Last Minute Read-A-Thon: Love It or Hate It Mini-challenge!

Welcome to the Last Minute Read-A-Thon's second Mini-Challenge:

Love It or Hate It!!

Vonnie @ Vonnie's Reading Corner and I are co-hosting this fabulous read-a-thon for those of us who still have to catch up on our reading before the year 2013 goes out the window, and 2014 comes flying in!

This is today's challenge:

Post up book covers that you love

and hate, explaining why.

(Note: I usually post a cover feature titled "Shelf Candy Saturday" every week.  Since this mini-challenge post deals with covers, too, it will replace my regular feature, only for this week.  For a sample of an SCS post, just click HERE.) 

I've decided to post covers for the same books, so as to compare them with each other.

Fahrenheit 451

I had chosen another cover, but, on second thought, took it down, as it was much too provocative.  This one, although a bit too simplistic for my taste, does suggest the theme of this novel without trying to be overly dramatic, as the cover below does.  One thing I do like about this image is that it's abstract.  It would be much too painful for me to see actual books burning....

 

I hate, hate, hate this cover!!  I've seen this horrible "newspaper man" on several editions of this book, and I can't stand him!!  The idea is metaphorical, I know, but I just don't like this ugly guy!  And the 'flames' shooting up around and on him look so silly!  They don't give the impression of fire at all.  Also, the title and author's name are much too big, and not well-placed.  Ugh!!

Jane Eyre

This is the cover for the Everyman edition of this classic novel, and I adore it!!  The image is a gorgeous detail from a 19th-century painting.  I love the idea of Jane reading as she travels by coach to Thornfield Hall.....I am so happy and proud to own this beautiful treasure!

This is an older B & N edition of the novel, and I can't believe they actually released it for sale!  There are so many things wrong with this cover!  The woman really looks more like a man, poor thing, and appears much too old to be 18, which is Jane's age in the book.  The lighting makes it look as if she has a black eye, and she has this very stupid, vacant look in her eyes.  The last thing, and it's a killer -- is that horrible hand, which is much too small, and is very awkwardly painted.  It doesn't even look like it belongs to her!

Wolfsbane (1)

This was the original, beautiful cover for the hardcover edition of the second novel in Andrea Cremer's acclaimed Nightshade series.  Why it was changed, I'll never know!  Heck, none of us fans will ever know....there was a huge protest (I participated by emailing the publisher) when Philomel announced they were changing the cover.  This cover goes perfectly with the one for the first book in the series!  They obviously have the same style.  Both covers are also absolutely gorgeous and very feminine!  Take a look below, and you'll see what I mean.  By the way, this cover is used for the Kindle edition of the book, so it really wasn't entirely eliminated.  However, I detest ebooks, so that doesn't make any difference to me at all.

Nightshade

  

Isn't this an absolutely gorgeous cover?  It's so feminine,  with those beautiful calla lilies!  Thankfully, Philomel kept this one!  As you can see, the Wolfsbane cover below does not match this one at all.  Publishers should retain the same style in books that belong to a series.  That helps to sell the books, after all!  Oh, well.....

Wolfsbane (2)

This is the cover that replaced the original one, shown above (it's for the hardcover edition, too).  While I don't dislike this cover at all -- in fact, I actually love it -- I do think it destroys the continuity of the series.  I do like the fact that Calla, the young heroine of the series, is here portrayed as a strong, yet feminine, character.  I do like  the design itself, with its bold shapes, and the moon in the background.  So my main objection to this cover is not that it's ugly, in comparison with the original, but that it simply doesn't match the style of the first book in the series.

The Tiger Saga

This is a collection of covers that I totally love!  This collection is also a very nice example of how one publisher kept the same style throughout the series.  Each cover is unique and original, and yet, the same style prevails in each cover.  This is because of the intricate design pattern at the top of each cover, as well as the same font being used in each one.  However, the painting style for the animals depicted makes it obvious that they were all done by the same artist. Now why couldn't Philomel have done this with the Nightshade series covers?

 A Darker Dream

This is the cover for the 1997 mass-market paperback edition of this novel, which is one of my favorite vampire romances.  Everything about this cover delights my artistic eye!  It's mysterious, sensuous -- in a good way -- and utterly compelling!  The title and author's name are beautifully done, as well.  Every design element just fits together perfectly!

This is the cover of an earlier 1997 mass-market paperback edition of this book.  What a contrast!  First of all, why didn't they simply make the couple larger, and get rid of the guy's head towering over them?  Why is he necessary at all?  He's not attractive; in fact, he strongly reminds me of the singer Marc Anthony, who is not a handsome fellow, poor thing, although he is a great singer.  To continue....this is just a  badly-designed cover.  The font used for the title and author's name are badly placed, too.  If the guy's face were eliminated, and the couple made much larger, the title and author's name could then be moved up, and would be much easier to read.  There's one more thing I dislike about this cover -- the image of the couple is much too provocative.   

Embrace the Night

Here the situation is reversed!  I much prefer this older cover to the newer one!  For one thing, this guy is absolutely gorgeous, whereas the one in the cover above is not.  This one looks like such a romantic figure, with the wind ruffling his hair, and that penetrating gaze.....I also like the way the couple is integrated into the cover with no problem, which is not the case with the other cover above.  The hero, Gabriel, is a totally swoon-worthy vampire....  Also, the letters of the title and author's name are much more easy to read in this cover.  Needless to say, I bought this edition of the book!

This cover doesn't do a thing for me!  It, too, is supposed to be mysterious and compelling, like the newer cover of A Darker Dream, but it's not.  The woman seems to be in pain, as if she were in labor, or perhaps had a stomachache.  Lol.  The moon and clouds don't seem related to her at all.  I do like the fonts used for the title and author's name, but that's about it.  When I bought the book, I made sure I would get the cover with Gorgeous Gabriel on it, and not this one!

My Reading Progress:

It's exactly 4:08 AM as I write this, and I have just finished The Christmas Town!!  I didn't do much reading yesterday....  I was on the computer most of the day, and then had to go out to do my hair in the evening.  It took a while for me to prepare this post, too.  However, as soon as I finished the post, and scheduled it to go live at midnight, I got back to the book, which I really enjoyed!  I was indeed able to cover some ground -- I finished it!!  Now I'm going to shut down and get some sleep, happy, and yet sad, that I finished this book that I've totally fallen in love with.....

If you have participated in this mini-challenge, don't forget to enter my giveaway, as well as Vonnie's, on her blog!

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Tomorrow is the "Remembering 2013" mini-challenge!!