Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Cover Redesigns I Loved/Hated. Honestly, until I started blogging, with very rare exception, I never noticed how many different covers the same book can have. I knew there were occasionally special anniversary editions, etc. but that was about it. Blogging has been very eye-opening when it comes to book covers, among other things.
Now that I do pay more attention to the different covers out there, I do have some favorites and some where I prefer the earlier version over the newer one.
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My Top Ten Favorite (and Not So Favorite) Cover Makeovers
1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
The one on the left is the older of the two covers, and I’m not a fan. Celaena just looks too doll-like. I much prefer the fiercer looking cover on the right.
2. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
I’m actually torn on this one because I really like them both. The one on the left is the one I own so I feel very nostalgic towards it and I love how atmospheric it is. That said I also love the vivid red, black, and white on the newer cover, not to mention the skulls and bones all over it. Both of these are winners for me.
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
This is another set of covers I’m torn on. The one on the left is the one I own and I believe the first cover that was issued in the U.S. It’s a great cover and of course there’s that nostalgia factor again. On the other hand though, look how truly gorgeous that cover on the right is. It’s stunning and I honestly think I prefer it to the original.
4. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
This series has actually had me conflicted about its covers as well, both because they changed and because I don’t think any of the versions matched each other well. In the case of the first book though, I think the original on the left is my favorite I do love the blue on each one, but I like the pop of the yellow on the original and I prefer the way the moths look versus the giant one on the other cover.
5. The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk
Although I really did love the one on the left, which is the original cover,
I do feel like the second one does a better job of conveying what the story is about and what age group it’s geared toward so thumb’s up to the newer cover design.
6. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
There’s a lot to love about both of these covers. Overall though, I think I prefer the newer cover on the right. I love the colors on that version and on the other two books in the series.
They’re vibrant and eye catching.
7. What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
I actually love both versions of this cover too. They’re both just adorable. I do like that the newer cover references their meet cute at the post office though so maybe give a slight edge to that cover.
8. Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
This is another where I really love both covers. I love all of the vibrant colors in the original on the left, but how badass does the one on the right look? If I hadn’t already purchased the one on the left, I’d totally prefer to own the one on the right.
9. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
This is one of my favorite books and if I had it my way, I would own all three versions of the cover. The one on the left is my favorite because I love the atmospheric quality – the glow from the cottage, the snow the night sky, etc. The second one is also gorgeous though and I always find myself staring at it because of all of the amazing details. The third cover is probably my least favorite. It’s still pretty of course but just doesn’t have the special qualities that the first two have.
10. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
I’m sure there are many more versions of this cover out there, but these are the three I see most often. My least favorite of this bunch is the one in the middle. Something about it – the rectangle in the middle, I think – just makes it looks like some dated required reading book for high school. I think if the picture in the rectangle just took up the entire cover, it would be much improved. I think in this case I actually prefer the original on the left with the direwolf on it. The one on the right is nice too but it just screams generic fantasy novel to me, not to mention the ugly HBO advertisement at the top of it.
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So there you have it, some of my favorite cover make overs. What are some of your favorites?