#1. Wing-tattooed female backs. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson vs. The Last Angel by Natasha Rhodes. (EDIT May 27: avisannchild , another blogger slightly obsessed with look-alike covers, mentioned another cover for this category: Abyssinian Proof. Thanks!) I actually don't know anything about either of these books. I found them while looking for a look-alike to another title. I think I may look them up now, though, just for the heck of it. For some reason The Last Angel looks like it would be a YA novel, while The Gargoyle is an adult novel. Just a guess. Anyone know? What I know is that I need to work out my back more...
#2. Women with only part of their faces showing. Saffron Dreams by Shaila Abdullah vs. The Splendor of Silence by Indu Sundaresan. You can see almost nothing of either of these women, but they say a lot with their eyes. I think I like the Saffron Dreams cover more.
#3. Girls with wings! Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson vs. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr. Notice how both their faces are blurred or obscured so that the total emphasis is on the wings? I haven't read Ink Exchange, but I may have to look it up at least to see what it's about.
#4. Ivy by Julie Hearn vs. Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Did they use the same model? I guess it would save money if they can create several book covers from the same photo shoot. Even the font is similar. That wraps it up for this round of Cover Look Alikes (Cover Cage Match?). So tell me, do book covers play a significant part in getting you to read, or at least take a look at, a book? Which cover from each pair do you like more? Which pair do you think are most similar?
18 comments:
Sometimes. Often the font the title's in makes a huge difference in whether or not it jumps out at me.
Have you noticed, though, that more than one of Penelope Lively's books have almost the same cover? I find that obnoxious. It's one thing when the books are totally unrelated, just a happy accident-- or when the books are in a series-- but two unrelated books by the same author? Shouldn't be done.
Book covers and titles...the big teasers that suck us in to lift the book off the shelf and have a closer look. I would bet there's an entire industry dedicated to what appeals to the target audience. I know I almost invariably pick up "chick lit" from the random tables at the front of book stores. It can't be by accident...
#4 looks like the same girl!
I love picking up books by their covers. However I have been sadly disappointed before by them.
And I totally recommend Ink Exchange, but if you are going to read it then make sure you read Wicked Lovely first, they are part of the same 'world' but WL sets everything up pretty nicely for IE. :)
Tantalize was alright too, I don't know if you've read it. I think it would have been better as an adult novel (if it was expanded), because it felt a bit rushed as a YA novel.
Woah, I rambled a lot. Sorry!
-Jess
That's ok. Rambling comments are one of my favorite things!
I read Tantalize and I have to say I did not like it at all.
The Gargoyle is an amazing book! I would recommend to anyone.
Book covers play a big role when I'm choosing a book at the library or a book store, it's what draws me to check what the book is about.
I haven't read any of these books but I heard The Gargoyle is really good and plan to read it sometime. I think it has a beautiful cover too!
A good book cover will usually make me stop and take a look at a book, but it usually won't sway me to buy if the description doesn't look that great. In the flip side I will debate buying a book even if the description looks good but the cover is horrendous, that's when other factors will come into play like how many books I already have in my pile to buy, etc.
I LOVE these posts! So clever. And yes Patricia, there is an entire industry built around this very thing. And the typography - font on the cover (and inside the book) mean a lot more than you could ever guess.
A book with a pretty cover is more likely to be picked up and examined by me than a book with a less pretty cover however a less pretty cover will not stop me from reading a book...though it might slightly deter me from buying it. As for the covers I like the best out of the pairs? Left, left, right right. :D Wow. The fourth pair's covers?...that's the exact same picture only flipped around, cropped, and with the colours fiddled with.
Hi,
This issue of lookalike covers has been driving me crazy. Your entry inspired me to make a post on the same theme. I linked back to your blog, hope that's OK!
http://constance-reader.blogspot.com/2009/05/query-lookalike-covers.html
Ah another blogger bitten by the looking-for-lookalikes bug! I do a weekly post on lookalikes, as you probably already know.
You've found some good ones! The last two are definitely the same model!
Wow Ivy and Tantalize look like the same picture, just flipped. Yikes.
Hiya again! I found a third lookalike to go with your winged back tattoos. Check out the cover for The Abyssinian Proof.
Hey thanks, I am glad you like the cover of Saffron Dreams. I am the designer as well as the author of the book.
Shaila Abdullah
http://www.shailaabdullah.com
the gargoyle was amazing. im jealous. i wanted wings for so long and then i found that book. Damn! someone already took my idea.... and put it on a book cover.
but the book is extremely good
I totally agree with you! I think the most prominent is Ivy and Tantalize. I remember picking up tantalize in the bookstore and then putting it down again thinking it was ivy (which I had already read) and then I did a double take and realised I hadn't read it, its just that the covers were basically the same!! Great blog entry :)
For #4 another book that has a similar cover is Bree's Fire by Eva Roy
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