And find out below why you're still judging a book by its cover.
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| The art and science of book covers | In broadcasting, we call that teaser you hear before a show a billboard. “I’m Kerri Miller and on my Friday book show I’ll be talking with ... Wait til you hear what he told me!”
“I’ve always loved my dog more than my children,” no author ever said, but you get the picture!
In publishing, a book’s cover is its billboard. The color, the font, the images, even the size and placement of the title are all given close consideration because that cover has to compete with all its brethren that are sitting on the bookstore shelves beside it or popping up on your Amazon page.
Yes, we are still judging a book by its cover whether we know it or not. But the book cover has come a long way.
Up until the 16th century, book covers were there to protect the precious paper they enclosed and could feature a metal or leather clasp. Books were often purchased uncovered and then the buyer would choose how they wanted it bound and covered.
If you visit the Charles Dickens Museum in London, you’ll see a glorious collection of first editions from the 1800s published in somber reds and browns, quite a difference from the colorful images that adorn later editions of “Oliver Twist” or “David Copperfield.”
Book cover designers also follow trends the way a fashion designer does. It’s no coincidence that the bookstores you visit are suddenly blooming with yellow book covers all around or that the font on those covers is huge, hand-drawn or retro.
I’m fully aware of these artful tricks and yet I can’t resist the siren song of a gorgeous book cover. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if the covers that enclosed N. West Moss’ memoir, “Flesh & Blood” hadn’t been so beautiful, I might’ve overlooked it in the avalanche of new books that have tumbled into my hands this fall.
But that cover did its work and the words it encloses are beautiful, too. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. I hope you’ll listen to our conversation on Nov. 19.
— Kerri Miller | MPR News |
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| | Ghosts, vampires and monsters: 5 titles to get you in the Halloween spirit | "Leave the World Behind" by Rumaan Alam
"The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires" by Grady Hendrix
"Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke
"The Ghost Variations" by Kevin Brockmeier
"A Cosmology of Monsters" by Shaun Hamill |
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Whether you’re looking to send a chill up your spine or uncover the secret of the vampire next door, look no further. We’ve rounded up five titles recommended by independent booksellers to get you in the spooky spirit for the season. | | |
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| | | Katie Couric goes behind the scenes in the cutthroat world of morning TV news | | "Going There" by Katie Couric |
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In her new memoir, Couric dishes on what audiences couldn't always see during the years she worked for ABC, CBS, NBC and Yahoo. She recounts the heartbreak as she lost her husband and her sister to cancer, and what it was like to see the allegations about her friend and former co-host, Matt Lauer, who was fired from NBC for sexual misconduct. | |
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| | | In 'The Matter of Black Lives,' generations of Black thinkers probe American racism | | "The Matter of Black Lives" by David Remnick and Jelani Cobb |
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Back in June 2020, during a summer of protests for racial justice, the New Yorker republished 'Letter from a Region in my Mind," a seminal James Baldwin essay calling out the ignorance of liberal white Americans. In the following months, writer Jelani Cobb put together a collection of essays from the magazine that fit a similar theme: Black writers. | |
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| | | A love letter to horror films | | "My Heart is a Chainsaw" by Stephen Graham Jones |
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Lee Francis IV of Red Planet Books and Comics in Albuqueque, N.M., says the author's sense of humor, his deep knowledge of small town life and his understanding of how to write blood and gore work together to create a layered novel that’s an homage to the horror genre. "This book is essentially his love letter to horror films." | |
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| | | Nick Offerman on why he finds solace in the outdoors | | "Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside" by Nick Offerman |
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Nick Offerman is best known as Ron Swanson on “Parks and Recreation” and is perhaps the most famous actor who also owns a woodshop. He's also a comedian, musician and author. And in his new book, he's making it known that "outdoorsman" is also on his list of hobbies. | |
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| | | How much do you really know about Daniel Boone? | | "The Taking of Jemima Boone" by Matthew Pearl |
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There’s more to Daniel Boone than the stereotype of an explorer wearing deerskin and a raccoon hat. This week, host Kerri Miller sorted fact from fiction with the help of author Matthew Pearl. In his latest book, he describes how Boone thought he could live peacefully in Kentucky with the Native Americans whose land he’s stolen — until his daughter, Jemima, was kidnapped by them. | |
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