I think 50% of bookworm culture is staring at and drooling over dazzling book covers. The packaging of a book has gotten so much better in recent years. The industry is also warming up to the representation of POC, different body types and other marginalised groups front and centre. Personally, I’m always a sucker for beautiful books. I go out of my way to get a pretty edition if one is available, even if that means shelling out a few books. Today I wanted to compare US and UK covers of books – something I’ve seen a lot on BookTube and thought it’ll be fun to bring to the blog.
1. Circe by Madeline Miller
The UK cover is quite simply stunning and gives the whole Greek mythological retelling effectively too.
2. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
It’s a spooky, witchy tale and the deep blue colour along with the tree branches and moon conveys the message better than the UK cover.
3. What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
This is a close one but I just like the blue colour and the huge font of the title in the UK cover better.
4. Aru Shah and the End of the Time by Roshani Chokshi
The UK cover doesn’t really give the Hindu mythological retelling image quite as well as its US counterpart. Also, the background colour in the US one is much more impressive.
5. Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
I love both a lot, but when it comes to what draws my eye, I’d pick that shade of blue any day.
6. The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
I’m a sucker for anything space-related so even though the relevance of the US cover isn’t as strong as the UK one, the winner for me is the former.
7. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan
I love the naked US hardcover, which I own, but the UK cover with its gorgeous feather design is just more eye-catching.
8. Mirage by Somaiya Daud
There is no difference other than the background colour and purple is my favourite, so this was easy.
9. Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
Again, very similar covers but the aesthetic of the UK cover is more pleasing and cohesive to me.
10. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
This is a tough one as I own the UK edition but I think the US one is just as good. If I had to choose one, I’ll go with US just because I think it tells you a little bit more about the story.
Do you have a preference when it comes to US and UK covers? Do you get access to both formats where you live? Do you buy books based on covers? Let’s discuss in the comments section below.
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I think UK covers tend to be more artsy and creative overall, whereas US covers often seem to seek some sort of mainstream popularity, if that makes sense. So I do often prefer the UK covers!
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I do see US covers conforming to whatever is the standard for the book’s respective genre. I don’t have much of a preference, as you can see, but in terms of availability, UK editions are much cheaper and easy to get. 😅 Do you try to get hold of the UK editions if you’re adding a book to your personal collection?
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I actually don’t buy many books as I don’t have much disposable income, so the cover issue doesn’t affect me that much. 😀
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Sometimes it takes me forever to buy a ook, just because I cannot decide which cover I want ahah
(www.evelynreads.com)
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Me too! Covers are so gorgeous these days that I’m actually torn for a majority of them. I have the Everless UK edition but the US one is just as stunning, IMO! 😍
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I tend to like UK covers a lot more
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I feel like many readers in the US are of the same opinion and I’m not sure if it’s a “grass is greener on the other side” thing. 😅
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I don’t think so. They genuinely suck sometimes. The only cover which I remember being better in US than UK is Tin Man
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Not familiar with that book. 🙈 I kind of like fantasy covers for US more. Maybe it’s a genre thing. I should dig deeper into this. 😅
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Probably. I don’t read Fantasy lol 😂
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Naomi Novik’s books are so interesting in this way in that the US and UK covers are SOOOOOO different, but they’re both great. I guess I like the US covers of those, just because I’m more used to seeing them on my shelf, but I love how whimsical the UK covers are.
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Right? I constantly drool over both of them! They both capture the heart of the story so differently yet so well! 😍
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They are all such stunning covers! It would be hard to choose 🙂 but sometimes there are such major differences between covers and I don’t even understand why xD
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Yeah, there is definitely a huge disconnect and I don’t get why either! I mean, how am I supposed to choose if both are gorgeous as someone who can potentially get both? The torture! 😂
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I’ve never really thought about the difference between US and UK covers until you did the post. They can be very different. I’d be interested in learning about why that is. Honestly, I enjoyed most of the US covers better so whatever they’re doing is working for me. I definitely pick up books all the time based on their covers though i would say whether I buy them or not is more summary-driven. I love a great, eye catching book cover.
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AH, I hate choosing between two beautiful covers! I like both US and UK editions mostly and don’t have preferences but I tend to buy whatever’s cheaper in case both are pretty!
Looking through this post, I think I have a preference towards US covers but well, I’ve never really though about t like that!
Great post! xx
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It’s interesting to compare, isn’t it? It’s good that you’re practical and go for the cheaper one. I’m very opinionated so don’t mind spending a little extra for the prettier one. 🙈
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Haha, well if the covers not too shabby, I’d rather save but if the difference is drastic then I just won’t…
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Makes sense! Pretty books are such a weakness for bookworms. 🙈
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Awesome post Dini!!!! It’s rude to choose between gorgeous covers😉 . I agree with most of your choices!
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Thank you, Dany! ♥️ If I could buy them all, I certainly would. But since I can’t, I’ve got to choose. 🙈
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You know, I never realised we get more UK covers here than US ones. Lol. But yeah, I love the differences, and I think both sides have subtle nods to the stories, but because I’m used to the UK covers, I’m biased. Haha.
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Haha, fair enough, Aradhna! Yeah, we do get the UK covers here a lot! I have to pay extra to import the US ones but if the covera are irresistible, I’ll get them. 😍
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