Not only do I like my books a great deal, but I’m very particular about what edition of a book I’ll read. In fact, if the book only comes in a short, fat format with tiny print (like many airport books) then I’ll skip it all together. Same goes for cover art that features actors from the movie version. (Sorry, but when I think of Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, I’m not imaging Keira Knightly). Least disruptive, but not my favorite, is the big “Oprah’s Book Club” stamp. That’s just embarrassing. I like my novels to be a good size, a legible print, and have cover art that gets me excited to read it. I plan on spending some good QT with the thing, so I want it to draw me into whatever world inhabits the space between the front and back covers.
Here are some editions I like. I stuck with classic novels, so we can appreciate the design of books whose covers have undergone many facelifts.
Cover Art by Ruben Toledo, who’s most known for his work as a Fashion Illustrator.
Until this edition (with the nice raw edge pages) came out, you could only find a short, fat, tiny-print version of this book. Now you can read it without squinting your eyes, and your only issue will be your thoughts on objectivism.
I love these new Penguin Classic editions (which you may recognize from Anthropolgie, if you shop there). I read their Jane Eyre and Tess of the D’Urbervilles, which come with great notes in the back too.
Penguin Threads
First Vintage Books Edition
Grove Press
Schocken Books
Vintage Classics
Borders Classics
Perennial Library
QPB Classics
Plume
A lot of what’s great about these editions is the pages, print and size (which you can’t see here). But we’re more here to consider how design is important, and judging a book by its cover isn’t necessarily such a bad thing.
And when all else fails, and I can’t find a good edition of a book I want to read… I have my Kindle Fire.
