Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Ten: Non-Fiction

“Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover” is a semi-regular feature on Pop! Goes The Reader inspired by Katie’s feature Cover Love on her blog One Page At A Time. The idea is being used with her gracious permission.

I think we’re all familiar with the age-old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. And you know what I have to say about that? Rubbish! Covers are an invaluable part of a book’s package. A truly great cover can tell you a lot about the novel contained within its pages. Book covers can also catch your attention and attract you to a novel you might otherwise ignore. So go ahead, judge a book by its cover – We all do it!

For the tenth edition of Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover, I’ve decided to take a look at the covers of the Non-Fiction genre, a group of books that are very close to my heart. While I don’t often make the time to feature this genre on Pop! Goes The Reader, there are few things I enjoy reading more than a non-fiction historical biography or humorous memoir. In fact, there was a two year period during university when I read nothing but! So, in honour of the books like Mad Women and Don’t Worry, It Gets Worse that both educate and entertain in equal measure, let’s pay homage to some of these marvellously graphic, creative and colourful covers!

Now it’s your turn! What are some of your favourite non-fiction covers? Did I list one of your favourites here or is there one I forgot that just has to be included? Let me know in the comments!

19 Responses

  1. Wow, I never really thought about non-fiction covers! There are so many gorgeous ones out there. I especially love The Rescue and Love With a Chance of Drowning that you shared with us. Awesome post as always, Jen!
    Jen recently posted…Switcheroo!My Profile

  2. I don’t read many non-fiction but these gorgeous covers make me wanna go to the bookstore and grab copies!!!! I especially love The Golden Road, Don’t Worry It Gets Worse and Love With A Chance of Drowning. <3 I think Paris Street Style looks familiar! I must've spotted it at the bookstore before. 🙂 The only non-fiction I can remember reading is The Happiness Project! The cover's pretty cute with its blues and yellows. 😀
    Hazel @ Stay Bookish recently posted…Book Haul #8: Birthday BooksMy Profile

    1. Then my evil plan is working! *Cackles* 😆 😉

      In all seriousness though, I’m so happy I was able to expose people to a genre they might otherwise largely ignore! I’m a big fan of the non-fiction genre, and have read quite a few of these titles myself. I’m really looking forward to reading Love With A Chance Of Drowning, not only because it has one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen, but also because my friend Bree wrote a glowing review back in February that made me all the more excited to read it 🙂
      Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader recently posted…Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Ten: Non-FictionMy Profile

    1. Illustrated covers are my favourite, too! I think that’s one of the reasons I always tend to gravitate toward the non-fiction shelves in my local bookstore – There are so many beautiful covers to ogle! 😛

      I completely agree with you in regards to the cover for Love With A Chance Of Drowning! It’s easily one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen 🙂
      Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader recently posted…Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Ten: Non-FictionMy Profile

  3. Yes Rubbish for sure! I’m a huge cover judger and I know all of my friends are too. And like, if I review a book that is not very well known withe a crap cover is gets NO views, but if I review an equally unknown book with a great cover people will come check it out so there’s your proof. Aaanyways, these covers are very unique and creative I like a lot of them! More eye catching in a book store than the generic covers like “almost kissing” and stuff like that. Boring!
    Giselle recently posted…Review: Made of Stars by Kelley YorkMy Profile

    1. I couldn’t agree more, Giselle! Illustrated covers are my favourite, and I love how colourful and creative the ones I selected for today’s are. On a similar note, I had originally wanted to do an edition of Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover featuring the ‘New Adult’ genre, but that seems to be becoming increasingly impossible – All the covers are the same! If I see one more cover of a couple kissing, I don’t know what I’ll do! 😛
      Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader recently posted…Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Ten: Non-FictionMy Profile

    1. I couldn’t stand Cleaving either but I knew I had to include it on today’s list as I absolutely loved its cover (Which may or may not have been the reason I picked it up in the first place) 😳

      I’m glad I’m not the only one! I’ve been meaning to read The Wilder Life for close to a year now but have yet to even purchase a copy. We both need to stop procrastinating!

      The cover for Making Piece is too cute! It reminds me a little of Bryan Fuller’s Pushing Daisies. Boy, do I miss that show! 🙁
      Jen @ Pop! Goes The Reader recently posted…Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover – Issue Ten: Non-FictionMy Profile

  4. I love some of the covers you’ve chosen! I haven’t heard of many of these books, but the covers would definitely make me want to pick them up.

    Two of my favorite non-fiction covers that are more photographic than typographic are The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry and Flapper by Joshua Zeitz.

    As a huge Jane Austen fan, I love so many of the covers of the non-fiction books that come out about her, her books, her readers, etc. Those include: Jane Austen’s England by Roy & Lesley Adkins, The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne, A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz and Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe.

    I hated Eat Pray Love, but I really did love that cover. Judging A Book By Its Lover by Lauren Leto also has a really cute and eye-catching cover!

    Ok whew! From you post, I love the covers of The Golden Road, Don’t Worry It Gets Worse, The Wilder Life and Love With A Chance of Drowning. So lovely!
    Hannah @ So Obsessed With recently posted…From “What?!” to “WOW!”My Profile

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi! I’m Jen! I’m a thirty-something introvert who loves nothing more than the cozy comfort of home and snuggling my two rescue cats, Pepper and Pancakes. I also enjoy running, jigsaw puzzles, baking and everything Disney. Few things bring me more joy than helping a reader find the right book for them!

Search
Categories