By Juliette Tulloch, Tessa Thejas Thomas and Abbie Wright
For this issue, we take a look at book covers that would be perfect for curling up with by the fire during the colder months. So sit back, grab your favourite hot drink and check out some of the book covers that we are loving this winter!
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Avid fantasy readers will be excited to hear of a new trilogy from author Saara El-Arifi, known for her bestselling novel The Final Strife, which is based on Ghanaian mythology. Faebound is set to be released in January next year and would make a perfect addition to your winter reading list. The book follows sisters Yeeran and Lettle as they navigate life in exile and enter the elusive Fae Court, who have not been seen for a millennium. Featuring an intense love triangle, an enemies to lovers arc and epic world building, it’s sure to tick every box.
The Waterstones special edition includes sprayed edges of the spilling wintery landscape, while a map of the fantasy world is displayed on intricate endpapers. The cover design opts for an unusual vertical gold title, with twisting trees and falling leaves, creating an air of mystery around the barren world the sisters are forced into. The warm hues and style of illustration mimics that of recent editions of Frank Hebert’s Dune series, suggesting an emerging design trend within the sci-fi and fantasy genre that favours depictions of landscape over characters.
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Craig Thompson’s critically acclaimed Blankets is a classic for graphic novel enthusiasts. Blankets depicts Thompson’s early childhood and adolescence as he navigates love, familial dynamics and faith.
The 20th anniversary edition depicts the winter atmosphere and setting of the novel exactly. The style of this new cover maintains continuity between the illustrations inside the graphic novel and the original cover. The snow acts as a separator between the two scenes, emphasising how the story has multiple moving parts and influential characters. The lower third depicts two of the characters embracing, covered by blankets. The upper third depicts two young children playing in the snow. Above them the snowfall is heavy and can only be seen against the muted blue sky. Around them the trees are compact and covered in snow. The muted colour scheme is consistent with the internal text, adding to the cohesion of the design. Overall, this cover depicts both warmth and winter perfectly, a fitting package for the story of Blankets.
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
Dusapin’s contemporary fiction novel, Winter in Sokcho, may not look like your typical cosy winter book cover. However, when considered in combination with the incredible story inside, it is clear why this novel deserves a place on this list.
The story follows a French-Korean woman living in a tourist town, Sokcho, during its lonely winter. The woman works at the town’s hotel and there she meets a young man who comes to stay. The story is beautifully described and the winter setting paints a vivid picture of Korea for the reader.
In terms of the book’s cover, we love how it strays from a traditional format, with the designer opting for a composition that mimics a postcard. The choice of image creates a sense of irony since the book is set during the winter and the postcard appears to show the more picturesque summertime in Sokcho. This reflects the tone of the novel from the outset. Additionally, the bold and colourful title stands out, drawing the read to this particular cover. Much like a postcard, the name of the town is large and in the centre of the image, while the rest of the title is smaller. However, this is expertly done since the smaller words are also placed in brighter text and this ensures they are not lost in such a busy book cover. The pink background of the postcard format is a lovely choice to tie everything together and ensures that the cover will stand out on your bookshelf at home. Overall, Dusapin’s winter novel is an enjoyable read and the distinct cover is a unique and bold pick for a cosy book.