Despite the age of digital eBooks and audiobooks, a good book cover still attracts and delights me. These are my favorite covers of books read in 2024 – from the beautiful and artistic to the creatively crazy!
My Overall Favorite Book Cover
The Crane Husband, Kelly Barnhill
The cover of The Crane Husband completely captured my attention, and every time I looked at it I see an additional detail that I missed before. And after reading it, I could even more clearly see how clever it was. The “crane” in the book is complex, and on the cover, you can see it’s representation in the feathers which are not used in a literal way, but as a mask and a cover. I also love the choice of colors in the headdress. (Cover art by Lindsey Carr.
Most Disturbingly Good
The Eyes are the Best Part, Monika Kim
The book cover of The Eyes are the Best Part is designed by Samira Iravani and it pops! The cover completely captured the essence of the book where a young, Korean-American girl becomes obsessed with eyes – blue eyes in particular …. eating eyes in particular. The chopsticks with the complex pattern at the base, holding the eye – just well done, and made me want to pick up the book just because of the cover. And let me tell you, the book is just as disturbingly good as the cover indicates.
Maeve Fly, CJ Leede
The cover of Maeve Fly, designed by Carly Janine Mazur, is so chaotic and frenzied, and I don’t know what I love about it – but I just love it! The teeth, the licking of the eyeball, the bloodshot veins running through – it all seems bizarre and weird – and I like reading that sort of thing.
Favorite Illustrated Book Cover
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Sangu Mandanna
This completely charming cover of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches complements that unique title so well. There’s a lot of elements here, but it all comes together to promise the cutest rom-com type story- and with cute, irregular witches … so not the scary type … so yes, love it and wanted to read it, and did read it and loved the book as much as the cover. Cover Art: Lisa Perrin
Favorite Use of Font
The Familiar, Leigh Bardugo
The gothic styled font choice of The Familiar not only stands out, but also goes so well with the image of the dark historical fantasy theme evoked by the additional image on the front. Everything just goes so well together. Cover design: Jim Tierney
Your turn – which of these covers is your favorite? Any you don’t like?
