WORST Book Cover Art

Do you have a really abominably painfully ugly book cover to nominate? Something so bad that you feel a need to put a post-it note over it while reading what is inside to keep from cringeing? Please feel free to add to the list.

PLEASE NOTE: Nominations should be considered only on the Cover Art--the outside packaging. Not to what is inside. Remember, authors rarely get to influence their cover art choice and bad covers are usually not their fault. (There are different lists for criticizing the insides. This is not one of them.) Ugly cover art only, please!

Again, this Listopia list refers only to the outside packaging! Not to the book inside.

Let's try to be nice about self-published books. But publishers that can afford to hire professional artists are fair game.
1

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3.06 avg rating — 112 ratings
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3.84 avg rating — 11,882 ratings
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4.02 avg rating — 33,660 ratings
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4.43 avg rating — 90,455 ratings
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4.11 avg rating — 665 ratings
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3.88 avg rating — 54,145 ratings
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3.17 avg rating — 29 ratings
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4.06 avg rating — 109,436 ratings
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18

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3.76 avg rating — 466 ratings
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19

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3.91 avg rating — 18,625 ratings
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20

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3.32 avg rating — 141,629 ratings
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21

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3.90 avg rating — 1,973 ratings
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22

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3.86 avg rating — 175,704 ratings
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3.84 avg rating — 1,170,447 ratings
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3.36 avg rating — 135 ratings
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25

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4.07 avg rating — 23,967 ratings
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4.23 avg rating — 1,134 ratings
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4.12 avg rating — 5,616,562 ratings
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29

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4.07 avg rating — 293,696 ratings
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30

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3.86 avg rating — 8,389 ratings
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31

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3.88 avg rating — 931 ratings
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32

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3.86 avg rating — 1,042,491 ratings
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33

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3.85 avg rating — 17,164 ratings
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34

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4.32 avg rating — 16,183 ratings
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35

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3.76 avg rating — 1,923 ratings
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36

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3.41 avg rating — 226 ratings
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3.94 avg rating — 33,454 ratings
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38

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3.62 avg rating — 686 ratings
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39

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3.75 avg rating — 53,891 ratings
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4.24 avg rating — 1,961,788 ratings
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41

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4.22 avg rating — 1,981,603 ratings
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42

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4.05 avg rating — 10,832 ratings
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43

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4.30 avg rating — 93,584 ratings
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44

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3.44 avg rating — 385 ratings
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45

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3.95 avg rating — 521 ratings
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46

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3.28 avg rating — 4,287 ratings
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47

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4.43 avg rating — 88,849 ratings
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48

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3.87 avg rating — 25,650 ratings
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49

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3.79 avg rating — 1,693 ratings
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50

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4.07 avg rating — 9,838 ratings
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51

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3.59 avg rating — 5,187 ratings
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52

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3.74 avg rating — 106,807 ratings
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53

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3.89 avg rating — 1,576,963 ratings
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54

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3.80 avg rating — 38,569 ratings
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55

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3.81 avg rating — 31,850 ratings
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56

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4.01 avg rating — 394 ratings
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57

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4.03 avg rating — 1,026,953 ratings
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58

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3.75 avg rating — 223 ratings
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59

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3.91 avg rating — 2,011 ratings
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60

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4.23 avg rating — 11,872 ratings
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61

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3.92 avg rating — 5,099 ratings
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62

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3.07 avg rating — 242 ratings
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63

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64

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3.70 avg rating — 839 ratings
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65

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66

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings
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67

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3.70 avg rating — 2,221 ratings
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68

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3.77 avg rating — 454 ratings
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69

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4.15 avg rating — 216,465 ratings
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70

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3.70 avg rating — 165,990 ratings
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71

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4.05 avg rating — 133,431 ratings
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72

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4.01 avg rating — 356 ratings
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73

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4.12 avg rating — 6,616 ratings
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74

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4.45 avg rating — 2,689,071 ratings
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75

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3.53 avg rating — 97 ratings
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76

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4.13 avg rating — 3,788 ratings
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76

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3.90 avg rating — 1,975,136 ratings
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78

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4.24 avg rating — 143,613 ratings
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79

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3.21 avg rating — 28 ratings
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80

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3.91 avg rating — 958,829 ratings
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81

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3.73 avg rating — 15,216 ratings
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82

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3.69 avg rating — 3,386 ratings
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83

