Dan Wagstaff has it covered: The art of books on books

(image via The Casual Optimist)
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde; cover art by Thomas Allen, series design by Jaya Miceli (Penguin 2011) (image via The Casual Optimist)

 

I know the anonymous sages have told us time and again that we should never judge a book by its cover.

And while there is a certain truth to this well-invoked adage, it is also true that that is how many people, myself included, buy their books.

It’s not, of course that we don’t value the words, thoughts and ideas inside; we do, it’s simply that in the sea of books that you come across in any sort of decent bookshop, and hallelujah there are still many of those, the quickest and easiest way to cull the literary herd down is to create a shortlist by the creativity or fun of the covers.

So covers matter, something that publishers know all too well.

If you’re Dag Wagstaff, however, of blog The Casual Optimist however, you take your fascination with the importance of book covers one delightfully clever, book-loving step further by collating a collection of book covers together that all feature books in some ways on them.

It’s a fascinating idea, beautifully executed with a range of gorgeous book covers that he terms “Books on book covers.”

If you love books, and by extension, book covers, it’s well-woth spending some time disappearing down this literary rabbit hole.

You can see more of the book covers at The Casual Optimist (brought to my attention via Laughing Squid)

 

Bad Teeth by Dustin Long; design by Rex Bonomelli (New Harvest May 2014)
Bad Teeth by Dustin Long; design by Rex Bonomelli (New Harvest May 2014) (image via The Casual Optimist)

 

The Novel: A Biography by Michael Schmidt; design by Graciela Galup (Belknap Press April 2014)
The Novel: A Biography by Michael Schmidt; design by Graciela Galup (Belknap Press April 2014) (image via The Casual Optimist)

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