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.
101

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4.12 avg rating — 18,796 ratings
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102

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3.85 avg rating — 233,758 ratings
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103

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3.79 avg rating — 9,640 ratings
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104

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4.15 avg rating — 207,564 ratings
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105

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3.13 avg rating — 522 ratings
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106

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1.86 avg rating — 120 ratings
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106

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4.53 avg rating — 17,450 ratings
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108

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3.74 avg rating — 180 ratings
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109

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4.17 avg rating — 245,870 ratings
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110

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4.53 avg rating — 17,450 ratings
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111

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3.58 avg rating — 517 ratings
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112

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4.17 avg rating — 780,842 ratings
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113

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3.87 avg rating — 18,042 ratings
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114

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3.32 avg rating — 178 ratings
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115

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3.54 avg rating — 91,180 ratings
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116

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3.36 avg rating — 758 ratings
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116

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4.03 avg rating — 176,173 ratings
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116

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4.10 avg rating — 913,064 ratings
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119

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4.07 avg rating — 72,155 ratings
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120

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3.57 avg rating — 105 ratings
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121

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3.97 avg rating — 631 ratings
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122

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3.90 avg rating — 67,038 ratings
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123

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4.35 avg rating — 914 ratings
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123

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4.35 avg rating — 4,051,860 ratings
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125

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4.01 avg rating — 14,327 ratings
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126

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3.73 avg rating — 51,495 ratings
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126

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3.92 avg rating — 1,570 ratings
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128

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3.86 avg rating — 2,762 ratings
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129

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4.33 avg rating — 36,917 ratings
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129

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4.14 avg rating — 177,945 ratings
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131

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4.37 avg rating — 40,383 ratings
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132

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3.62 avg rating — 7,480 ratings
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133

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3.54 avg rating — 1,130 ratings
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134

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4.35 avg rating — 35,732 ratings
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135

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4.07 avg rating — 417 ratings
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136

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3.68 avg rating — 1,831 ratings
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137

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3.44 avg rating — 3,432 ratings
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137

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4.11 avg rating — 141,882 ratings
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139

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4.20 avg rating — 1,796,136 ratings
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140

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3.71 avg rating — 23,128 ratings
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141

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2.66 avg rating — 1,287 ratings
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141

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3.71 avg rating — 1,524,703 ratings
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143

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3.88 avg rating — 2,613 ratings
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143

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4.02 avg rating — 42,214 ratings
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143

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4.14 avg rating — 127,346 ratings
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146

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4.18 avg rating — 2,247,752 ratings
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146

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3.30 avg rating — 458 ratings
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148

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3.24 avg rating — 7,870 ratings
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148

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4.27 avg rating — 71,232 ratings
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150

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3.20 avg rating — 282 ratings
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150

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3.95 avg rating — 59,369 ratings
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152

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4.30 avg rating — 25,702 ratings
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152

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4.28 avg rating — 53,631 ratings
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154

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4.42 avg rating — 119 ratings
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154

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4.08 avg rating — 1,005,044 ratings
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154

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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157

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3.57 avg rating — 46,823 ratings
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158

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2.85 avg rating — 13 ratings
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159

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3.95 avg rating — 27,104 ratings
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160

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4.39 avg rating — 41,359 ratings
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160

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3.36 avg rating — 36 ratings
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162

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4.36 avg rating — 46,238 ratings
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162

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4.15 avg rating — 1,186 ratings
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162

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3.25 avg rating — 4 ratings
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165

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3.85 avg rating — 9,522 ratings
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166

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4.27 avg rating — 48,266 ratings
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167

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4.34 avg rating — 33,144 ratings
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168

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4.34 avg rating — 44,839 ratings
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169

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3.49 avg rating — 73,906 ratings
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169

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3.97 avg rating — 19,892 ratings
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171

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3.67 avg rating — 2,333 ratings
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171

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4.42 avg rating — 38,749 ratings
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171

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3.96 avg rating — 1,911,535 ratings
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174

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4.03 avg rating — 1,636 ratings
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175

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4.40 avg rating — 33,758 ratings
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176

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3.74 avg rating — 58,330 ratings
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177

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4.41 avg rating — 423 ratings
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177

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3.67 avg rating — 283 ratings
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179

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3.94 avg rating — 774,559 ratings
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180

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4.42 avg rating — 34,823 ratings
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180

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4.30 avg rating — 28,010 ratings
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182

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4.27 avg rating — 20,047 ratings
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182

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4.16 avg rating — 212,605 ratings
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182

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3.33 avg rating — 296 ratings
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185

by
3.71 avg rating — 147 ratings
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186

by
4.35 avg rating — 29,275 ratings
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187

by
did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 32 ratings
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188

by
4.01 avg rating — 4,051 ratings
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188

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3.71 avg rating — 48 ratings
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188

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3.90 avg rating — 68,821 ratings
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191

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3.90 avg rating — 82 ratings
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192

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3.69 avg rating — 4,409 ratings
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193

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4.16 avg rating — 2,866 ratings
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194

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3.94 avg rating — 538,934 ratings
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194

by
1.30 avg rating — 979 ratings
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196

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3.62 avg rating — 1,820 ratings
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197

by
3.81 avg rating — 69 ratings
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198

by
4.36 avg rating — 25 ratings
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198

by
3.82 avg rating — 68 ratings
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200

by
3.73 avg rating — 1,915 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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