I Always Judge a Book by Its Cover

One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde. I love absurdity, especially when it’s found on a book cover. This sequel’s design raises more questions than it answers, which seems perfectly appropriate given the novel’s title. The blue background is streaked in light beams that reach up and spread across the title. The title itself is blurred and evidently part of the background, which is an unusual and bold move. The author’s title, on the other hand, is commanding with its bright yellow and serif facade. What I like best about the design is the visual scene—a bookshelf containing old paperbacks on the precipice of a fall, followed by a Norman Rockwell-type illustration of a woman who actually is falling. Evidently, the books have upset her of her spot on the shelf. The scene does an excellent job of alluding to the literal and metaphorical literary world of the story.

Readers’ Average Rating: B+

A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion. I love the split-screen feel of this cover. On the one side, you have a seemingly ordinary woman who may or may not be troubled with her “ordinary” life. On the other, you have (ta-da!) scattered letters. This is both poetic and literal, which does not often occur, at least not effectively. The light green map of Wisconsin establishes the setting for the story, while offering a calm feel. The scattered white letters are a nice, almost fun accent to what might otherwise be a typical literary fiction novel design: boring, homely. Split-screen doesn’t always work, but this design is fresh.

Readers’ Average Rating: B+