Please tell me you thought of Shania Twain, even if you aren’t a country fan. I’m probably dating myself here.
“They” say never judge a book by it’s cover…
Yet I do it all the time. Rather than speaking of books that did not manage to impress me, I decided to cover (sorry, not sorry) books that left me underwhelmed, visually speaking. Occasionally good books get bad* covers.
The Bird Sisters // Rebecca Rasmussen. I really enjoyed this novel, but the cover never would’ve grabbed me. I read it on the recommendation of a fellow librarian.
Bag of Bones // Stephen King. See also: Any Stephen King novel.
Straight Man // Richard Russo. One of the best campus novels of all time simply has a duck on it. Truly, I understand why it was picked, it’s just so unappealing!
The Devil All the Time // Donald Ray Pollock. This is one of my favorite novels, but the cover is so lackluster – especially in comparison to Pollock’s new novel.
Euphoria // Lily King. I’m not sure of the general consensus, but I would’ve passed on the novel based on the cover alone.
The Marauders // Tom Cooper. Funnier than any post-Katrina novel should be, yet visually underwhelming.
Unholy Ghosts // Stacia Kane. I think it’s likely a genre thing, and I’m not fond of paranormal romance usually, but the book was solid, the cover art…less so.
Edge of Dark Water // Joe R. Lansdale. This is one of my favorite novels by Lansdale, along with Leather Maiden, and comparing the two covers reveals a stark contrast not in Edge of Dark Water’s favor.
The Night Sister // Jennifer McMahon. Just…meh.
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage // Alice Munro. The short stories are amazing. The cover is not.
Have any great books with bad covers you’d like to share? For more lists, visit here.
*Don’t get me wrong, yeah I think they’re alright.
flannel and folklore 
Definitely thought of Shania Twain… I haven’t read any of these books, but it’s rubbish when books let you down!
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I have an earworm now….
I always notice bad covers on good books. The one that immediately pops to mind is Addition by Toni Jordan – a lovely little story with the schmaltziest covers you could imagine (because there were at least four different covers and all were bad).
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Aaaaand now that song is stuck in my head. hahaha! And YES, I love your choice of topic! That’s a great idea. I’ve read a couple books that I loved that had such a bad cover. I’ve had the opposite happen to me a lot too: I pick up a book for the cover alone and am left underwhelmed. lol! I haven’t read any of these on your list yet.
Hope you have a great week!
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hahaha Oh Shania. That Pollock cover really is terrible. I’m not sure I would have ever picked it up without a nudge.
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I haven’t read any of these.. I think I’ll keep it that way!
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Firmly in your Shania camp!
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I’m a Shania-er! I agree on the Pollock covers, but I kind of like that Devil All the Time doesn’t follow a trend like so many others are doing over the past year.
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Ahahaha, I love this post! I judge books by their covers so hard that somebody should stage an intervention — I think the last book I truly loved while hating the cover was Isabel Quintero’s “Gabi, a Girl in Pieces.” It was a tremendously sweet and great book, and I was glad some fellow bloggers pushed me to read it.
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