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2010 General/Women's Book Covers

Band of Sisters by Annette Lyon
Publisher: Covenant

LDSP comment: Band of Sisters is a definitely a book for women. I thought the image of the women's stacking fists communicated that very well. I also liked the color. I didn't care so much for the title in a box, right there in the middle of the image, but I did like the scroll work around it.


Growing Up Gracie by Maggie Fechner
Publisher: Cedar Fort

LDSP comment: I loved everything about this cover. It would definitely have me picking it up from the bookstore shelf and flipping it over to read the back. I like the image, that it takes up the entire cover and that the truck is off center. I like the fonts used for the title and the author's name. I like their placement on the cover and that they don't detract from the image. I even like the scrollery at the very top and the "a novel" in the middle. This book is my choice in this genre.


Leaning Into the Curves by Nancy Anderson & Carroll Hofeling Morris
Publisher: Deseret Book

LDSP comment: This is what I call LDS Chick Lit. I think the cover did a very good job of communicating that. I loved everything about this cover, too—the colors, the image placement, the fonts, the little flower in the top left and bottom right. It didn't bother me one bit that the legs are a little too shapely for a "mature" woman. This is my second place choice—and I really debated a long time between Leaning Into the Curves and Growing Up Gracie.



My Gift to You by Lori Nawyn
Publisher: Covenant

LDSP comment: I chose this as one of my genre finalists because of its simplicity. I like the lacy background. I like the blues. While the title and the cover match, I'm not sure I would have chosen that title myself. I might have gone with something a little catchier.



Sun Tunnels and Secrets by Carole Thayne Warburton
Publisher: Walnut Springs

LDSP comment: Of all the categories, this one had the fewest covers to choose from. I chose Sun Tunnels and Secrets because of the cool image of the tunnels. I agree with some of the comments that the cover is a little dated and, other than that image, doesn't do much more to invite me to pick it up. I have to admit, this was an add in because I wanted five books in each category, and I'm surprised that it won the Reader's Choice for both the genre and the overall.


12 comments:

Jennie said...

I really didn't like any of the choices!

Stephanie Black said...

I voted for Growing Up Gracie. The layout of the photograph, the colors, the font, the setting--I just think it's a great cover.

I also like Band of Sisters--it does a great job of communicating what the story is about.

Leaning into the Curves has a fun, stylish cover.

Danyelle Ferguson said...

I really love the cover for Band of Sisters. I love that it's a bunch of women, making a fist pact - kind of like a sports team doing their "all hands in" and chant before going off to face the challenge in front of them. Totally fits the story, too.

LDS_Publisher said...

Jennie, if you didn't like these, which covers in the General/Women's category did you like? Just curious.

Kaye P. Clark said...

The cover of Growing Up Gracie has a lot of appeal. The natural colors and simplicity of the design draw the reader to wonder who Gracie is and what her story might be.

Joyce DiPastena said...

I went with Sun Tunnels because I don't like trucks and I don't like cartoony pictures. Band of Sisters screams "feminist novel" to me, even though my brain KNOWS that's not what it's about. I liked the colors and simplicity of My Gift to You (blue is one of my favorite colors, after all), but the title doesn't intrigue me at all. Sun Tunnels at least makes me think of a sunset, and I love sunsets, so that's it. You did say to be subjective, didn't you???

LDS_Publisher said...

Yes, Joyce. Cover art is almnost entirely subjective. That's the point--to evoke an emotional response that "forces" the browser to pick up the book and buy it. :)

Maggie said...

Thank you so much for this neat way to highlight covers. Let's face it, most of us do judge a book by its cover. I absolutely do.
I'm the author of Growing Up Gracie and I was just so very pleased in the Cedar Fort artists' job with it. It gives me such a feeling of the wide open spaces and simplicity of life in Wyoming--where the book is set (and where I grew up). So of course, my vote is for that one.
I also really love the Sisters cover. Very beautiful. The one with the gift is a bit too plain for me. And the Sun Tunnels one doesn't interest me. That just doesn't look like the type of book I enjoy--it looks a little more mystery-ish to me.
Thanks again for the contest.

Charlie Moore said...

I voted for Growing Up Gracie just because I like the rural feel of it.

Charlie

~T~ said...

The cover of Leaning is cute... but are those really supposed to be the legs of a sixtyish woman? I thought thought they belonged to a young mother with a jogging stroller. I hope my legs will look like that someday!
I had to vote for the Band of Sisters.

Jennie said...

You asked which Womens fiction cover I liked best. To be perfectly honest I can't think of any that particularly impressed me, though if I had to choose it would probably be Anita Stansfield's Dickens Inn covers.

Dave and Amy said...

Having no design or art background, I truly had to go by "if these 5 books were in front of me, which one would I would choose first to pick up and read". My top two choices of books are mysteries and romance. Even better is something that combines the two. Growing up Gracie and Sun Tunnels and Secrets are the two that appealed to me most. Tunnels for the mysterious side of me. Gracie for the "looks like home" although the title did nothing for me.