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3.45 avg rating — 2,576 ratings
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84

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3.80 avg rating — 906 ratings
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85

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4.29 avg rating — 879,145 ratings
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86

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4.19 avg rating — 17,524 ratings
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87

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3.86 avg rating — 164 ratings
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88

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3.18 avg rating — 265 ratings
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89

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3.36 avg rating — 1,167 ratings
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90

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3.69 avg rating — 403,927 ratings
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91

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4.35 avg rating — 9,674,178 ratings
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92

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3.74 avg rating — 2,836 ratings
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93

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4.29 avg rating — 17,142 ratings
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94

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3.51 avg rating — 2,392 ratings
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95

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4.52 avg rating — 1,059,239 ratings
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96

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3.87 avg rating — 5,033 ratings
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97

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3.06 avg rating — 33 ratings
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98

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4.12 avg rating — 5,997 ratings
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99

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4.30 avg rating — 8,345 ratings
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100

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4.04 avg rating — 508,564 ratings
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506 books · 230 voters · list created January 26th, 2011 by MB (What she read) (votes) .
16 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


MB (What she read) 8718 books
119 friends
Nina 995 books
54 friends
Brad 2673 books
705 friends
A 3805 books
1097 friends
Kimberly 2004 books
281 friends
Rachel 415 books
56 friends
Zuzana 728 books
110 friends
Cindi 2318 books
62 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-13 of 13 (13 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by A (new)

A Dude! I love The Dark Divine's cover! :) I just won't vote for it, hehe.


MB (What she read) No problem, our tastes are subjective. It'll be interesting to see what gets the most votes.

I'm going to add a lot more when I have a chance to think about it.

Frankly, I look at this as constructive criticism for publishers. Ha!


message 3: by A (new)

A Don't get me started on indie publisher covers. It's like they're not even trying.

Notable exception: Flux Books, of which there is already one on this list (imho just meh but not the WORST I've seen!) I loooove the cover for Mahoney's Iron Witch.

I'll be back to vote (and abstain from voting) some more!


message 4: by Cindi (new)

Cindi I especially hate when they just put a bulging body with no head showing...it's too embarrassing to read them in public. It says, "Who cares about brains or personality...I only care about animal physicality!" What an insult to the author and the readers!!!!


MB (What she read) Oh, me too, Cindi! That is a style I dislike. For some reason the older style of romance covers that was popular a few years ago with a woman's legs and shoes didn't bother me as much. But chopping off the head/s is just annoying.

Subliminally, I feel like I'm being told to 'check my brain at the door' while reading.


Therealbadkitty All of the newer Nightshade covers are awful. The orginals are so beautiful why did they change it?!


message 7: by [deleted user] (new)

Cindi wrote: "I especially hate when they just put a bulging body with no head showing...it's too embarrassing to read them in public. It says, "Who cares about brains or personality...I only care about animal p..."

I agree!


message 8: by Lu (new)

Lu I vote for any cover with a shirtless dude and little else on the cover...then again I don't think I've ever read a book like that. Not my genre :D


MB (What she read) Lu wrote: "I vote for any cover with a shirtless dude and little else on the cover...then again I don't think I've ever read a book like that. Not my genre :D"

I hate those covers too. Unfortunately, they must sell well.


message 10: by Jan (last edited May 07, 2021 10:40PM) (new)

Jan All these covers are beautiful. I will not comment that somebody thinks ugly book cover art is possible. To each their own, but these are evocative covers that take me places. Anyone who thinks they're ugly is missing out on magical dreams.


message 11: by Ketutar (new)

Ketutar Jensen Jan wrote: "All these covers are beautiful. I will not comment that somebody thinks ugly book cover art is possible. To each their own, but these are evocative covers that take me places. Anyone who thinks the..."
It's very nice of you to think everything is beautiful, but you are pretty unique with that opinion.
I'd rather let the book take me places.


message 12: by Ketutar (new)

Ketutar Jensen Laura The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Donald Zochert
WHY THE HECK DID THEY USE THE TV SERIES THAT HAS PRACTICALLY NOTHING TO DO WITH LAURA INGALLS WILDER!!!??!?!?


message 13: by Ketutar (new)

Ketutar Jensen Yes, one could fill up this list with self published and the "Chinese" classic covers where they have just whacked on some image that may or may not be some way associated with the story itself...


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