Inspiration

86 Beautiful Book Covers

by . March 19th, 2010

Let’s be honest; as designers, we almost definitely will judge books by their covers. When they’re all we have to go on when we’re deciding what to buy at the bookstore, who can blame us – or any book shopper, for that matter?

This post is a celebration of the idea that yes, book covers do matter a great deal. If you’ve read any of these books and have thoughts on how they fit with their covers, we’d love to hear them in the comments!


Beautiful Book Covers and Designs


 

The Red Pepper in the Hay, by Marion Steiger

Beautiful Book Covers - The Red Pepper in the Hay

Obsession: A History, by Lennard J. Davis

Beautiful Book Covers - Obsession: A History

Leather Maiden, by Joe R. Lansdale

Beautiful Book Covers - Leather Maiden

Loneliness, by John T. Cacioppo & William Patrick

Beautiful Book Covers - Loneliness

The Boat, by Nam Le

Beautiful Book Covers - The Boat

Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann

Beautiful Book Covers - Let the Great World Spin

The Letters of Noel Coward, by Noel Coward

Beautiful Book Covers - The Letters of Noel Coward

The Bedside Book of Beasts, by Graeme Gibson

Beautiful Book Covers - The Bedside Book of Beasts

Beowulf

Beautiful Book Covers - Beowulf

Garden State, by Rick Moody

Beautiful Book Covers - Garden State

Quarrel and Quandary, by Cynthia Ozick

Beautiful Book Covers - Quarrel and Quandary

The Verificationist, by Donald Antrim

Beautiful Book Covers - The Verificationist

Killing the Buddha, by Peter Manseau

Beautiful Book Covers - Killing the Buddha

Flying Leap, by Judy Budnitz

Beautiful Book Covers - Flying Leap

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy

Beautiful Book Covers - Anna Karenina

Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo

Beautiful Book Covers - Bridge of Sighs

Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson

Beautiful Book Covers - Housekeeping

The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath

Beautiful Book Covers - The Bell Jar

The Naked Pint, by Christina Perozzi & Hallie Beaune

Beautiful Book Covers - The Naked Pit

One to Nine, by Andrew Hodges

Beautiful Book Covers - One to Nine

The Gettysburg Address, by Abraham Lincoln

Beautiful Book Covers - The Gettysburg Address

At Swim, Two Boys, by Jamie O’Neill

Beautiful Book Covers - At Swim, by Two Boys

These Granite Islands, by Sarah Stonich

Beautiful Book Covers - The Granite Islands

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

Beautiful Book Covers - Jane Eyre

Afterwards, by Rachel Seiffert

Beautiful Book Covers - Afterwards

The Opposite House, by Helen Oyeyemi

Beautiful Book Covers - The Opposite House

Angry Candy, by Harlan Ellison

Beautiful Book Covers - Angry Candy

The Charity Girl, by Michael Lowenthal

Beautiful Book Covers - The Charity Girl

The Tattoo Artist, by Jill Ciment

Beautiful Book Covers - The Tattoo Artist

Lolita, by Vladimir Nobokov

Beautiful Book Covers - Lolita

Einstein in Love, by Dennis Overbye

Beautiful Book Covers - Einstein in Love

Devil in the Details, by Jennifer Traig

Beautiful Book Covers - Devil in Details

Time, by Eva Hoffman

Beautiful Book Covers - Time

The Chess Machine, by Robert Lohr

Beautiful Book Covers - The Chess Machine

This Will Kill You, by H. P. Newquist & Rich Maloof

Beautiful Book Covers - This Will kill You

The Mayor’s Tongue, by Nathaniel Rich

Beautiful Book Covers - The Mayor's Tongue

Columbine, by Dave Cullen

Beautiful Book Covers - Columbine

Locke, by Shawna Yang Ryan

Beautiful Book Covers - Locke

Race Riots, by Michael L. Ross

Beautiful Book Covers - Riots

A Field Guide to Getting Lost, by Rebecca Solnit

Beautiful Book Covers - A Field Guide to Getting Lost

Cool It, by Bjorn Lomborg

Beautiful Book Covers -Cool It

