This Book Cover Irks Me

As someone who spend a lot of time reading books and about books and following authors and trends, etc. (I'm what they call bookish) I get passionately annoyed when I see a bad cover design.

GOLD
This book has been getting some buzz lately and its cover makes me crazy because ... I LOVE it! It's gorgeous, no? Looking at it, you think modern-day fairy tale? A crown? A castle? Princess? I look at this yellow cover and my mind clicks: "I want to read that!"
Gold by Chris Cleave
But it's a trick! This book is about OLYMPIC CYCLING, people! And about fighting for a gold medal. And two friends who end up in the Olympic finals. Um, really? That's it? Shouldn't there be a BIKE on the cover -- at least? See the full description here.

This alternative cover design version makes a bit more sense to me, but still, says nothing about the story.


Some context here: The author, Chris Cleave's previous book Little Bee was a Times's best seller about two Nigerian women who meet and their lives are changed, etc. So I SEE the publisher loves the silhouettes and bright hues. But, seriously.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Anyway, I'm feeling peevish again today and it's raining and cold, so I just felt like sharing my annoyance at silly book covers with you.

I should end with a quip about judging a book by its cover (or not) but, I don't have the energy.




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