Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame as Pieces of Art



In which Sam starts out serious then slowly descends into goofing off, but can you blame her?  She just finished law school!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so we'll let the covers do the talking today!  One caveat: this is a JUDGMENT-FREE ZONE.  I promise not to judge you, if you promise not to judge me :-)

As always, thanks to The Broke and Bookish for this fabulous feature!




10.  Nick Bantock, Sabine's Notebook.  The entire trilogy is a delight, but it was the art on the second book I found most enchanting.


Image Courtesy of the Denver Public Library
9.  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit.  More specifically, the one I first had my hands on, which according to Wikipedia, was a first edition (?!?) That can't be right . . . 


Cover has stylized drawings of mountain peaks with snow on the tops and trees at the bottom.
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
8.  Joanne Fluke, the Hannah Swensen mystery series.  Okay, remember how we promised not to judge each other?  Think of how cute these prints would look all lined up in a kitchen!  Morbid, yes . . . but cute!
Image Courtesy of Sheppard Memorial Library's Pinterest

7.  Katherine Ashe, How to Marry a Highlander.*

 . . . REMEMBER HOW WE TALKED ABOUT NOT JUDGING.


Image Courtesy of Katherine Ashe and Also Scotland
Listen, listen, though. I'm Scottish.
 . . . 

Moving on.

6.  Chris Van Allsburg, Jumanji.  Or, you know, literally any page from any book by Chris Van Allsburg.
Image Courtesy of 3 Blue @ Hill Mead Primary School
5.  Collin Thompson, How to Live Forever.  One of the most beautiful children's books I've ever read, and a bibliophile's dream to page through.

I'm also noticing I tend to go back to children's books for beautiful art . . . anyone else in the same boat?


Image Courtesy of Mrs. O's Blog of Children's Literature
4.  Rick Riordan, The Kane Chronicles.  I was tempted to include ALL of Rick Riordan's covers, because I think they're all beautiful (BEFORE THEY WERE MARRED BY THE FILM COVERS) but since I couldn't, I'll include The Kane Chronicles because they get less play and love, but I think they're equally amazing and I actually think the covers are more beautiful and vibrant than the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series.


Image Courtesy of Clean Teen Reads
3.  Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon.  You may begin to sense a theme as the top of the list approaches . . . the theme being women . . . with swords.


Image Courtesy of the Misadventures of Moppet
2. Garth Nix, Abhorsen.  It was a tough call between Abhorsen, Lirael, Sabriel, and Across the Wall, because I love Leo and Diane Dillon's cover art.  (That's why I am VERY disappointed that the cover art for the upcoming Clariel looks to be in a different vein, akin to the more recent reissues of the Old Kingdom novels.)  But in the end, I have to  go with the final book in the trilogy, with Lirael captured at an absolutely gorgeous moment in the story.


Image Courtesy of Neoseeker
1. Tamora Pierce, The Song of the Lioness (omnibus).  My favorite cover featuring Alanna, and one of the few pieces of art I look at and think, "There. Yes. That is who I want to be."  I like my art inspirational, and there's nothing more inspiring to me than this piece of art.

Hmm . . . let's see how I manage in corporate America! :-(


Image Courtesy of the Tamora Pierce Wiki
Happy Tuesday, readers!  Thanks for stopping by!

-Sam

*All jokes aside (especially the joke about wanting to frame the cover) I've actually read (and enjoyed) How to Marry a Highlander.  I highly recommend it for an otherwise tedious activity, e.g. sitting at the DMV.

11 comments:

  1. Ahahahaha! No judgement (but lots of entertainment). I super love the original Abhorsen artwork, but I actually really like the 2014 version of the covers that match the new Clariel...but I think they might be UK or Australia and we're just getting the boring symbol one which..BOO.

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    1. Haha hooray :-) Glad you enjoyed! And interesting -- I have mixed feelings about the new Clariel cover (what's with the dragon??) but if it's just the symbol, there will be REVOLT haha.

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  2. Children's books didn't even cross my mind, which is odd since I already have Where the Wild Things Are artwork on my wall lol. Great list! :)

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    1. Oooh, that must look gorgeous! Once you start considering the artwork in children's books, it's hard to look at anything else ;-) Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Yes! My vote is on How To Live Forever. I'd put that in our library, definitely. Mine is HERE.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! And totally agreed on How to Live Forever :-) Love your list, by the way!

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  4. Actually, I'd say that you've got a great idea with the Hannah Swensen series framed in a kitchen. And I do totally agree with you on The Kane Chronicles covers. I like them a lot more than the ones for Percy Jackson - but that migt be because they all look a little Egyptian and I love Egyptian culture and art.

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    1. Haha well I appreciate that! I may actually make those prints and do it :-) And agreed -- I was SO excited when Rick Riordan decided to do a series based on Egyptian mythology! Thanks for stopping by :-)

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  5. JRR Tolkien all the way. I really love the covers for all his books, even if I've never read them. Congrats on finishing law school! :)
    -Marianne @ Boricuan Bookworms

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    1. YES!!! They are amazing -- and I'm in the same boat, I've only made my way through The Hobbit and a fair portion of The Fellowship. I think of it as an ongoing saga in my life! Thank you so much - very happy to be finished -- and thanks for visiting! :-)

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  6. Really amazing collection of all these books. I love to read books online. I read your post and really glad to read this post. I want to know about How to live forever. Where I can download ebook. I want to read this book. Can you please share download link.

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