Against Happiness, by Eric G. Wilson

Beautiful Book Covers - Against Happiness

Tests of Time, by William H. Gass

Beautiful Book Covers - Tests of Time

Utopia, by Thomas More

Beautiful Book Covers - Utopia

How to Tell When You’re Tired, by Reg Theriault

Beautiful Book Covers - How to Tell When You're Tired

Hundred Hit Wonder, by K. I. Borrowman

Beautiful Book Covers - Hundred Hit Wonder

Traffic Lights, by Cynthia Dawn

Beautiful Book Covers - Traffic Lights

Violence: Big Ideas/Small Books, by Slavoj Zizek

Beautiful Book Covers - Violence: Big Ideas/Small Books

The American Civil War, by John Keegan

Beautiful Book Covers - The American Civil War

South of the Border, West of the Sun, by Haruki Murakami

Beautiful Book Covers - South of the Border

Exile and the Kingdom, by Albert Camus

Beautiful Book Covers - Exile and Kingdom

1984, by George Orwell

Beautiful Book Covers - 1984

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Beautiful Book Covers - Brave New World

The Humbling, by Philip Roth

Beautiful Book Covers - The Humbling

Nova, by Samuel R. Delany

Beautiful Book Covers - Nova

A Cultural Dictionary of Punk, by Nicholas Rombes

Beautiful Book Covers - A Cultural Dictionary of Punk

All the Sad Young Literary Men, by Keith Gessen

Beautiful Book Covers - All the Sad Young Literary Men

The Geographer’s Library, by Jon Fasman

Beautiful Book Covers - The Geographer's Library

Make Room! Make Room!, by Harry Harrison

Beautiful Book Covers - Make Room! Make Room!

The Crow’s Vow, by Susan Briscoe

Beautiful Book Covers - The Crow's Vow

State by State, by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey

Beautiful Book Covers - State, by State

The Halfway House, by Guillermo Rosales

Beautiful Book Covers - The halfway House

Manhood for Amateurs, by Michael Chabon

Beautiful Book Covers - Manhood for Amateurs

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami

Beautiful Book Covers - What I Talk About

From Square One, by Dean Olsher

Beautiful Book Covers - From Square One

Everything You Know, by Zoe Heller

Beautiful Book Covers - Everything You Know

Chicago, by Alaa Al Aswany

Beautiful Book Covers - Chicago

Swallow, by Miranda Field

Beautiful Book Covers - Swallow

Displacement, by Leslie Harrison

Beautiful Book Covers - Displacement

Sunset and Sawdust, by Joe R. Lansdale

Beautiful Book Covers - Sunset and Sawdust

Missing Men, by Joyce Johnson

Beautiful Book Covers - Missing Men

The Anatomy of Fascism, by Roberto O. Paxton

Beautiful Book Covers - The Anatomy of Fascisim

The Terror, by Dan Simmons

Beautiful Book Covers - The Terror

Iron, Potassium, Nickel, by Primo Levi

Beautiful Book Covers - Iron, by Potassium, by Nickel

Rose, 1944, by Helen Dunmore

Beautiful Book Covers - Rose, by 1944

Epilogue, by Anne Roiphe

Beautiful Book Covers - Epilogue

American Nerd, by Benjamin Nugent

Beautiful Book Covers - American Nerd

Jailbird, by Kurt Vonnegut

Beautiful Book Covers - Jailbird

Remainder, by Tom McCarthy

Beautiful Book Covers - Remainder

The Learners, by Chip Kidd

Beautiful Book Covers - The Learners

Animals and Objects In and Out of Water, by Jay Ryan

Beautiful Book Covers - Animals and Objects

Oh the Glory of It All, by Sean Wilsey

Beautiful Book Covers - Oh The Glory Of It All

The Weight of Numbers, by Simon Ings

Beautiful Book Covers - The Weight of Numbers

One Hundred and Forty Five Stories in a Small Box, by Dave Eggers

Beautiful Book Covers - One Hundred and Forty Five Stories in a Small Box

The Language of Things, by Deyan Sudjic

Beautiful Book Covers - The Language of Things

The Homecoming, by Ray Bradbury

Beautiful Book Covers - The Homecoming

 

SEE ALSO: 50 Awesome Minimalist Book Covers

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

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