#favoritecovers

Seriously, and for him to sound so clear and strong. Oh be still my heart. This is totally on the top of my list. Thank you for sharing and making my dash brighter with this. 

SOTD: José Gonzalez, “Heartbeats” (2005). In an alternate reality where I have tons more free time and extra motivation, I record an album called Difficult Voices, where I take amazing songs by people whose vocals or overall musical presentation is abrasive enough to keep more people from knowing and loving it. That concept is exactly what’s going on here.

SOTD: Cowboy Junkies, “Sweet Jane” (1988). The way that this song varies from the original is both inspired and necessary. It’s inspired in that the version they’re doing is a different version than the best-known one. Instead of the chords and arrangement of the studio version on Loaded, they’re covering the live version: slowed down, languid chords, “la la la” bit.

But there’s also some necessity here; that there’s no other way the Cowboy Junkies could do this song. Margo Timmons simply can’t not have a beautiful voice. Maybe there was a conscious decision to not just ape a Lou Reed vocal, but...she’s also going to sing the way she sings. It’s all her.

Add to that the way this album was recorded: in a church into a single mic. The volume levels couldn’t be controlled by a mixer, so they had to physically space themselves out and then play at a volume where everyone could be heard. Thanks to that and the natural reverb of the church, it couldn’t help but be whispered and shadowy. And it absolutely makes the song.

9 FAVORITE COVERS (Off my Bookshelf)

I am obsessed with book covers and I’ve bought so many books because of the cover alone. Though I may not always like the book, I do alwayshave a pretty new book to display when I’m done. Unless I just want to read the story horribly bad, there have been many five star books that I hated the cover so I didn’t purchase it. It may not be the most intelligent way to go about it, but I have some gorgeous books to show off. While I am a romance writer, my love affair with books began with the fantasy genre so there are quite a few on this list. This was very hard to do because I like so many of my covers. I tried to pick my top five and couldn’t do it, but I was able to keep it down to nine.

1. Alice in Zombieland -Horror/teen fiction

                Not to be confused with Gena Showalter’s books by the same name, this is nearly identical Lewis Carrol’s “Alice in Wonderland”, other than certain words, characters, and objects being interchanged for something gory or disturbing. It was quite entertaining actually, but it was this cover that made me want it so much. It’s difficult to tell from the picture, but it’s like a hybrid of a paperback and hardcover.

2. Bad Girls Don’t Die -Paranormal thriller/teen fiction

                Full Disclosure, I haven’t actually read this one yet. I got it at a grab bag sale at a book store, but I love the haunting feeling and the vintage style. The lace mixed with the wood floor and her little t toes…it’s just so cute. The story sounds incredibly interesting too. A girl’s little sister becomes obsessed with an old doll and over time she changes and weird stuff is happening in their house. It’s the first book in a series. I’ll get to it eventually.

3. Faery Tales and Nightmares -Dark Fantasy/teen fiction

                Melissa Marr is and will always be one of my favorite authors. Everything the woman touches is gold. I am not a fan of short stories, but the cover alone was enough to make me not care. Then the fact that it was written by her, there was no way I wasn’t buying this book. It is good, but I just prefer much longer stories. The silver accents also make it glitter and the dress the model is wearing is fabulous.

4. Captive in the Dark -Dark romance/erotic romance

                *Sigh* This is my all-time favorite dark romance story ever. While I didn’t buy it because of the cover (I bought for the crazy ass prologue), the cover is what drew me to it and made me curious. I have mentioned that I hate half naked embracing couples on the cover of romance novels (it cheapens the story to me), however, I do like people on the cover. The entire series (3 books) is beautiful and I love that the faces aren’t showing. I like to imagine what they look like for myself.

5. Beautiful -Teen fiction

                This is one that my ‘pick a book by its cover’ method failed me horribly. This was one of the worst books I have ever read and I honestly didn’t get the point. It was supposed to be a cautionary tale of abuse, drugs, and coming of age, but it was really just lame. It had decent reviews so maybe I’m the odd man out. The simplicity of the cover with the lipstick writing and the model’s heavy makeup is a nice effect. Even though the book will never be read again, it still looks great on my bookshelf.

6. Another Pan -Dark Fantasy/teen Fiction

                I actually was already reading this series and this stunning cover was a happy surprise. The other books in the (Marlowe School) series were nowhere near this pretty. Each book is (kind of) its own story and this was a somewhat creepy retelling of Peter Pan. The moths are significant to the book(s) and the way her dress is draping as she is floating gives of the magical essence of the book.

7. Dirty Ugly Toy -Dark romance/erotic romance

                This is a new obsession of mine. Not only was the story incredible, but this cover is definitely one of the top ones. I almost didn’t include this because I just did a review a couple weeks ago and made a big deal out of the cover. I just love looking at it so I thought it deserved a place on the list. The little gray rips are consistent throughout the text of the novel and I thought that was stunning. Also, enough of her face is covered so my imagination can still have its fun.

8. Fever -Science fiction/teen fiction

                Every single book in this series (Chemical Garden) is stunning. They are each within the same vein, but this one is my favorite of the three. The plot is interesting and I enjoyed the books a lot, I just felt like it was a little mild for the incredible world she set up. I don’t remember the exact ages, but I think woman die at eighteen and men at twenty- five. The last aged generation is still alive, but they are about to die out. The thing I love about this is the cover could literally be a scene pulled out of the book. The detail is amazing and each of the other books are the same way.

9. Ink Exchange -Dark Fantasy/teen fiction

                This is the book that really started my obsession with books. I had enjoyed reading, but these books took me to another world.  I saw this cover and I had to refrain from sitting down in the bookstore and reading it right then. It is actually the second in the (Wicked Lovely) series and not only is it my favorite cover, but it’s also my favorite book in my favorite series ever. The other books are just as stunning, but the wings are incredible. The tattoo is significant to the story and I love that kind of detail.

*I would love to see some of your favorite covers! Thank you for visiting.