10 Books I Bought Just for the Cover

Hi friends 👋🏻 I am not ashamed to admit that I can be shallow and will definitely pick up a book because I think the cover is pretty. It can be a gamble because there is always the chance that the insides don’t match the outsides, but that is a risk that I’m willing to take. I need to have the pretties, I just do.

I definitely go through different phases and what I like on book covers does change a lot, but as long as a cover is aesthetically pleasing to me, it’s all good.

Today I’m linking up to Top 10 Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl!

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix - I’m not the biggest fan of things about exorcisms or demons because they can come off as overwhelmingly Catholic, but I am a huge sucker for covers being made to look like old rental VHS boxes. I didn’t grow up with Blockbuster because my parents were members of an indie video rental shop, but I do have very fond memories of renting videos and even playing my own videotapes that I got for birthdays and Christmases.

Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw - Another VHS book cover! I didn’t buy this book just for the cover, but the cover is a huge part of why because it’s everything that I am obsessed with at the moment. Also, I have a big soft spot for UKYA books since I’m terrible at finding them (and they don’t get as much attention as USYA).

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland - I’m still not exactly sure what this book is about, but I picked it up immediately because of how stunning the cover is. Actually, I’m glad that the blur is kind of vague when describing the plot because then I can go into this one without knowing too much.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner - It’s been a very long time since I read this book but I have no shame in saying that I bought it just for the cover. 2014 was a great year for pretty book covers and this is the one that I always remember. Thankfully the insides match the outsides because this book is so beautifully written.

Splintered by A.G. Howard - I have no idea when I bought this book but I know it has been a long time, and I still haven’t read it yet 🙈 I used to be really into retellings but I’m not so much anymore, although I’m still planning to get around to it someday.

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh - As much as I love covers that have lots of pretty things going on (but not busy like a Marvel movie poster), sometimes a simple cover can please me just as much. Does this cover tell much about the book? No, it doesn’t. I don’t get “vampire novel” from this cover, but that just means that if I didn’t know what the book is about I would be in for a pleasant surprise.

Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly - Blue is my favourite colour so of course I had to buy a book that is not only blue on the cover but is printed in blue ink. No joke, the inside of this book is printed entirely in blue. I don’t know if the rest of the series continues with that but I hope it does because that’s so cool. (also, I still haven’t read this book either after owning it for almost a decade 🙈)

Horrid by Katrina Leno - Horror book covers have been getting so much more unique in recent times and I am 100% here for it. I often feel a little uninspired when looking through the horror section in bookshops because so many of them look the same and don’t have much of an identity, so covers like Horrid‘s are definitely welcome to me. Hopefully, this design trend can make it into adult horror because YA horror definitely has the upper hand in this area.

Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds - I love the recent trend of traditional art on book covers (does this count as traditional art? they’re cartoon people and not photos of real people) and this cover is so pretty to me. I love the colours and how easy they are on the eyes, and the girl’s hair is so gorgeous! Afro-textured hair is beautiful and you can fight me if you disagree.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - I have a bit of a story for this one: I didn’t buy this book because of the cover, but I did borrow it from the library because of the cover when I was in school. I didn’t own copies of the Uglies series for a long time and when I did I couldn’t get this cover because it was long out of print at that point. It actually came back into print sometime within the last year and when I saw it in a shop I thought my hair had turned white on the spot. I first read this book when I was 11 years old and now I’m almost 26. I’m old 👵🏻

talk to me!

What books did you pick up just because of the cover? Have any of them become one of your favourites?