Never judge a book by its cover.
It’s likely that this sentence was embodied into you from a young age, with you barely being able to get through a day of primary school without hearing those immortal words muttered by a superior.
Yet we all know this was a somewhat impossible ideal to live by.
Would Roald Dahl have been such an influential children’s author had he not called upon the masterful skills of Quentin Blake as his illustrator? Well, probably. But it certainly helped.
You can recognise a Jacqueline Wilson book immediately based on the popular colourful illustrations of Nick Sharratt. No surprise then, that as time goes by Nick is being called upon by authors and publishers alike to illustrate characters in more and more childrens books, from Julia Donaldson (of The Gruffalo fame) to Jeremy Strong.
This of course begs the question, are we still as highly influenced as adults as we were as children? Are we still so intrinsically programmed to judge a book by it’s cover? Drum roll, please…
Cover to Cover
UK and US book covers selected from titles in the UK top 50 paperback chart, as compiled 28 August 2010. Hardcover versions used when the paperback is currently unpublished.
The Snowman: Jo Nesbo
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The Snowman by Jo Nesbo is a fantastic example of the differences in book cover design between books being catered towards the UK and US markets.
Having seen the UK cover (left) all over for the past month, I was surprised to learn that Jo is in-fact a man. Why was this? I’d like to say it was simply because Jo, with the e removed is classically classed as a female name – but this does not paint a whole and complete picture – for I in fact went to school with a male Jo.
No, the reason I assumed Jo Nesbo was a female author (if you’re reading Jo, apologies) was because the picture on the front of the UK version is of a female.
To look at the same book in the US (right) my perception couldn’t be more different – bringing about images of a winter-based SAW movie.
Preference: They’re both fairly unoriginal covers, but given the choice I’d go for the US cover (right).
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The Lost Symbol: Dan Brown
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Chances are if you pick up The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown you have already read The Da Vinci Code, and others, in the current series.
However, if you were to look upon these books for the first time, what would you see? To me, the UK cover (left) suggests mystery much more than the US cover, which I believe suggests more of an action/adventure style novel.
Preference: The UK cover (left) steals this one for me. The subtle tones far outweigh the bold colours of the US effort.
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The Complaints: Ian Rankin
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Here’s a contrast and a half for you.
Like many other authors with many novels under their belt, Ian Rankin’s paperbacks all come in a similar style. This similar style, it seems, is only consistent to the country of publication as it’s hard to find any similarities – bar the title – between the UK (left) and US covers of Ian Rankin’s The Complaints.
The US cover is very child-like. It would look out of place in teenage fiction, if it wasn’t for the recognisable authors name it could find itself in the 8+ section of many book stores. I can half see what they’ve gone for – but, to me, it just looks bad. I wouldn’t pick it up off the shelf, unless possibly to question it’s credentials under adult fiction.
Preference: The UK cover (left) is ‘same old’. It works, and it will do. The US cover is just bad.
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The Left Hand of God: Paul Hoffman
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The US have pulled it back! I like both of these covers.
Although both are somewhat unoriginal, in my opinion both of them work. The UK cover (left) has more layers to it, once again suggesting a more complex story – but I feel despite the US cover being plain it works really well.
Side by side, I’d pick up the US version first, every time.
Preference: The US cover (right) wins through minimalism and excitement. The US cover suggests an easier read than the UK cover.
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THE MILLENNIUM TRILOGY: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo / The Girl Who Played With Fire / The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest: Stieg Larsson
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Finally, to a trilogy that needs no introduction.
That aside, I will introduce them for politeness sake if nothing else. The Millennium Trilogy, containing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest is a collection of novels published posthumously by Swedish author Stieg Larsson.
I’ll go straight in there and say, in my opinion, the US covers far surpass the UK versions. I’ve seen the UK covers almost constantly for the past 10-12 months – but this isn’t a case of overexposure.
The US covers, especially the final part – The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest – are brilliant. Very original, very cool, very universal.
Despite all the good things I’ve heard about this series, I’m 100 times more likely to pick up the first book in the series dressed in it’s US cover than the UK’s effort.
Preference: The US covers (right) absolutely do it for me. The cover for The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest is, in my opinion, one of the best paperback covers I’ve seen this past year.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Ooooooh another great post, I think the Larsson UK covers are awful, they remind me of the covers of a series of young adult books I loved when I was a teenager. I’d actually avoid them in the shop, believing them to be tweeny tripe (*cough*Twilight*cough*). Having not read them they of course could be about sparkly vampires however the US covers redeem them for me, in fact I’m off to track down some US copies!
