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Lit Trends: Favorite 2019 Book Covers (So Far)

2019; University of Oklahoma; Volume: 93; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/wlt.2019.0301

1945-8134

Kayla E. Ciardi,

Freedom of Expression and Defamation

Notebook lit trends Favorite 2019 Book Covers (So Far) by Kayla E. Ciardi WE’RE OFTEN TOLD, by impassioned librarians and insistent bibliophiles, to never judge a book by its cover. While it’s true that the most stylishly packaged novel can reveal poorly written language lacking in substance, we certainly should not write off book covers as mere fluff with only the potential to mislead. In fact, book covers, when done well, can illuminate themes and connections between motifs. They can distill larger ideas into a single striking image, or perhaps simply evoke the book’s overall tone. They might hint at some aspect of the story that readers will only appreciate after turning the final page. Beyond exemplifying the book at hand, the best book covers should also provoke and surprise on their own. As books are increasingly being purchased and read on digital devices, the aesthetics of the book as physical object might matter more. Considering the thoughtful work put in by designers , physical books seem to do covers more justice. Well-designed books can, after all, persuade readers to purchase a physical, i.e., more expensive copy over its e-reader edition. Many bibliophiles understand the pleasure of a book’s physicality, especially one that looks as great as the story within reads. Indeed, a book can also, on some level, function as a humble objet d’art to be shown off on the shelf, coffee table, or Instagram. And, with the ever-constant flow of shared images on social media and advertisements , a successful book cover should grab our attention and, ultimately, sell. Below is a neither exhaustive nor impartial list of the best book covers of 2019 so far, chosen for their ingenuity in representing what lies between the books’ pages as well as for their aesthetic pleasure . You’ll want these on your shelf. Emily Skaja Brute Graywolf Design by Mary Austin Speaker Cover art by Walton Ford, Gleipnir This visceral cover designed for Emily Skaja’s equally visceral collection of poems is difficult to turn away from. Playing with scale and color, the lush backdrop gives way to a gargantuan wolf in the foreground. The text is unassuming in font and size, and yet the title, in all caps, looms with a sense of finality. The gingerly placed hand, suspended in a moment of uncertainty, is both menacing and whimsical in tone, both dark and optimistic—akin to Skaja’s poetry. Yōko Ogawa The Memory Police Trans. Stephen Snyder Pantheon Design by Tyler Comrie Combining photography with sketch, this portrait-based cover for Ogawa’s The Memory Police intrigues at once and evokes the Orwellian,surrealistqualityofthisfableabout the power of forgetting and remembering and the gaps in between. The contrast between dark blues and bright oranges catches the eye. Brilliantly, the design of the author name and book title is reminiscent of a police badge and is suggestively placed over the subject’s eye. Hanif Abdurraqib Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to ATribe Called Quest University of Texas Press Design by Sunra Thompson The gradient color elements of the text are only part of this book cover’s draw. Its excessive straightforwardness is both informative and heartfelt, characteristic of Abdurraqib’s work, a critical biography and memoir on the seminal rap group A Tribe Called Quest. Blending personal narrative with cultural criticism , the author approaches his work with humility and generosity. Riffing off the cover 8 WLT AUTUMN 2019 for a Black Keys album, which is riffing off a Howlin’ Wolf album cover, Abdurraqib’s book pays homage to music and its transformations over time, and the possible chain of connections made between listeners. Adam Ehrlich Sachs The Organs of Sense Farrar, Straus and Giroux Design by Alex Merto Adam Ehrlich Sachs’s The Organs of Sense begins in 1666, when an astronomer predicts a solar eclipse will cast Europe in darkness for four seconds—but this astronomer is known to be blind, mysteriously having had his eyes plucked out. The incredible bold green of this simplistic cover is initially arresting. In addition to the clever use of cut-out stars to symbolize the astronomer’s blindness, the collage cover feels...