The Top Ten Covers of 2012

This has been a year of epic covers! This post most certainly hasn't caught them all, but they're the first I could think of!

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. The dress! And I really like the border, the way it has little Alice in Wonderland references like the card suits and general prettyness.

The American  cover of  Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin. I like the UK one for its simplicity, but this one has a beautiful dress and setting with the clouds and umbrella and text.

Cinder by Marrissa Meyer. The shoe is the recognisable bit of the Cinderella, and the metal skeleton in the leg is a little creepy, but subtly sets the tone for the premise of the book-cyborg Cinderella.

Harbinger by Sarah Wilson Ettienne. The red moon is interesting, the background is good, but the red ties it all together.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. I love the use of the lighting and the way they work together. And the butterfly mask is gorgeous.

Pure by Jennifer L Armentrout. Actually, all of the Covenent series (which I need to get reading some time!) I love the way the flowers seem to be made of light and smoke at the same time, apart from Elixir, which is water. So pretty!

A Million Suns by Beth Revis. The space/stars/nebula/whatever the technical term for it is. And the colours. I'm also guessing that the girl and boy in the spacehship are important too.

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang. For a book that's about two girls in one body, this is infinitely clever-the two girls in one shape.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. I don't know why, but it's strangely nice to look at.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. The detail in that picture! And the dragon!


There was also a big thing about racism on YA covers. I've noticed this with a couple of books, but never really thought about it. There is a very well worded piece on this that can be found here though!

Once again-what would be on your list of favourite covers this year?

Cover to ...er, poster- Book to Film

So...yesterday, I went and saw the Woman in Black. Amazing film. Even if I did find the reactions of fellow cinema-goers slightly more interesting than the film itself. And the ending...it shouldn't have been that way! Arthur doesn't die in the book! And he wasn't married! *insert my normal rambling about how the filmmakers totally messed with the book*.

Anyway, here I'm doing cover to cover, with books that have been/will be made into films, and a poster produced. Because a poster is essentially the cover of the film. I did a similar one a while back, but this time, I'm not just looking for the ones that are worse after.
And onwards...Pre-film book cover on the left, poster for the film on the right. And because I'm actually awake for a change, I'm actually focusing on book-to-film adaptations of 2011/2012.

Please leave a comment on what you think of these, and don't forget-international giveaway of Emma Mill's Witchblood!

Cover to Cover- Happy Birthday Charles Dickens

So, today (would be) Charles Dickens' 200th Birthday! Well, if he wasn't dead... Anyway, in appreciation of this, I'm taking some of his greatest books, finding three covers for them from, well, anywhere, and choosing my favourite.  Do the same in comments?

Onwards...




A Tale of Two Cities

Illustrated classic, English, Sterling ; Indonesian, Elex Media ; English, Wordsworth Classics
I've never actually read this, so I can't comment on the suitability of these, but I have to say the Indonesian is my favourite. Guillotine covered in roses? Pretty....

A Christmas Carol
    
English, Stephen Skelton ; Italian, Mondadori; German, Hayne
None of these are particularly great... but I think the German has the cutest depiction of Scrooge. I think it would be nice to have one with the ghosts on the front.


Oliver Twist
 
Spanish, Transalantic Press; English, Modern Library; French, Dodo Press
I like the simplicity of the English edition, but the French cover is nicely done too.

Great Expectations

Japanese, Shinchosha; Russian, Detstvo. Otrochestvo. Yunost; English, Penguin Classics
I like the illustrations that come on the front of the English, and I get the idea that it's carried on inside. But the Russian is so pretty, and you just wonder about what Estella is doing... I like the Russian cover best.

I know I could go on and on...but I won't. What do you think of these covers? And are there any covers for his other books that should have been mentioned here, but weren't? And is anyone doing anything special for  Dickens' 200th?

Cover to Cover USUK & Through a Series- Soul Screamers

Someone said that they wanted to see more cover features....so, random person...here you are!

Today, I'll be looking at both the American and English versions of covers in Rachel Vincent's series, Soul Screamers. US on the left, UK on the right.

     
My Soul To Take (2009)
The red and black cover makes it seem a bit vampire-y, despite the book being about banshees. The UK cover raises questions as to why she's screaming, and the paler colour scheme makes it stand out. UK WIN. (Non-cover related note, the review, I thought I posted. I obviously didn't....Come back for that!)


