We’re on that delicious cusp of winter to spring, slowly stepping away from reading indoors cooped up in a blanket with a cup of tea and inching towards a book on a park bench with your first iced latte of the season (am I getting ahead of myself?). As we bid February farewell, here are four of our favourite book covers released this month. And if you’re guilty of judging books by their covers, you may even feel inspired to read them.
Clutch by Emily Nemens
Cover design by Beth Steidle (Tin House/Zando, February 3)
This cover is sparse yet dramatic. The bright red does an excellent job of creating intrigue and swallowing everything up, in contrast to the figure in white who seems to almost dissolve into the background. The image is Wayne Thiebaud’s Supine Woman, chosen by cover designer Beth Steidle, and it’s a smart pairing. The novel follows five college friends, two decades later, navigating the biggest challenges of their lives, and Nemens has described it as an ode to friendship.
They by Helle Helle, translated by Martin Aitken
Cover design by Erik Carter (New Directions, 10 February)
Artsy, print-like, crunchy… A scrumptious cover that would double nicely as a large poster in a well-lit flat. The designer behind it is Erik Carter, a New York-based graphic designer and art director whose work draws from video game culture, early digital aesthetics and critical design, and who has made covers and illustrations for the New York Times, The New Yorker and Pitchfork.
Emilio Pucci by Terence Ward and Idanna Pucci
(Macmillan, February 10)
The black and white figure set against those blue-brown tones, the 3D effect of a figure standing in front of a giant letter C, the photograph itself – there’s a lot going on, and it captures your attention. The book inside is equally compelling: a biography that focuses primarily on Pucci’s wartime life, co-written by his niece Idanna Pucci and her husband Terence Ward, following the designer through Nazi-occupied Italy.
How to Disappear and Why by Kyle Minor
Cover design by Danika Isdahl (Sarabande, February 24)
This one carries a darker, more ominous energy – the TV-like visuals and eye symbols raise tension and questions immediately. The designer is Danika Isdahl, an award-winning book designer whose cover for Hotel Almighty was selected as an AIGA 2020 50 Books/50 Covers winner, with previous work for authors including Sandra Cisneros.