I’d never thought of them that way, the colours do coordinate with scary accuracy. In March I saw piles of the ‘UK’ cover of Hornets’ Nest piled high in a bookshop in Stockholm, so I guess our one consolation is we have the original!
American fan of Nesbø here. Interesting post. I find that the covers in general you reference exploit a male fantasy of crime fiction, i.e., that there is a female, albeit an attractive one, in either peril or control. The American covers (I can’t believe I’m saying this) are superior in that they do not attempt to exploit a perceived (or valid) gender bias in readership.
I love this point, particularity because this type of cover (UK Nesbo) is similar to many crime fiction novels in the UK. Not sure what that says about us. Would you say the American examples I’ve given here are fairly classic across the board (bolder, brasher and more colourful than their UK counterparts)?
I’ve yet to read the Snowman but it’s on the list.
I think the American covers are designed to rule out gender in advance. The covers of all of Nesbø’s books here are bereft of a human figure, certainly a female of any sort. That neutrality has an empowering effect, I think, on the potential buyer. As a female, I might avoid the obvious female-in-peril implied in the U.K. covers, but as a female in the U.S., I’m not ruled out in advance with the Snowman cover or any of the others.
As crime fiction goes, Nesbø is a cut above the rest in that his main character, Harry Hole is so utterly round, to use Forster’s term, and less prone to the indulgences of the more typical male-authorred texts.
In general, I think American readers are less drawn to the tabloid and are more drawn to the artsy in their covers. I think you’ve shown a fair dichotomy in the sensibilities of the two English-speaking audiences, and one that shows something profound about the readership preferences (real or perceived) even if we cannot, ourselves, specifically identify what that is. I’m female, so I’m guessing at what I think the dynamics are at play, but I wouldn’t stake my next paycheck on it, to be sure.
Totally agree with you. I’ve not looked anywhere near as far into gender differences in book cover design as you appear to have but it sounds fascinating.
I just read your comment out to a female friend. She absolutely agreed with you, saying the UK cover would bring about the exact emotions you described and she would therefore not buy it on those grounds. She also said she wouldn’t buy it based on the US cover – but this was less of an emotional reaction – more of a sense that the book wasn’t written for her.
You’re welcome to comment here whenever you like by the way, you’ve really given me some things to think about. Keep it coming! Do you write your own articles at all?
Hey Ben – Love this stuff. I’m going to use it in class because it saves me finding and abusing some more covers for my intro lecture. The UK Rankin cover is clearly better because the old steps are clearly Edinburgh! (Okay you are right I have just read every Rankin there is and I am used to and love the branding that goes on there) Couldn’t disagree more about the Larsson covers though because I love those books and am now very pro the cover I have become used to.
Your blog is brilliant by the way. I love reading your updates when I get chance. Take care :)
Glad you like it Ruth! Your support has been amazing :)I’ll have to dig out some American Larsson covers to change your mind! Only joking, have you seen the film-tie-in covers?Thank you again. It’s finally picking up steam, couldn’t be happier :)
I would also be interested in a comparison between books that not only use different covers, but different titles, too. This has always fascinated me.
My favourite example is the latest book from Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal.
UK: “Our Final Century: Will the Human Race Survive the Twenty-first Century?”
US: “Our Final Hour: A Scientist’s Warning: How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind’s Future In This Century – On Earth and Beyond.”
Another interesting one is Stieg Larsson’s first novel in the Millennium series, although this is slightly different.
The original (Swedish) title of the book is “Män som hatar kvinnor”, meaning “Men Who Hate Women”.
All English language versions of the book translate it to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.
All non-English language versions I’ve seen (French, Spanish, Dutch and German) keep the original title, translated into their own language.
Lloyd, this idea came into – and clearly slipped out of – my mind several months ago. I thank you for reminding me, I’ve made a note of it. It’ll be a post in the not-too-distant future I’ll say.
The Martin Rees example is just…ridiculous. I wasn’t sure when the US title was going to end. I’ll have to look high and low to beat that!
It feels so strange that you should say that about “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. I must have handled hundreds, if not thousands of copies of that book (and the other two in the series) and I never had a clue that the Swedish title was so different – let alone translated this way across Europe.
I was in Stockholm when “The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest” was released in paperback. If only I’d brushed up on my Swedish beforehand I may have noticed!