Uh-oh.
Shanah over at Bionic Book Worm has picked some challenging March topics starting with this one.
We all focus on book covers because when it comes to marketing a book that is the element that tells you a) the book title and author name and b) gives you an idea as to what the book is about.
(Of course there’s the old adage of ‘never judge a book by its cover’ but we all do it).
Book spines don’t tend to get a lot of focus and it’s not something that marketers or bookbloggers/ vloggers tend to spend a lot of time talking about. That strikes me as strange because the spines are what we see first when books are on shelves or in the uber TBR pile that is piling up by the side of your bed.
However it seems that designers worth their salt know that when you design a book you need to make sure the spine is as compelling to the eye as the cover is.
I am the worst at visual creativity but even I can appreciate how pretty and eye catching spine designs are and I have now seen enough photos of bookcases arranged by colour and/or design to know that book spines play a part in the overall aesthetic.
This is a challenging topic for me because, and I’ll say it again, I am the worst at visual creativity.
I have wandered off to the usual place I wander off to when asked to think of Top 5 visual things relating to books.
Yes, I went looking at The Folio Society website in order to compile my wish-list of delicious looking book spines that I would be pleased to see on my shelves.
Disclaimer – I don’t own these books so can’t take a picture of the spine so I’ve taken pictures from the website. They predominantly feature the cover but we’re all about the bass spine.
Oh the opulence!
Guess how much this costs??? Guess! Guess!!!
Don’t worry I’ll tell you.
£585.
I will never own this set of books.
In a previous life I must have been a magpie because I am a sucker for anything shiny and gold is shiny. How beautiful would this be on your shelves? I think I’d cry every time I looked at it.
Probably because it would have cost me £585.
Gold and black and cool typography?
Let me hand this over to someone more succinct.
Yes, I know. Still gold. There’s a theme. But at least this time there’s colour and what bold colour too!
If a book is called The Red Fairy Book then you better have a red cover. Taking a peek at the books I own I don’t think anything is red. This will most definitely catch the eye of a shelf browser.
I don’t actually like the front cover but I adore the spine with the flowers and the bee.
Obviously the shiny appeals but what is more appealing is the gentle simplicity of these spines in comparison to the busyness of the previous ones. There’s often something understated about being simple.
This one is a bit of a departure from the rest in that there is not shiny and no opulence.
The spine is simple and could even be considered plain in comparison to the rest but I think its quite pretty and I love the image of the fern. As this is a natural sciences book the designers have kept this clean and to the point but also captured a sense of beauty.
My wish list is done. I always go The Folio Society website because their books are often things of beauty that you would only ever touch with your eyes.
During the writing of this post I have come to the sad realisation that I am this guy…
Girrrrrrl you have picked my weakness…Folio Society! I absolutely fawn over all their books (even though I restrain myself from buying them) because they have some of the prettiest books out there, although yes, they are QUITE pricey. And yessss…I’m also a magpie who likes shiny things. I don’t like expensive things, but anything that sparkles, I’ll jump onto it without thinking lol.
Btw, I own an edition of The Once and Future King, which is legit the most gorgeous thing I own. Check it out on google images – the colors are really pretty. 😍
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They are so gorgeous but that gorgeousness does NOT come cheap. I do have a Folio of a book but it was given to me as a birthday present and I’ve gifted a Folio book or two but again – birthday or Christmas and they haven’t been the really expensive ones!
I couldn’t find the copy of The Once and Future King that you are talking about – do you have a link?
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Exactly. I tell everyone that if they want to buy me a nice book for a present, go look at Folio Society. 😛
The Once and Future King looks like this btw: https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Once+and+Future+King+folio+society&client=firefox-b-1-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjzjMKi74zhAhVHnZ4KHTImD24Q_AUIDygC&biw=1366&bih=595#imgrc=Lz6lnPJLgev4AM:
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Oh that’s a gorgeous cover! I love the design of the castle, sort of hand drawn vibe to it! I know, I’m all about The Folio Society books as presents. Books that you can only touch with your eyes!
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oh wow these are such glorious editions! I’d love to own all/any of these! 😉
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Oh same! But I’d probably end up clutching the receipt sobbing and surviving off of tinned baked beans for a month. Ok, I’m prone to dramatics but still 😛
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Great list! I love all of these spines!
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Thank you! They’re incredibly scrummy spines and were definitely my favourites out of a whole heap of gorgeous ones!
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Hahaha yes you love gold! These are seriously gorgeous!
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I know, it’s such a problem! They are beautiful and someone, somewhere has some of these on their shelves. *Sighs wistfully*
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These are all beautiful! I love gold too, it’s pretty and it’s shiny. What can you do? My favorite of these spines is The Art of Natural History though, it’s so delicate. I’m gonna try very hard not to go look at The Folio Society website now, because my wallet can not deal with this right now 😂
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I’m such a sucker for shiny, in a previous life I was probably panning for gold. Oh gosh, The Folio Society website is great but they are not cheap. I like to look at it and hope that in a next life I’ll be super rich!
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Oh my goodness!!!!! I want them all! These are possibly the most beautiful choices of the week! I think you definitely rose to the challenge! The last one might be different, but I think that it might be my favourite!
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Hehehe! Thank you! I think Folio Society do such gorgeous books, I’d never actually *read* any of them because I would just want them to sit and look beautiful. The last one has a charm to it, it definitely caught my eye.
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Love these spines! You know what else is sexy? Taking the book jacket off a hardcover only to discover the inside cover is beautiful too.
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I agree! I don’t often buy hardcover books though and the ones I do are usually because I was so desperate to read the book I couldn’t wait for the paperback! Sometimes they are so pretty I just put them on a shelf to look at.
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So many gorgeous spines! There is something special about the spine of The Art of Natural History- it is so soft and pretty.
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There’s something understated about it but that lends to the charm I think.
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