Judge a book by its cover

"Don't judge a book by its cover"

I couldn't even begin to tell you how many times I have been told that, but I actually think that in relation to physical books, it is an outdated concept. Of course, a book doesnt have to be beautifully designed with a catchy title for it to be good, and equally an amazing title and beautiful artwork doesn't ensure greatness. But I can't deny that the appearance of a book is playing more of a role than I care to admit.

Books are everywhere, book shops, charity shops, online. There are thousands upon thousands at our disposal and my own collection is a minuscule dent into what is a seemingly never-ending supply. Sometimes I walk into a book shop and I am so overwhelmed with what I see that I really don't know where to start. So, ashamedly, I start with the front cover. Yes, I judge a book by its cover. But unless a book has been recommended to me or has been surrounded by hype, it is hard to decide which book out of the mass of unknown, is worth my money.

A catchy title is important, it should be relatively short and snappy, so that it rolls off the tongue and is memorable. The cover doesn't necessarily have to be bright or colourful but it needs to stand out. Then I always look to the blurb, a short passage which doesn't give too much away but gives a tiny insight into what the book offers, I dislike it when the back cover is just quotes from reviews, I like to know a little bit about what I'm letting myself in for. Equally I do like to see some quotations from good reviews, I know that they will be completely biased but I tend to look at the credibility of the publication they have been taken from.

Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events

What is so brilliant about the design of A Series of Unfortunate Events is that by giving the series itself an all encompassing name, Snicket was able to give each individual book a quirky and brilliant title whilst still keeping them under one umbrella name. Back when I was buying the books they were hard backs with a bound spine and lovely thick paper that was slightly jagged at the edges, it added character to the book and I also liked the uniformity of the series. Each cover has a beautifully drawn image that sums up the story line of the book and it is almost framed in the centre as a glimpse into the world you are about to enter. I really appreciated the time and thought that went into the creation of the physical book and there was something about it that meant I couldn't just stop at one, not only did I want to finish the story but I also wanted to complete my collection.

Susan Cain: Quiet

I don't really know how well known this book is, I don't see it get spoken about a lot and I suppose that is because if has quite a niche market. It discusses the value of introverts and the success they can achieve despite this preconceived view that they are akward and shy. The books brilliance comes from its simplicity. The title is sharp and short and brilliantly sums up the book in a matter of fact way. You almost can't help but whisper it. The cover is all white and has a shine to it, with the title raised slightly from the page. From a distance it seems to be nothing more than a blank page which is actually quite successful in drawing you in. It is a front cover that matches the words within and it is very effective

            

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

As far as I am concerned, The Great Gatsby has always had very successful covers, ranging from the simplicity of the Penguin covers to the iconic blue cover that I have always associated with the book. The title is brilliant and draws you in and because it is so well known the designers have pretty much had creative freedom in regard to the cover as the title speaks volumes. Yes I fell prey to the beauty that is what you see above. I am not ashamed.

 

Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden

This cover really stood out to me, the drawings are lovely and the hard back is a cloth cover which makes it feel a bit more special. The pictures within are also beautiful and it all helps add to the magic of The Secret Garden

Judy Chicurel: If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go

Right, so my problem here is the length of the title, I don't think that it is necessary and I can't imagine why there was the need for it to be so long. Maybe if the book had been amazing I could have forgiven it, but it wasn't and to this day it still bugs me that the title was allowed through the editing process. For me a shorter title is often more effective as it is easy to remember and simply rolls off the tongue so much better.

Here are another two books which I think have beautiful covers and I would be lying if I said that their covers didn't play a role in my decision to buy them.

Let me know in the comments how much the cover of a book effects your decision to buy it!

Eilidh 

Childhood favourites

The books that I read as a child seem to have been the books that stuck with me through my teen years and into adulthood. They are always my go to books when I am feeling down and they are always the books I recommend to others regardless of age- I actually think that kids and young adult books deal with very serious issues in a more sensitive and understandable way. Anyway, I am about to go into my third and final year at university, which means *drum-roll please* DISSERTATION. I can't quite believe how quickly it has all come around. So a couple of months ago I made the decision to do my dissertation on the influence of classical mythology on modern childrens literature- i'm thinking Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson etc. But it also got me thinking about the books that really made up my childhood, so here goes.

Elsewhere Gabrielle Zevin
Right, so I bang on about this book a bit too much, but I genuinely love it. If you want to see what I have to say about it you can see here and here. To sum it up, as someone who rarely reads books twice, I have read this over and over again which I feel shows just how much I enjoyed it! Elsewhere is an interesting take on an afterlife where the main character Liz finds herself journeying over to this afterlife named Elsewhere and we as the reader get to see how she copes with coming to terms with the end of her life and the afterlife she is now faced with.

Star Girl Jerry Spinelli
This is pretty much a book about non-conformity, as an almost teen when I read it, I felt like I could relate to it on a personal level. We all go through that stage where we feel the pressure to conform, I used to wear wacky clothes- bright colours, clashing prints etc and the only thing that got me through those awkward years was the fact that I didn't care what people thought. Star Girl is a beautiful character and she is a part of a beautiful story.

