Book Cover Trends

Yesterday's post about book cover usage prompted some thoughts about the covers themselves.

In reading a lot of fiction, I have come across some funny book cover trends that other readers have pointed out over the years. This funny video shows that when you spot a trend, you see it everywhere; in this case, people are walking to a lot of places. Closely related to this is women facing away (hello, Amy Lynn Green's book, Things We Didn't Say, that I agree was amazing!).

Others have commented on headless heroes or heroines. Another trend has been illustrated covers in lieu of either stock or staged photography. I don't think I have a preference, although I would say that in some of the fiction books I've read or owned, there have been times where the pictures of the characters on the covers don't quite fit the descriptions in the book, which gives me overall mixed feelings—the inconsistency! Thankfully, these things are much easier to fix now through editing images, whether illustrated or not.

Something that I am trying to picture in my mind is when an author moves from one type of cover to another. There's usually not much of a change to the spine, so it's not always apparent at bookstores, but I think it's more the mental model I have when I see the front cover, such as at used book sales or when browsing online.

A few authors that have recently made the switch from photographs to illustrations on their book covers include Becky Wade and Courtney Walsh. Other contemporary authors, like Bethany Turner and Melissa Ferguson, have only had illustrated covers as far as I know, so if I were to see photography on their books in the future, it could cause the same reaction.

I appreciate that book covers have evolved over time so that authors can attempt new ways to "package" their materials. At the same time, I really like things to match, which can make collecting books difficult when I run into a variety of editions. I suppose that trends come and go, and whatever is all the rage now, will transform into something different quite soon. In an age where cover reveals are lauded, and redesigned covers are commonplace, I expect that this will only lead to more interesting bookshelves. My favourite observation is the difference between historical fiction and contemporary fiction. Since this is how I have separated my books, I can definitely tell from afar what book is out, one of the fun things about book covers and the art and science behind them.

In terms of non-fiction, I definitely chuckle when I see similar types of artwork depicted across a number of genres, such as open doors, trees, ocean waves, and so forth. I do veer away from a lot of non-fiction books where the cover depicts a gigantic head shot of the author right on the cover as opposed to the dust jacket, but perhaps that's not quite as fair (e.g. judging a book by its cover). Maybe I don't mind a collection of pictures depicting fictional characters but would feel strangely about actual author pictures? 😆