Top Ten Tuesday: Cover Redesigns

Let’s face it, within the reading world one thing most of us can agree on is we can’t stand it when the cover of our beloved books are changed to the movie poster. Before we can even start saying, “SHE HAD BROWN HAIR IN THE BOOK!” during adaptations, we often have to see beautiful cover art replaced with photos of actors. I get why publishers do it- it’s a great way to get people to notice and potentially buy a book. But for book nerds, it is one of our biggest pet peeves.

There are so many different covers for books aside from ones hijacked by movies so it’s not uncommon for us to have read editions of books that look completely different from each other. I live in the US and UK so I come across this a lot, especially with paperbacks and used books. It doesn’t really bother me, it’s what’s between the cover that counts, but I do have to say I’m not really a fan of ones that have photos of people on them. I like to be able to imagine what the characters look like in my head without them looking out at me from the book.

One trend I am a fan of is the modernization of classic book covers for new generations of readers. Most of them are dazzling to look at and it’s hard to keep myself from trying to collect them all.

Without any further ado, here are some cover redesigns that have stood out for me!

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

The inspiration for this book series was the author’s collection of vintage photographs. The original cover included one of those photos, whereas the redesign was about as Tim Burton as you get. Replacing the vintage photo with the movie poster lost what made the books so special in the first place. I’ve shown off my prized boxset of the trilogy and its bonus photos previously, read my post here!

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

There have been countless covers for this classic book, but they all retained the sense of fantastical wonder of the story. The movie poster is really cool, but it just doesn’t feel right on the book.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Okay I can’t do this anymore, I need to move on to something else less infuriating.

Virago Modern Classics

Virago is a feminist publishing house focused on putting out books from women and reprinting classics that have been forgotten over the decades. Recently, artist Yehrin Tong was given the task of redesigning some of their most popular books and the end result is utterly mesmerizing. Learn more about the artist and her inspirations here.

Penguin Clothbound Classics

For years I have had to exercise insane restraint from blowing my entire paycheck on these stunning books. They are truly special.

Harper Collins and Isaac Asimov

I own a few of these, drawn to the editions because of their sleek, classic sci-fi look. They also remind me of one of the first science-fiction movies ever, 1927’s Metropolis.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

I recently did a bookshelf scavenger hunt and this was one of my choices, mostly chosen so I could show you how gorgeous this edition is. Read the post here!

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

This redesign perfectly captures the gothic theme of Charlotte Bronte’s novel. It’s one of the many modern redesigns of classics that I adore.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Although this one is a big fat NOPE

Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers

While the redesigns of the awesome Wayfarer’s series are beautiful, I prefer the cheesy retro look of the original covers.

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Do you agree/disagree with any of these? Which redesigns made your TTT this week? Let me know in the comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.