Book Covers

This was suggested a while ago by a kind Covers reader, but I forgot about it until just recently when I saw it on the shelf.

The jacket has a wonderful tactile quality due to its having been printed on an uncoated stock.

The imagery comes from a couple different sources. The book is a memoir in which the author ice skates figure eights as a child, which in turn acts as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of her life. The hauntingness of the brown paper and smudged ink seems to come from the fact that the author’s life has not been entirely without troubles, which includes having been raped as a child, and struggles with her own children.

— , 2007-06-15 05:58:00 -0400

yes, yes, and yes! plus i discern a distorted Edgar A. Poe in the upper portion of the 8. weird.

Yeah, it works—especially if it’s on uncoated. I like the subtle incorporation of the words “all true” and “unbelievable”. It is haunting. I’d have put the authors name elsewhere. like in the middle of the top half of the “8”. Since it’s about her anyway…

reminds me of Lemon, where the author hand-drew all 10,000 covers for the initial release

I love this jacket. The spine is a beautiful forrest green, and the type on the back is really well done too, if memory serves.

One caveat: The spine makes the words “all-true” and “unbelievable” more prominent, bookended around the “8” so that they seem to become part of the title itself. This is a bit confusing, since they’re so hidden in the form of the 8 on the cover… where they definitely don’t feel like they’re a part of the title.

But with that one persnicky bit said, I love this. Really. It’s just freakin’ gorgeous.

Pretty great. The placement of the author’s name seems fine to me; there might be better options but that is a good option.

Yeah, that green spine really topped it off. The actual cover does have that reddish hue to it—and it does not bother it much… same goes for the name stuffed at the bottom there. For the looseness and sort of hand done style it all works. I think overall, for me, the general feel of this piece is nice, but I would not say it is executed in the best possible way. If it was a book of poems—yes, but otherwise it becomes too conceptual—riding too much on the readers ability to interpret it’s symbolism: What’s the eight have to do with it? Are those ice skaters? People walking away from each other? why is it so “artsy”? I agree with Sergio’s comments—the actual title is a bit convoluted—on spine and cover.

Very modern though and in general a nice little book, to hold, and hopefully to read.

Ben, can you post spines whenever possible? It’s always nice to see how it all looks. That would be a nice addition to see that…

Sorry, I don’t like this cover, though if those are slab serifs on the handwritten wee title I might change my mind!

But I’m not crazy about the treatment of the author’s name. It looks really smashed in there. Oh well…

Undoubtedly a strong grphics. But, I’ld prefer it more with a cleaner typography. Overuse of gimmicks should have been avoided.

Interesting. It would catch my eye, and I’d probably pick it up in the book store to read the blurb on the back. Interesting, but not great, I think.

I love this cover. I especially love the “all true” and “unbelievable” sort of hidden in the figure 8. Very cool.

I’d actually like to know how & in what applications it was built. Also, is it “a novel,” non-fiction, or “a restaurant & gathering place?” & maybe could the author’s name be integrated in the “8” with All True & Unbelievable instead of on the bottom?

I am drawn to the sombre movement of the skaters and I like the simplicity of the illustration… 8. I would at least pick it up on the shelf to see what the text is about.