Don't judge a book by its cover, they say. But what if it looks so bad, even a five-year-old with the oldest version of MS Paint could have done a better job?
There's a subreddit, called r/TerribleBookCovers, and its members are—you guessed it—collecting the worst book covers that have ever been published. Whether it's an insulting title or a hideous drawing, they have it all. Continue scrolling and check out some of the most popular pictures within the online community.
This post may include affiliate links.
Everything About This Is Terrible
In order to understand what is a bad book cover, we can start by figuring out what is a good one instead. Renowned book designer Chip Kidd (who created the cover for Jurassic Park and many others), said that book design is all about giving form to content but also appreciating the balance between the two.
In his Ted talk, Kidd explained that on his first day of graphic design class in school, the teacher drew a picture of an apple, then wrote the word Apple and said: "Listen up. You either say this," pointing to the word apple, "or you can show this," pointing to the picture of the apple.
"But you don't do this," he said, pointing to a picture of an apple with the word Apple beneath it. "Because this is treating your audience like a moron. And they deserve better."
So a book cover can show or tell, but can't do both.
It’s Worth A Look!
Wtf?
Best-selling author Jeff Goins thinks covers should also know and respect the audience of the book.
"Books are not created in a vacuum. They are not merely a manifestation of the author's creativity. The content needs a form, and the form will influence the way the content is consumed," Goins wrote. "All art has an audience, and books are no different. Good book design, then, is not just an expression of the story or idea behind a book. It is a piece of the marketing. As such, it needs to matter to the people it was intended for."
The Hobbit
Do Your Kids Suffer From Nightmares? No, Not Yet? Well This Should Help A Lot
My Mom Used To Read This One To Me
Coming back to Chip Kidd, he said that a book designer has a responsibility to three groups of people: the reader, the publisher, and the author. So the ultimate goal of a good book design is to get people to respond. For the reader, you want people to say, "Wow! I need to read that." For the publisher, you want them to say, "This is something we can print." And for the author, you want them to say, "Yes! This expresses my idea better than I could!"
So I guess you could say that a terrible book design is boring, unmarketable, and superficial.
Found This In A Doctors Office A Few Years Ago. I Think About This Way Too Much
What..........The.............F***!!!!! If I saw this in my doctors office I would be seriously weirded out!!!!
Not Sure If This Has Been Posted Before, But...
Prehistoric Passion From Mars
The Very Hungry Cthulupillar
Kissing The Coronavirus (Coronavirus Erotica?!)
How Ironic
I’m Just Waiting For The Film Adaptation
My Librarian Wife Always Has Interesting Finds
When Your Mom Tells You To Get A Real Job, But You Double Down Trying To Prove You Can Start That Cult You Always Said You Would...
Woof? I Feel So Empty
Browsing Through Books At A Thrift Store, Um...
Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover, Even If It Is A Collage Of Jpegs
Even The Price Is Questionable
I Think I've Found It! The Most Glorious Photoshop Of All Time!
Terrible Everything
How To Talk With Your Dog About Homosexuality And Communism
That Lighthouse Imagery...
Empress Theresa - Final Cover
His Leg On Ready Player One’s Cover
I thought this was photoshopped at first....I looked at my copy its real!!!!
i hope it's photoshopped... if not it must be a pain in the a$$ to walk with that
Load More Replies...
Both his legs are streched.. this is what happens when you "look yourself blind on it" as we say in Norwegian (directly translated). Not sure what it's called in English. Anyway, it means you work on something for so long that you fail to see mistakes that are blatantly obvious to others. Was probably too focused on making the pants look right etc. Why the legs needed stretching in the first place I don't know, tho.
it's a good movie and i've never read the book, but the leg...the rest is fine though lol.
I don't get it.. is one leg longer than the other..and also the same leg? Or just a twisted sneaker?
I'm not seeing it either; one leg is bent and the other is stretched. Maybe it's like that black & blue/white & gold dress syndrome.
Load More Replies...
5'3" standing on his left leg, and 6'8" standing on his right. Way to go, photo editors.
I was scrolling on my phone and didn't see anything wrong at first...then the leg kept going, and going....
The audiobook is read by none other than Wil Wheaton. Fans of the book will understand.
Spielberg is going to have difficulty finding an actor with a leg like that.
Hope the illustrator got better gigs. He's talented. Can't say the same about the writer.
... I do not agree with this comment That’s all I am going to say
Load More Replies...Kissing The Coronavirus Is Back!
Romance Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Is the fish supposed to cover the nipples? Didn't quite manage that...
I Can’t Believe It’s Real
Librarian Wife Comes Through Again
The 50th Edition Lotr Covers Are Something Else...
I Don't Even Know What To Say About This Book Cover
Til That Native American Women Shot At Cowboys With Lasers (Also There Was Young Love In The Wild West)
Ten Things Doctors Won't Tell You About Your Cpap Machine
Note: this post originally had 142 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
Some of these books are parodies that I've seen on other humor sites.
Yeah kinda disappointed, thought these would be natural monsters...
Load More Replies...
If you want some more of these, this website has some: https://alwaysjudgeabookbyitscover.com/ It has some of the ones on here, but there's more and they're really funny :)
second one i saw “how to play with a lions testicles”
Load More Replies...
Some of these are obviously parodies, but I'm truly disappointed that some of these aren't, like the LaCroix erotica or the Covid smut
These titles and covers were so bad, I had to stop, and move on to something else.
Reduced from 142 to 35? Reduce again. Maybe to zero. Many faults shared here: witless, unfunny, obvious, lameness, crappy artwork/ You owe us beter than thi, BPeditor.
I saw a book cover once something like--the Centaur Ghost turned me gay--and now I know I didn't dream it.
Some of these books are parodies that I've seen on other humor sites.
Yeah kinda disappointed, thought these would be natural monsters...
Load More Replies... If you want some more of these, this website has some: https://alwaysjudgeabookbyitscover.com/ It has some of the ones on here, but there's more and they're really funny :)
second one i saw “how to play with a lions testicles”
Load More Replies... Some of these are obviously parodies, but I'm truly disappointed that some of these aren't, like the LaCroix erotica or the Covid smut
These titles and covers were so bad, I had to stop, and move on to something else.
Reduced from 142 to 35? Reduce again. Maybe to zero. Many faults shared here: witless, unfunny, obvious, lameness, crappy artwork/ You owe us beter than thi, BPeditor.
I saw a book cover once something like--the Centaur Ghost turned me gay--and now I know I didn't dream it.
