Afew months ago, I did a joint blog with Rhys from Thirst 4 Fiction (here's my previous blog). Had such fun with doing it, I decided to do it again with Rhys.
Now, for those of you wondering what Cover Chat is, it's a "multiple-blog feature (or meme) where book bloggers talk about US vs UK book covers." (click here if you want to take part or want to know more...)
On Thirst for Fiction, we are talking about the covers for Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. But here, we are chatting about The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson.
Here is the UK cover:
And here is the US cover:
Rhys says: "I think, without a doubt, that the UK cover definitely takes the lead here- the high contrast, muted colour pallete really works well, and it really looks solid. Everything just works really well together to form a wonderfully dark and mysterious cover that is far superior to its American counterpart, which is rather disappointing. For a start, the overlay of the man in the top hat looks amateurish- but the text is badly placed and badly coloured too, and the washed out tones really do nothing for the book. The dark intruige of the UK cover really does triumph- which is why I can easily say that the UK cover wins hands down in this contest..."
I say: "I have to disagree with you, Rhys. I quite like the US cover. It seems simple, and hints at the plot. I'm quite intrigued over the red-haired girl. The UK cover, at first glance, seems a bit monotone. It's using a lot of pallete colours and it doesn't seem to grab and hold my attention. But after looking the cover a bit more, I think I realise why I dislike the UK cover - the typeface for the title. It seems so wrong! It's trying to be gothic and it fails. And why did they need to put the "Jack The Ripper Returns"? And in red? It jars out and it ruins the cover! I think it's the typeface that bothers me the most about the UK cover. I prefer the US cover, but I hope that, when I see it in the flesh, it just works!*"
I want to thank, yet again, Rhys from Thirst4Fiction for allowing me to take part in this! And for picking such interesting covers this time and last time (and hopefully next time. I am so doing this again!)
*I have seen it in the flesh. I prefer it now I've seen it in the flesh but I prefer the US cover...
Welcome to my second Meet The Blogger blogpost! So glad you can join us. Last week, we had Laura from SisterSpooky. This week, Rhys from Thirst4Fiction is answering my questions! Please check out his blog - http://www.thirstforfiction.com/ and show him some love!
When did you start blogging? [LONG ANECDOTE ALERT!] I only consider myself to have blogged in the last year or so, even though I've been doing book reviews and running ThirstforFiction in various incarnations before that. The reason is, that back in mid 2009, I had this wonderful idea to create a website where I could post reviews of all the books I'd read as a sort of catalogue or database. This website came to be, under the name of Teen-BookReviews (cruddy name, I know!) and I would update it every time I read a book with a short and badly written review. Then, in late 2009, I decided I wanted to re-brand Teen-BookReviews, make it more appealing and just devote more time to it. Which is what I did- I moved to a self-hosted Joomla site, and Teen-BookReviews came to be ThirstforFiction, which is far more appealing, at least in my opinion. But even then, I still didn't consider myself to be "blogging"- at that point, I didn't even realise that there was a huge YA Book Blogosphere! It was only in early 2010, when Headline Publishing Group contacted me and offered my my very first review copy (the wonderful Lex Trent Vs the Gods if you wanted to know!) that I tightened up and made T4F something regular. So, really, I only really think I've properly blogged for just over a year.
What made you start blogging? The fact that I read so many books I thought I might as well unleash my opinions unto the world.
What was the first book you reviewed for your blog and what was your reaction to it? Oooh. Now, this is hard. *checks archives* The reason this is difficult to say is because my very early reviews were so bad I didn't bother moving them in the move from Teen-BookReviews to ThirstforFiction, so they have been lost forever.... But, the what must have been one of my first reviews was of Artemis Fowl. The review you see now is a revamped version of the original two-paragraph review, though it isn't much better; it may be longer but it's still filled with writing constipation! It's a gushy review of a wonderful book, I'm pleased to say.
When was the first time you realised you were a Book Blogger? Again - I'd say early 2010. Maybe March.
How much of your time a week do you spend blogging? Too much (though really, there is never really too much time spent blogging!) I'd say about an hour a day, not including reading time.
Has your taste in book genres changed since starting the blog? I wouldn't consider my tastes to have changed, just that I've discovered the range of my tastes. Back in the early days I was pretty narrow minded, but with publishers offering me books that I may not normally read, my taste of genre has increased quite exponentially. This is one of the biggest benefits of blogging: discovering new (fantastic) books you wouldn't normally come across, let alone read.
