Beautiful Books were on Twitter today revealing the cracking new cover for one of their top titles due out next spring, Flick by Abigail Tarttelin (you can see the cover art and find out a little more about book on the author’s website). One thing led to another and it ended up with both myself and Beautiful Books agreeing that book covers that are simple in their design (especially those featuring a predominately black colour scheme) are often the most aesthetically pleasing (which will comes as no surprise to regular readers of RobAroundBooks).
That brief conversation with Beautiful Books reminded me of the two Castle Freeman novels I was lucky enough to receive in the past (at different times), from the friendly, good eggs at Duckworth Books (do you like that subtle pun I put in there folks? 
). Both of these editions are proofs, so they came without final retail covers, but I adore the simple design of these covers in their ‘raw form’ more than I do the final retail editions, which you can view HERE and HERE. Sure, the scenes of rural America aid in giving a certain ambiance to the novels. But I much more prefer the elegance of plain and simple.
Am I alone in thinking this? I’d love to hear your own thoughts
*Incidentally, if you’ve never read any of fiction of Castle Freeman than I suggest that you do. He’s an expert in capturing the essence of small town living in backwater Vermont – not surprising given he lives there himself – and his fiction is very readable. Admittedly I’ve only read one of his novels to date ( All That I Have – you can read my afterthoughts on it HERE ), but I found him to be such a competent and engaging writer that I’d pretty much (but not quite outright) recommend any fiction written by him.
About Rob
says:
i do like plain cover ,like early fabers ,persephone sometimes covers can be off putting and a plain cover makes you pick it up and read what it is about ,all the best stu
says:
That’s a great point Stu, on how plain covers can often encourage a potential reader to pick a book up, to work out what on earth it’s all about.
Thanks for your input, as always
Warmest
Rob