Book Covers Part One

I try and read lots of books, fiction and art books mainly. Naturally I love to walk around a book shop like Heffers, Waterstones or Foyles and browse then eventually pick a new book. I would be lying if I said the cover didn't matter when looking for a new book, I would then read the blurb, have a think to see if I have heard of the author, and then look to see if it has any reviews from sources I trust before making the decision whether to buy it. I have made plenty of good buys and bad buys based on this, there is that old saying 'don't judge a book by it's cover', which now is used in various contexts. This year I have read lots of books, the one that has stayed in my head and which I cannot stop thinking about is A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

Ironically when I bought this book, it was based on a review on a website which gave a link to Amazon that gave it further great reviews. The book arrived and sat on my shelf for a good few months until I decided pick it up to take on the 724 pages. The image above shows the 2 covers to A Little Life, I have the cover on the right hand side, an unassuming white cover with large text showing the New York Buildings through the letters. The cover on the left hand side shows a man who most would interpret as expressing pain, crying or wincing (it isn't actually this). I assume that the cover on the left is either the an early edition cover or the American edition cover. If I was browsing in a book shop, as immature as it sounds - I don't think I would pick up the cover on the left. It doesn't inspire me or provoke me to want to read it.

Going off topic here, I am so glad I read it though. It was an exceptional book, the rave reviews in my option were spot on. Of course others have reviewed this book online and disliked it, I can see why it is not for everyone; there are parts to the book that could be considered extreme with the professional success of the characters unconvincing and unlikely. Yet to me it feels authentic, the characters with their insecurities and their voices seem alive, real and relatable in a bizarre way. The book is mainly set in New York, a city that I haven't managed to visit yet that have a had a long standing fascination with. The inside jacket of the book shows residential buildings in New York where I assume is Tribeca, Lispenard Street where the reader starts to learn about the characters. In the briefest terms, the book covers a friendship between four men whom met at College. It gracefully explores difficult topics such as self harm, drug addiction, child abuse and rape, domestic violence, suicide, loneliness and racial issues and insecurities. Yes, ambitious to take on so many dark and gruelling issues in one book, and if I had known this before reading again I would disregard the book and not read it. Yet despite that there are several parts of this book that were incredibly devastating and hard to read, the benevolence, loyalty and love between the complicated yet real characters offers a valid phases of relief and hope.

So what colours would I associate with this book? Perhaps I am influenced by the New York building colours, the blood from main character's self harming and the racial elements; white, grey, red, black, occasional the lightness of warm yellow. The second cover pulls this off fairly well. Perhaps the author Yanagihara and her publishers want to attract an audience of readers who are not going to be bowled over by a visually exciting cover but has confidence in the story's words resulting in it not needing a shiny foil over it to sell it.

Will this make me realise books shouldn't be judged by their covers? I am not sure, I can ever get over this notion as a visual person, it would seem that I am not alone. Many people respond to visuals and of course like a magazine a book, a book has to have shelf appeal, yet there is even more competition of different books to read in a shop so book cover originality is almost impossible. One book I did buy this year firstly based on it's cover (spotted on Instagram) then by the topic and author, is jewellery designer Alex Monroe's Memoir Two Turtle Doves.

Monroe's memoir was original and inspiring, a completely different type of book to A Little Life. It is a memoir about his creative process, his eccentric rural Suffolk upbringing and love of making things, there are touching, shocking and lovely parts to this book. Monroe seems (over using this word again) authentic and likeable. His childhood was in someways idillic, in other ways highly unconventional and in places borderline neglectful. I enjoyed reading about his journey with the difficulties (illness, relationship breakdown, financial difficulties) along the way to his deserved success.

The book covers above show the beautiful hard back edition on the left, and the paper back edition on the right. Both of these covers are created with beautiful sketches and illustrations. The hard back to me, holds more 'shelf appeal', with the navy background and gold lettering, but nevertheless the paper back also has an intriguing cover showing a combination of sketches, photographs and jewellery. It would be like comparing chalk and cheese if you did bracketed the covers of Two Turtle Doves and A Little Life against each other. These are both needless to say books that I have loved, what they are selling and what is behind the cover is beyond comparison.

#NewYork #ALittleLife #Reading #BookCovers