This meme was started by Books by Proxy, whose fabulous idea was to compare UK and US book covers and decide which is we prefer. This meme is being nurtured by Lynn’s Book Blog and this week we are featuring STYLISED covers. I’ve selected The Invisible Library – Book 1 of The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman – see my review.
This offering was produced by Pan in December 2014. This is the cover of the edition that I read, which probably has influenced my decision – because it is one of my two favourites this week. I love the lovely teal background and the nifty little details highlighted in gold, which gives a good sense of the period feel of this portal fantasy adventure. And while I don’t love the strapline, at least it has been treated as part of the overall design, rather than plopped onto the middle of the cover as an afterthought, as so often happens.
Published in June 2016, by Ace, this cover has clearly taken its inspiration from the original, with similar styling. The main differences are the background colour – that beautiful rich blue makes the gold detailing sing out. However, I find those details create just a bit less impact and therefore don’t draw my eye as successfully as the top cover. But I suspect this week, it is going to be down to personal taste, because there is nothing essentially wrong with this design, which is still beautiful and classy.
This Czech edition, published by Omega in October 2017, is my other favourite this week. I love that rich crimson background and the heavy gilded border and very elaborate detailing on the title font gives this cover a sumptuous, luxurious tone that harks back to a time when books were rare and valuable items. And what I particularly like about that dynamic, is that these are the types of books that frequently feature within The Invisible Library. It’s a dynamic which I think all these covers are reaching for – but this is the one that most successfully achieves it.
This Romanian edition, published in March 2019 by Editura Nemira, is another lovely offering. This time, the styling includes more colour and less gold and I particularly like that beautifully elaborate, steampunk-ish key featured in the middle of the design. However, I’m not so keen on those leaves popping up on the border design of the cover – that kind of flora simply doesn’t appear in this book. But I can’t deny that those little drops of red do draw the eye.
This Turkish edition, published by Timaş Yayınları in March 2016, is another lovely, stylised design. I like the mathematical feel of some of the detailing in the corners, as well as featuring the gothic detailing in the architecture of the Houses of Parliament. This one is so nearly a contender for my favourite of the week – but unfortunately, the lighter shading fades into near invisibility when in thumbnail, which was a dealbreaker, given the purpose of book covers is to draw the attention of a prospective reader. Which is your favourite?
Brainfluff 