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Comment by loughnane | Hacker News Reader

I get that this is just how books are sold, but I like the look of books without pictures on the cover. It means I've got nothing but the words shaping my thoughts.

For example:

- https://fradive.webs.ull.es/sem/fuentes1/IMG_4869.jpg

- https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780872206007-us.jpg

- https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5e/e7/df/5ee7df38bef54cbf52a2...

and so on.

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It's interesting that historically, in France, the more prestigious a publisher is, the more bland the cover. Book covers with colors all over the place feel cheap over here.

And this french idea goes all the way to omitting any kind of blurb. It's pretty shocking. There is no information whatsoever on the book itself beyond author, title - and publisher's name because that's important /s. ... The book may as well not be on the shelf.

Oh I would love for my covers not to be blighted by "New York Times Bestselling author" or "Now a popular <TV channel> show!" and the like. Keep the blurb on the back, but don't pollute the cover!

I buy a lot of used books and I can never bring myself to pick up one of those. I'd have to be desperate.

Those quotes from reviews that American publishers like to put on covers make books feel particularly cheap and disposable.

Fitzcarraldo Editions is currently trying to ape this for the English language market.

https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/

Oh, I like that.

The minimalist presentation style is in itself marketing for all of these. The "Moral Philosophy" cover isn't set that way for any actual constraints, and what I presume is a set of initials or an abbreviation in the first issue isn't there for practical reasons; someone had to go out of their way to make a way to press that, if it's old enough, or to design it, if it's newer.

Your thoughts are shaped by the minimalist presentation of the books; it provokes a feeling of prestige. Minimal covers have been very common with Ivy publishers for their non-GA books for decades, and not because it's less manipulative. It just sells better.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/e18edf5a69e02f776837247d12385d67...

The American first edition books in the best-selling series "Harry Potter" are actually a better example of what you're going for, because they were printed in such a mass-market fashion. If you take the book sleeves off of them, there are no words at all, ignoring the spine.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Harry_Po...

This is a good thing, though. Buy American hardcover books with book sleeves! More often than not, you can take them off, and they look exactly like this.

Yeah, I get that its part of the design, but since there's no photo it doesn't predispose me to anything on the inside in the same way the ones in the linked article do. In any case, I do like it better.

The Harry Potter example is a good one, and you're right about taking the sleeves off, that's my go to move.

Fair enough. I probably went a bit too hard into flamewar argument style with my reply. I hope you have a good day!

Np.

Btw I don’t know the origin of your username but it makes me think of an iconic font used in that enlightenment era.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caslon?wprov=sfti1

I like it a lot (and there’s a libre version), though I’m slightly more partial to Baskerville.

That's indeed the source of my username!

I think, outside of some classic-looking hardbound books, too simple a cover--e.g. #2--from an unknown author would scream low-rent work. It's totally unfair. I sort of hate having to get a decent cover design for a book that's going to be mostly digital downloads. But I sort of feel I have to do something.

For sure to some people, but not others. That second example is hackett publishing and their sparse look is recognizable to some.

Reminds me of https://xkcd.com/993/

There are definitely brands owned by the market itself that does that nowadays.

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