What book are you reading at the moment? Pure, by Julianna Baggott. It's a post-apocalyptic novel based several years after somesort of destructive force (possibly a nuclear disaster), where a select group of people where chosen to be protected and live in the Dome and be "pure" while the rest were exposed to the blast, where their bodies fused with items and other people. The dome concept has been overused in sci-fi, but Pure is a fantastic novel, and the writing is really spectacular and really worth reading. It paints some great pictures.
What book has got you very excited or made you cry? There are too many to list, but I'll be really cheeky and plug T4F; if you want to see all the books that I consider Must Reads, just click here. Some of those made me cry (Looking For Alaska, Between Shades of Gray) while others are just pure awesome (Mortal Engines, I Am Not A Serial Killer, The Midnight Charter)
Have you read any book that you disliked so much you threw it across the room? No; I would never treat a book that badly! xD I normally just wait it out and hope the book improves. I'm not really the angry/violent type...
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to take part or what to set up a book blog? Just Do It. But, most importantly, just be part of the community- I spent so long not knowing there was such a wonderful book blogging community, I don't know how I survived. Chatting to other bloggers and authors over Twitter, as well as just reading other people's reviews is awesome, and well worth doing.
Now, to ask five fun quick-fire questions. What song are you listening to right now? The Edge of Glory by Lady GaGa...(don't confuse me for one of her "little monsters"- I just particularly like that song!)
MySpace, Facebook or Twitter? Facebook and Twitter. Facebook for real life stuff, Twitter for blogging.
Hardback, paperbacks or eBooks? Hardback and Paperback.
Letters, phone, texting or emailing? All three, though phoning is my least favourite- it just feels weird having meaningful conversations with another person if you can't read their body language. Letters can be romantic, texting is good for sorting stuff out and emailing is just easy...
My first Guest Blog (kinda)! Am quite excited! And over an awesome idea from Rhys from Thirst For Fiction. Cover Chat is a "multiple-blog feature (or meme) where book bloggers talk about US vs UK book covers." I think it's a cool idea and if anyone wants me info (or fancies doing this with Thirst For Fiction, click here!)
So, Rhys and I did two of these. One of his blog (about Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw) and one of mine. And, on mine, we are doing Virals by Kathy Reichs!
So, here is the UK Cover:
And here is the US Cover:
And now, our views and opinions of these covers.
Rhys say: When I received Virals from Random House, it had the US cover on it of a girl running away in a forest- and I assumed this was the UK cover also...but apparantly not. What I liked about the US cover was that it was very dynamic- and it reminded me a lot of the Maximum Ride covers, which also often feature a girl...and judging by the fact that they feature a James Patterson quote, they are obviously appealing to fans of Maximum Ride (of which I used to be one until I re-read the series and saw how Patterson had wrecked the great concept it began with). The US cover was one of the things that sold it to me, and I'm not sure I get quite the same vibe from the UK cover- it just doesn't have that dynamic of fluidity that the US one has...it looks more static somehow (probably because they're sitting in a boat rather than running through a forest!) that being said, I do think it is a good cover. The skeleton on the UK cover also gives a somewhat clearer definition of what Virals is about...but the blending with the rest of the image seems a bit hap-hazard to me, so I've going to choose the US cover as my favourite :D
I say: I like how both covers are similar to the Kathy's adult books, even though this is meant for a YA audience. Same typeface used for the author's name, same style of cover art. But I think the little differences help keep the two series seperate. It's interesting to see how each cover touchs on an element used within the book. The US has a fast, actiony scene that grabs and holds the attention. Who or what is the girl running from? Whereas, the UK cover focuses on the mystery side of the story, choosing dark sombre colours. Seeing as I haven't read Virals (unlike Rhys - jealous as hell, I am!), I can't say which best suits the story. So, I have to go on which grabs and holds my attention. I like the UK cover with its mystery, but the US cover has an edge to it. If the UK had the US cover, but with the UK typeface, the Uk publishers would be on a winner with me. But this time, I prefer the US cover.
I wanna give Rhys from Thirst For Fiction a quick shout out and thank you for allowing me take part in this. I would LOVE to do it again (just saying...)
