Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
Let’s face it, despite the old saying, most of us always consider the cover when deciding whether or not to pick up a book. I’ve always been a firm believer that the cover can tell you quite a bit about a title. Often times, publishers award the most desirable covers to the books they think are going to make them the most money. Even though it’s not a foolproof method, you could say that books with beautiful covers usually deserve a second look. That doesn’t mean a good book can’t have a crappy cover, as quite a few of my redesign selections today are among my all-time favorites. So without further ado:
Top Ten Book Covers I Wish I Could Redesign!
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- The Eye the World by Robert Jordan
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- Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
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- Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
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- Joust by Mercedes Lackey
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- The Soprano Sorceress by L.E. Modesitt
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- The Name the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
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- The Runelords by David Farland
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- Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead
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- The Program by Suzanne Young
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- Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
Interestingly enough, three of my ten covers were illustrated by the same person… I guess it’s safe to say his work just doesn’t speak to me. I’ve also included two Richelle Mead books because, as my favorite, I need covers that will help entice people to pick them up. There’s nothing worse than handing a customer a book with the disclaimer “don’t let the cover throw you off, it’s excellent!” The added visual really does help me get people excited to try new series. I realize a few of these actually have been redesigned, but I include them on my list anyway because I still don’t like how they were done.
I love covers, so as a bonus I decided to include my:
Top Ten Favorite/Least Favorite Cover Redesigns:
Favorite Changes – Before:
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- Homeland by R. A. Salvatore
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- Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb
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- Sword Dancer by Jennifer Roberson
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- The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron
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- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Favorite Changes – After:
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- Homeland by R.A. Salvatore
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- The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb
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- Sword – Dancer/Sword – Singer by Jennifer Roberson
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- The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron
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- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Least Favorite Changes – Before:
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- First Truth by Dawn Cook
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- Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
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- Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
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- Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
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- Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Least Favorite Changes – After:
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- First Truth by Dawn Cook
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- Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
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- Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
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- Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
I liked the old designs better… I’m almost embarrassed to hand the Dawn Cook series to anybody now – it’s one of my favorite Dragon stories, but you’d never know it from the new covers.
I hope you enjoyed the extra mile I went this week. What book covers would you like to redesign?
The Obsessive Bookseller 
Great list! I agree with the Vampire Academy pick. Those covers are surprisingly awful.
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Aren’t they? I’m amazed I picked them up in the first place.
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Awesome list. That cover for Wild Magic is terrible, the older covers are much nicer. Agreed about Vampire Academy.
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I do like the older wild magic a bit better… To have a feeling vampire Academy made everybody’s list… You would think the marketing team would do something about that ha ha.
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The Nightshade was perfect. Why did they ruin it?
My TTT
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I know, right? I can’t imagine what they were thinking.
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Great list! I also picked the VA cover, it’s just really boring and has put me off reading the series for years now. My TTT.
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It is quite possibly one of the biggest tragedies because the series as a whole is one of my favorites!
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Vampire Academy does need a redesign!
Check out Our TTT
Doris @ OABR
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Agreed!
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I considered several Pierce books for this TTT. Some of the covers are pretty… some of them are just peculiar.
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Yeah, I know what you mean. She is quite hit and miss… At least their content is always amazing!
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I actually really like The Program’s cover – the colors are very clinical, much like the atmosphere of the book. Why didn’t you like it?
I definitely agree with you about Throne of Glass – I’d pick up the newer cover much quicker than the older one.
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I didn’t like it because it was cold and… Clinical. LOL, you bring up a very valid point – I really didn’t think that one through when I picked it.
As for Throne of Glass, I would love to have a copy in hardcover, but I can’t bring myself to choose the old picture over the new.
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Great list I agree about The Name of the Wind I much prefer its redesign! Visit my TTT at http://thoughtsofalibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/11/top-ten-tuesday-covers-i-wish-i-could.html
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Thank you – I wish it was even better considering it’s my favorite!
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I haven’t read any of these books… I bet the cover had something to do with it
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LOL probably. The bad covers kept me away until I’d heard some really good feedback first.
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