Chinese Cinderella Adeline Yen Mah
Around the age of ten I went through a bit of an oriental phase, the Chinese Cinderella books really opened the world to me and they encouraged me to expand my knowledge and go on and read the likes of Wild Swans by Jung Chang. Chinese Cinderella is an autobiographical account of Adeline's childhood, she covers what it was like to feel unwanted and her fight to prove herself. It is moving and touching and definitely worth a read. 

Journey to the River Sea Eva Ibbotson
This is another book that I have read over and over again, it shows the exotic Amazon through the eyes of a girl, Maia, who has never seen anything quite like it. Her excitement is contagious and I remember reading it in awe as the most exotic place I had ever been to was Scotland. It is beautifully written and I would recommend any Eva Ibbotson book.

Harry Potter JK Rowling
I'm pretty sure that it is impossible to write a childhood favourites list without including Harry Potter, they pretty much dominated my childhood. I remember the excitement of them being released and how my dad and I would race to see who could finish it first. I miss having the sort of excitement that is on par with christmas eve and I have never found a book that has got me quite so excited. 

The Lottie Project Jacqueline Wilson
When I was in brownies I did a collectors badge, whilst everyone else brought in beanie babies or other soft toys, I lugged in my ever growing collection of Jacqueline Wilson books. I was addicted, in fact my mum eventually had to intervene because when I was supposed to be moving on to more young adult/adult books, I was still tearing my way through Jacqueline Wilson. Whilst most of my childhood books have been passed on to cousins, the Jacquiline Wilson books have stayed with me. I particularly loved The Lottie Project as I went through a stage where every book I read had to be set in the Victorian times. Favourites also include Double Act, the Illustrated Mum and Lola Rose. Wilson deals with very serious and upsetting issues in such a way that makes it easy for children to understand.

A Series of Unfortunate Events Lemony Snicket
My dad used to bring these back from America for me before they were released in the UK. They follow the unpredictable adventures of three orphans and their attempts to escape Count Olaf. The first three are amazing, after that I found they became a bit unpredictable but I loved The Ersatz Elevator and The Austere Academy too. 

Daisy Chain...Joan O'Neill
My favourite Joan O'Neill book is actually Daisy Chain War but my room is currently a mess of towering piles of books and for the life of me I couldn't find it. This was a favourite during my WW2 phase.

Back Home/ A Little Love Song Michelle Magorian
Michelle Magorian really fuelled my love for WW2 fiction, my favourites were actually Back Home and A Little Love Song, but I think they have been swallowed up by my room.

Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman
I find it really hard to put into words how I feel about this book, if offers a view into a world where racism is at the forefront, in a Romeo and Juliet style, cross Sephy falls in love with nought Callum. Dear me did I cry at the end of this, it will leave you feeling numb. There are three other books that follow in the series as well as a short story so if you love it then the story continues.

Let me know what your favourite books were when you were younger!

Eilidh 

Blast From The Past

Childhood is a joyous time, free from worry and responsibility. I wish I could go back to the days of flared jeans and homecut fringes, when I didn't feel the pressure from society to dress or look a certain way. I have recently turned 20 and as pathetic as it may sound, I'm feeling old! And in a bout of reminiscing I decided to raid my room in the hope of finding a childhood treasure. My family was never one to hoard and most of my toys and clothes were inevitably passed onto a cousin or friend, but I found a couple of things that I had obviously deemed worth keeping. So here goes! 

Right so let's start with the book, Milly-Molly-Mandy was one of my all time favourite books as a child, this one had belonged to my grandma and it's safe to say that it must have passed through a few hands before it reached me as it is slowly falling apart! 

The only thing is I wish I could go back and tell past me not to colour in the pictures, but ah well, atleast it was loved! When it came to children's books, after I read them they were often passed around the rest of my extended family but I always made sure to keep my favourites! 

A Series Of Unfortunate Events was one of my favourite sets of books! Lemony Snicket has such a quirky writing style and such an amazing imagination, everyone- child or adult- should give these a go! The reason I chose to keep these was because I had all 13 of them and I'm so glad I did, because recently I went into my local Waterstones and found that the covers had been redesigned- this may sound a bit stupid, but the covers on the books I have are just so beautiful! 

And of course I can't mention my past favorite books without including Harry Potter. I was a pretty big fan (who am I kidding- I still am!) I remember trying to fit them into my book bag so I could take them into school! 

So this may seem like odd items to keep from my childhood, but I had my reasons! This was my first watch, it has Winnie the Pooh on it and a bee marks the second hand. The Nokia phone was a Cath Kidston special edition back when I had a bit of a Cath Kidston obsession- it doesn't work anymore but I can't bring myself to get rid of it! And finally I have my first set of keys- they are of no use anymore as we have since replaced the doors they open but it just reminds of me of starting secondary school and being entrusted with the house keys which was a big deal back when I was 11! 

Are there any childhood items that you just can't bring yourself to throw away?! 

Love 

Eilidh

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