     
My Soul to Save (2009)
Both have a bluer emphasis, but the black and white "other colour" (I don't know what to call it!) remains clear. I don't really like the model in the US version. Maybe it's her, or maybe it's the photographer. I don't like it. DRAW

    
My Soul to Keep (2010)
I don't understand the use of the flower. Well, I haven't read the book, but as someone looking on it, I don't get it.  US WIN

     
My Soul to Steal (2010)
The US cover just screams VAMPIRE! WHY?  The smoky effects look good though. I also don't understand the use of the butterfly, but as I prefer butteflies to lowers, UK WIN.

  
If I Die (2011)
What happened to the title? Random change in titles...unless the rest of the series is If I *insert action*. Which, apparently it isn't. Right. I like the US version here, with a huge touch of magic coming from the girl. Oh, and it diverged from the formula of same accent colour... interesting.  US WIN.

SERIES
I love the idea of keeping the accent colours the same throughout, but with a pale or dark main part. The US drew the prettier font, and the UK got the readable one.   This one is definitely a well deserved draw.

Cover to Cover- Battle Royale around the World

Before we get going, just like to say, I'm part of Spinebreakers now! An online book club with pretty much everything? Definately my kind of thing. This'll be fun....


Another installment of Cover to Cover. And this time, it's the Around the World type, where I take one book with editions that have different covers depending on where you are, then decide what book edtion I'd rather have.  And this time, I'm doing it for Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, one of my favourite ever books.

Picture heavy.

Cover to Cover- Reveal of Forgiven!!

Just noticed the cover of Book 3 in the Demon Trappers series....

LOOK!!!!


 I like the return of the model (I think it's the same girl....it looks like it...) and that tagline....I love. It's changed from the first two, which is good. It still looks like it's part of the series. And is still different. It's my favourite cover this series.




And I've just spent a post fangirling over just one cover....actually more the tagline. Still. Love this.
Normal service shall resume some other day.

Cover to Cover- The Fairy Edition

This is somewhat late.....the new blogger thinks it's so smart, or I'm so stupid, that it needs to repair my already perfect HTML. Which totally messes it up. Took me ages to get it to work. And then it didn't save....what happened to the autosave? Another twenty minutes re-writing it. Almost wanted to give up.

 But Cover to Cover is back. And like last time, it's books from a specific genre and compared. And it's fairies, a semi--common feature in YA. And because I've read absolutely none of these books, I can simply give my opinions on the covers and not be influenced by the book. And so, on to the feature...
((Picture heavy))

Cover to Cover #4- Vampire Edition

Cover to Cover- Vampire Edition
Another cover feature. This time I'm going to post a lot of covers, then see if I can see any trends in the designs....shouldn't be that difficult, should it?
Picture Heavy

Cover to Cover #3- US, UK

The third of the feature in which I showcase the covers, whether or not I like  the stuff inside them. This time it's US,UK, which is me comparing the American and English covers for various books. Which do you prefer? And do they match up to where you live? US cover first, then UK. Hetalia fans will understand the title...

Black Swan Rising

UK wins because the setting just looks more intriguing.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

US wins because it subtley suggests what's happening, making you read on.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

US wins because the red and black on the UK looks a lot like Twilight.


Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

UK wins slightly because it jumps out more. Actually, I like both of these.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

US wins because it gives a better sense of the sea monster element.

The Hunger Games

UK wins because it gives a better impression of the world and what's happening. (Also, I love the cover where you can flip it so you get a picture of Peeta if you want it. I got that one)

Infinty by Sherrilyn Kenyon

US wins because I like the symbol in the background and the way it's mirrored throughout the rest of the series.


So, I seem to like the American covers a bit more. Shame when I live in England, isn't it....Anyway...it's the actual writing that counts...but I still love pretty covers!
What's your favourite?

.............................
Oh, and speaking of Sherrilyn Kenyon, I know that this book isn't for the YA market, but she's one of my favourite author's and I just want to point out that her newest Dark Hunter book, RETRIBUTION is out today.
Here's the trailer.




Actually, there's a lot of new releases out this month that I'm excited about. Comment on what you think of these new releases too!