book when I was little, I don’t really know why but I remember reading it multiple times a day. It is aimed at very little kids so I’m not sure it really counts for this but it is the only book I can think of and see myself reading as a kid. I can name others I read repeatedly but can’t visualise actually doing it. My brother bought me a copy of this a few years ago, it’s on my bookshelf now, next to my medical school textbooks!

Illustrated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

So, I finished reading the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets last night, and by last night, I mean 2 o’clock this morning! If you are reading this blog I would be stunned if you didn’t know what this book is about, so I am not going to do a review. Instead I am just going to post some photos of the beautiful illustrations. So, if you haven’t read it, and don’t want to see the pictures before doing so, then this isn’t the post for you.

If it’s not obvious, I have rated this 5/5. All of the photos are ones I have taken of my own book.

Dobby at the Dursley’s!