Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Top Ten Tuesdays: Book Covers I'd Frame as Art

http://www.brokeandbookish.com
Suilaid, mellyn nin! (I feel like speaking Elvish today, all right?) It's time for another Top Ten Tuesdays post, this one about book covers- specifically, book covers that are worthy of framing and putting on one's wall. I'm really excited about this week's theme; book covers are awesome, and there are plenty that I'd use as artwork in my eventual house. (I'd say my room, but the walls are already taken over by Hobbit posts, pretty much.)

1. The Errant King by Wayne Thomas Batson
This is pretty much my favorite book cover in the history of ever. I love the crashing sea and the scroll and the people on the scroll. You can see right off what Loch is like and one of the main choices before him. As for Raudrim-Quevara, she's perfectly creepy and I love the way she seems to be coming off the scroll. The color scheme also does a really good job of creating an exciting, mysterious mood.

2. The Silimarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.
I love the illustrations in this version of The Silimarillion (which happens to be the version I own). The one on the cover is probably one of my favorites. I want to step right into the picture, be on one of those ships as they're sailing towards what I assume is Numenor.

3. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
What can I say? It's Rivendell; it's beautiful. The colors in the version I have are a bit lighter and more pastel-y, which gives it a dreamier look, but the darker colors are still nice. And you know that I'd love to have a picture of Rivendell on my wall. (Maybe someone should make a Lord of the Rings calender with places on it instead of just people . . . Thoughts, anyone?)

4. Shadow Hand by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
I love the bright, beautiful colors and the way the cave above and the thorn branches below frame Daylily and the woods behind her. This also happens to be my favorite of the Goldstone Wood covers, all of which are quite lovely, so there's that. (As a side note, I finally read this book a week or so ago and oh. my. pumpernickel. It was amazing. I thought I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen. I was so. incredibly. wrong. But in a good way. Also, Time, and implications of what might've happened if certain characters had made different choices. It makes my head spin, so I'm trying not to think too hard about it, but I can't help wondering.)

5. Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
This is my second favorite Goldstone Wood cover. I love the way that Una is framed in the dragon's eye, and the colors- with the deep, cool, blues on the outside and moving in to the warmer reds,  yellows, and golds on the inside is just lovely.

6. Beyond the Reflection's Edge by Bryan Davis
This is a very stark, mysterious cover, which I really like. I think it looks cool, with the ripples and the music and the 'reflected' city. It does give the impression of seeing something in a mirror that's not in the 'real' world, so to speak, and of being able to somehow cross between the 'real' world and the world in the mirror.

7. The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul
This is another pretty cover, and I think that the distant tower with the dragons flying around it adds just a hint of mystery. The minor dragon peeking over the cover plaque is, of course, rather cute, and a bit funny too.

8. Matched trilogy by Allie Condie
 I haven't read these books yet, but I really like the covers. I like the bright colors against the grey-white background, and the girl's progression of being trapped in the bubble, breaking out, and finally free. Very cool. If I were hanging them on my wall, I'd put them along a flight of stairs, with Matched at the bottom and Reached at the top.

9. Entwined by Heather Dixon
I really wish that the title/author were elsewhere on the cover; that's my only qualm about putting this book on this list. But I like the silver vines framing the image, and the way the girl seems to be looking for a way out as the world tilts and twists around her. (If you look at it, you can see that the shore of the lake is skewed.)

10. Dragons of the Watch by Donita K. Paul

Cute dragons and books. Yeah. I want to cuddle the green one and then have at books . . . without disturbing the sleeping purple dragon, of course. But yes, this is mostly on the list because it combines two of my favorite things in the world and I'd be quite happy to have it on my wall.

 
Well, there's my list. What do you think? And what book covers would you want on your wall? Feel free to tell me in the comments or make your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

12 comments:

  1. Love your cover choices!
    Finley Jayne
    http://finleyjaynesbookshelves.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Entwine does have a great cover! And I really like the cover for Heartless. You have great choices!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I forgot how beautiful the covers for Anne Elisabeth Stengl's books were. I should have listed them to. Great choices this week.
    My TTT

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! They are amazing, aren't they? But it looks like you have some pretty awesome covers on your list already.

      Delete
  4. These are some pretty awesome covers. My favorites are probably the Silmarillion, The Fellowship of the Ring, and then the covers of the Matched Trilogy. :D

    By the way, you mentioned that you wished you could find a LOTR callendar with places instead of characters? I have one with paintings by John Howe that has both characters and places, as well as scenes from the books- Silmarillion included!

    I couldn't find the exact version that I have (mine is from 1985, or something), but here is a link to a bunch of other John Howe LOTR callendars. :D

    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=John+howe+lord+of+the+rings+callendar&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AJohn+howe+lord+of+the+rings+callendar

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you think so! I figured you'd agree about the LOTR covers.

      Wow, coolness! Thanks for pointing me thre!

      Delete
  5. OK, this is the first post I've seen today with Elvish on it- awesome. The Errant King would make a great print, and I like your Tolkien picks (I used the Silmarillion too- just love that one!).

    The Matched covers are nice too- have not read those, but whenever I see those books in the bookstore they always draw my eye.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh. I like speaking Elvish; I used to always sign off with an Elvish farewell. And thank you! Glad you like my choices!

      Delete
  6. Love the cover of Entwined. Matched was on my short list :)
    http://crushingcinders.com/?p=723

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear your thoughts! But remember: it pays to be polite to dragons.