I’ve been to the bookstore twice this week. Once, because it was close to where Hubs and I had dinner, and again when I went with my good friend Lauren (who will be on the blog next week!). But since I’m currently on a book-buying ban, both adventures were primarily spent just gazing at cover art like a loon.
To be frank, the YA cover art well has been running pretty dry for me lately. I’ve had more than my fair share of Sad Girls in Pretty Dresses. Publishers, I get it. Everyone and their mother likes a sad girl in a pretty dress on a cover. Just not this girl, ok?
But you know what I do like? Surprise, surprise: silhouettes, black, and red. It’s a weakness, really.
So I was totally digging The Game of Triumphs’ cover. Until I turned it over to the backside of its jacket:
You might be thinking: What? What am I supposed to be looking for? Is this some sort of Magic Eye trick or something?
No, there isn’t anything weird or something not-so-obvious going on here. And yes, that gawdy sticker is hanging out in an odd place on the jacket, but can someone please tell me WHAT THOSE WORDS SAY?
Apparently my old lady hands can't hold a phone still, either.
I immediately faced the back of the novel to Lauren after staring at it for a few seconds, puzzled.
“What does this say?” I demanded. “MY OLD LADY EYES CANNOT READ THIS.”
Lauren leaned toward the book and blinked twice. “I have no idea.”
I love different typefaces, and I especially love them when they work beautifully within context. But when your copy is small, in all caps, and decorative and intricate, it makes my eyeballs work even more overtime.
If this was the new standard for eye charts, I’d fail miserably.
That is really unfortunate because the cover is really neat. Considering how much I love collecting fonts, there are a lot I like having but wouldn’t use for anything because they are virtually illegible. Which is sort of defeating the point, but while I think crazy graphic fonts are wonderful, they don’t belong on anything that requires you to read more than a word or two.
Agreed. I can handle a title written in an ornate font. Just a few words. But geeze, Louise.
Also, one of these days I’m going to print out my entire collection of fonts to compare with yours (unless it crashes my computer first).
Oh my god I don’t even know how many I have, too many? Is that possible? Sometimes when I’m scrolling through my fonts thinking, “If I don’t find the right one in seven seconds I’m deleting my font folder and starting over.”
The Archanum
Temple House
Mercury Square
Admits one
Throw the coin
Turn the ___(sticker is in the way)
What ___ play for?
Thanks, Thea. You win the Best Eyeballs Award. Your prize is the fact that you don’t have to wear contacts or have ever have LASIK. Not that I’m bitter!
Signed,
Old Lady Eyes
Actually, I do wear glasses (and sometimes contacts). So there’s no need to be bitter.
I’ve been meaning to mention Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield to you and this post seems like an appropriate place to comment. It was published last year in the UK and released last month in the US with some minor modifications to the US version. Both versions have long request queues at my library, which surprised me because I didn’t think that many people geeked out about fonts.
By the way, what are your thoughts on the covers for The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern?
I’ve heard of Just My Type! A blogger friend of mine is reading it, and I’ve got it on my Christmas wish list. When I read it, you best believe I’ll be throwing pictures of it up here on the blog.
The Night Circus has an absolutely stunning cover — so much so that I thought it was adult fic when it came out. You just don’t see many YA covers that look like that.
I remember the time when I used to play with fonts all the time and almost all my documents have some kind of fancy font on it, sometimes for the entire body. LOL.
On another note, I hate it when the price tag on a book covers some of the back text cover. :| I hate it even more when it’s hard to peel off. Hmpf.
Oh Tina, the ENTIRE BODY? Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. I totally did that with the Curlz font in like the 7th grade.
so i just read the back of the cover and was like OH HELL NO THEY DIDN’T. because for like five minutes, I was convinced it said turd. and i was like, whaaaaaaaa? why would i throw a dice and then turd, what KIND OF STORY IS THIS.
then in a moment of clarity (this doesn’t happen often) I realised what it all says!!! i am a genius.
The Archanum
Temple House
Mercury Square
Admits one
Throw the coin
Turn the dice
What will YOU play for?
you are so totes welcome.
TURD the dice, Carla! TURD THE DICE.