Saturday, August 3, 2013

By Its Cover: Cloud Atlas

          

I really like the cover on the left, just because it's pretty. I'm not sure about how well it reflects the story (stories) of the book, but it's appealing and I would absolutely go pick it up off the shelf to look at it more closely.

The one in the middle is the one I have. I didn't look at it very carefully for a long time, but then I realized that there are six images... because there are six stories. Pretty self-explanatory (but still not nearly as visually interesting to me).

The cover on the right is quite obviously the movie poster version. I very clearly remember when the movie came out, and the trailer was big and beautiful and full of actors I think highly of... and I couldn't figure out what the story was, and it bugged the hell out of me. Now I understand why (because there isn't one story) but it still annoys me. Even Tom Hanks can't make me feel better about it, and he's awesome.

I had the Kindle version, this time around, so the cover had very little effect on me.  The first cover that I saw, however, was the middle one.  Unlike Alex, I got it right away (that the pictures corresponded to the stories) and thought it was very apropos.  

As much as I love my kindle and love that I can get the Kindle version, I do wish that there was more of a "cover."

3 comments:

  1. I have the cover on the right, the movie poster. I was very confused by the movie trailer at first too, and I've heard that its not a very good film. I think it was a mistake to use the same actors in every single story, playing different characters. But I haven't seen it, so I don't know for sure. I was also bothered because I have a thing about casting movie characters in a way that actually matches their book descriptions. From what I've seen in the trailer, this does not happen, and it makes me mad. But anyway, I agree that the left cover is the prettiest, but I do like that the middle one has different pictures that go with each story. I think it helps bring the stories together.

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  2. I'd read the one on the left, I'm not sure about the others. I tend to shy away from books that use the movie cover. I think it's because I always envision the characters as looking quite a bit different than the book cover shows.

    I've actually been debating whether or not to read this, so I'm glad you all reviewed it. :)

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad the hating on the movie covers thing is not just me.

      Unless I have absolutely no other choice (IE, the book is used or significantly marked down and there are no other versions), I always buy the original covers when I can.

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