Judging Books by Their Covers 1

Welcome to the first of many Judging Books by Their Covers! Here I'll share some of my favorite book covers. I don't care what anyone says. People do judge books by covers. It's human nature. And with some of these beauties who can blame them?

The Twilight Saga: While I wasn't a huge fan of the books, I can't help but adore the covers. I love how red is always highlighted on each book. It's a very subtle way of acknowledging the vampire theme. Also, if you have read the series or have seen the movies you understand why the images were chosen for each. They all give a nod to a scene or element in the book. On her website, Stephanie Meyer explains each of the covers:

Twilight

"The apple on the cover of Twilight represents "forbidden fruit." I used the scripture from Genesis (located just after the table of contents) because I loved the phrase "the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil." Isn't this exactly what Bella ends up with? A working knowledge of what good is, and what evil is. The nice thing about the apple is it has so many symbolic roots. You've got the apple in Snow White, one bite and you're frozen forever in a state of not-quite-death... Then you have Paris and the golden apple in Greek mythology—look how much trouble that started. Apples are quite the versatile fruit. In the end, I love the beautiful simplicity of the picture. To me it says: choice."                                   It also takes me back to the cafeteria scene where Edward sat with an uneaten apple in front of him.

New Moon

"That is a ruffled tulip. As for the meaning... If you've read the Twilight FAQ, you know that the apple cover had a lot of meaning for me, and I was an active part of the covering process. However, that experience is more the exception than the rule in the publishing world. Something to keep in mind if you intend to embark on a career as a writer: lots of things you might expect to be under your control are not. Covers, for example. Those are mostly up to the publisher and the marketing and sales departments. So I don't know what the tulip means—I didn't have anything to do with this one."

Eclipse

Stephanie Meyer didn't give an answer to the Eclipse cover. My theory is that it represents how Bella is split between both Edward and Jacob and more importantly choosing between her human life or a vampire life.

Breaking Dawn

"Breaking Dawn's cover is a metaphor for Bella's progression throughout the entire saga. She began as the weakest (at least physically, when compared to vampires and werewolves) player on the board: the pawn. She ended as the strongest: the queen. In the end, it's Bella that brings about the win for the Cullens." It is also a nod to Edward and Bella playing chess on their honeymoon.

So there is the first Judging Books post! You can look forward to  one of these a month. Let me know in the comments what your favorite covers are. You may see them featured on the next Judging Books post!

xoxo,

Michelle