Take Cover

Working both at a library and a bookstore, I encounter many books everyday. One of my favorite aspects about being surrounded by books is enjoying cover art. You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but let's face it - the cover is generally the first impression you have of a book. Some publishers get that concept, many do not. A couple of my favorite book covers:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo cover is tastefully vibrant, and, in my opinion, really cool. While it took me a couple attempts to get into the book, the cover is really what lodged this novel into my head and wouldn't let me forget about it.

The Alienist cover is pretty simple, yet extremely compelling. "Who is this cloaked individual? Where is he going? What has he done?" These are the thoughts that jumped through my brain when I first saw this cover. I picked up the book to find out and wound up enjoying one of my favorite books ever.

My favorite cover of all-time, however, is pictured at the top of this post. Any guesses as to which book it is? (Hint, the author's name does not rhyme with "Chatterson".) It's the first book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien. My dad owned this edition, and I remember being mystified from an early age by the occult-looking markings around "The Eye". The first time I read the Lord of the Rings, it was using this edition. The writing, of course, turned out to be the Elven script of the dark language of Mordor that was engraved upon the One Ring. (Translated, it says:

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.")

I credit this book cover with developing a good amount of my reading tastes today, and I still find this book to be the most fascinating cover art I've ever clapped eyes upon. And you? What are some of your favorites?