Happy July: Free Books! Cover Competition!

[sarahtales]

So six of my friends and I were discussing US and UK covers one day, and we compared and constrasted and generally came to very few conclusions about the difference between US and UK covers. We were focusing on young adult covers, as we're all young adult authors, and I thought it might be interesting to share some of our waffling here. Possibly

Comments

[catherinehaines]

Here in New Zealand we seem to get odd mixes of UK and US covers. I don't know whether Australia is similar or leans more strongly towards one or the other, so someone else will have to comment on that respect.

To go through the covers that you have listed, I have seen in shops the UK Forest of Hands and Teeth and Knife, but the US Mortal Instruments, Devouring and Uglies. And we have the iconic red and black Twilight covers, although when I first read it it was the hardback UK cover.

For some more examples of UK covers I have bought here/seen in bookshops rather than online (thank you thank you thank you for the BookDepo plug during #amazonfail. I can actually buy more books because they're not outrageously expensive as they are here, and it actually has books that won't be out here for months) would be Morganville Vampires, Meg Cabot's books and Wicked Lovely etc. Tamora Pierces are a hodge podge and could be either or.

As for me, I tend to be attracted to UK covers - the US Uglies one makes me go "meh" while the UK one grabs me right away - and I already own the UK Demon's Lexicon. Were I to pick books to look at that I haven't read based on covers, right now I'd go for the UK covers of Ash, Knife (I made the decision very quickly to get the UK one simply for the artist - it's Brian Froud!) and Forest of Hands and Teeth, and the US cover of The Devouring and The Summoning.

But for Forest of Hands and Teeth, the cover I really adore is the German one. I showed my friends all three variants and they immediately latched onto the German one - they're all very upset that they can't have that one.

[sarahtales]

Why do people have to tell me about their preferences? *cries and clutches brandy and her US cover* Tell the competition, it upsets me!

Very interesting to know about the mix, though: I knew that the Mortal Instruments series sold with their US cover in Australia and NZ, and that my book sold with its UK cover, but little else.

Random House Germany, where Carrie and I both are, gives good cover. *uses German icon*

[rj_anderson]

*hands you the smelling salts, having already sampled them prodigiously*

[sarahtales]

Our children's faces!

[rj_anderson]

*squeezes their wee cheeks and sends them off to play*

[catherinehaines]

I have the UK Demon's Lexicon, and I love it. :)

[rj_anderson]

We have the same thing in Canada -- an odd mix of the US and UK covers. Sometimes you can find both covers in the same bookshop, side by side (as I did with Steve Augarde's The Various and Celandine a few weeks ago).

BTW, your icon is made of win. I used to want to get married in that very dress, with my hair just like that. Sigh.

[catherinehaines]

I didn't want to get married in that dress, I just wanted to dance and dance forever with a certain Goblin King in it. :)

[rj_anderson]

Well, that too. But I was trying to be realistic.

I may have watched Labyrinth mumbleteen times after I first saw it in the theatre at 16. Unfortunately, the ending never changed. Deeper sigh.

I have no idea why I have no Labyrinth icons. You can just imagine that there is a nice text one up there that says, "It's so very stimulating being your hat."

[catherinehaines]

I probably have the excuse of being four when I first saw it, so that might be it.

No, wait. 22. Dream still there.

[catherinehaines]

I thought that might be the case, as we seem to be covered under the same rights thing - you see US, UK, Aus/NZ rights etc. Makes sense.

[tenik]

I wonder if Meg Cabot's covers are bright and sparkly in both the US and the UK? The NZ and UK ones seem the same (I'm a Kiwi who's over in the UK).

Veering into discussing the covers of children's books... that also reminds me of the very shiny Artemis Fowl books. My Mum bought my brother Charlie Bone books because they were just as shiny therefore must be as likeable. It looks likes UK went with shiny and US didn't for those. Whereas Artemis Fowl is shiny in both countries. With NZ going with the slightly more iconic US covers.

[sarahtales]

The covers I've seen of Meg Cabot's are all bright, but I do recall a title change - the US Pants on Fire became the UK Tommy Sullivan Is A Freak.

[tenik]

Her adult ones I think are less bright, but still quite pink.