Home » Discussion Forums » Talk » Favourite Book Covers?
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2152 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 09:40   |
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 Laura
Messages: 196
Registered: October 2008
Location: Midwestern USA |
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I've taken to asking my husband for his artistic critique of every book cover I come across because I so enjoy his take. Being an illustrator, he has the critical language for it and can usually pinpoint exactly what makes it an effective or ineffective cover. Especially now that the trend is towards photorealistic and/or graphically designed covers rather than a straight up painting or drawing, he can usually also tell me exactly how they made the cover art.
I generally am fairly forgiving of cover art, unless it's totally hideous. This comes into play most often when I have a book out from the library; for example, I was reading Andre Norton's Witch World and the cover was from the 60's...like someone thought they were Milton Glazer but they'd had a bad acid trip while choking on their own hubris. I didn't particularly like taking that book with me on the subway.
Then there are the covers that are perfectly good design, but are so recognizable that it's embarrassing anyway. For example, the Twilight series: I liked and disliked many things about the books, but was completely embarrassed to be seen reading them, and those stark black, red, and white covers are an immediate giveaway.
ETA: That said, I really enjoy the original chandelier cover of Sunshine. I sent a copy to my friend for her birthday and when she opened it she was immediately convinced of its awesomeness because of the "rockin' gothic chandelier."
Also, at the beginning of the wave of crazy computer mashup covers was a new edition of L'Engle's Time Quintet, and I really responded to all of those covers.
Then there are the other covers with great design that aren't so fanciful, such as the wonderful cover for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
[Updated on: Sat, 25 October 2008 19:25]
Known on both Ravelry and LibraryThing as thelorelei.
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2154 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 09:58 |
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Susan from Athens
Messages: 817
Registered: October 2008
Location: Athens, Greece |
Senior Member |
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Yes, I'm shallow, I'm very shallow. But if I'm browsing then book covers play a tremendous role in what I pick up. If I am looking for a book by a particular author, or a specific book, or interested in a subject and looking through things then, no, it doesn't matter. If I like the author I will even buy a horrendous cover (I will sometimes look to see if an alternative cover is available however).
But if I am just meandering, cover art is one of the things that will get me to pick up a book and look at it. It never dictates buying the book. I look at the blurb, I read a couple of pages to get the feel of it. But, unfortunately, I am sure there are great books out there that I have missed because the cover didn't do it for me. That's what friends are for: they recommend the book and THEN I'll look at it. We are all shallow in different ways. (Apologies to those with deep and swift running waters of the psyche, who are not so susceptible, if they are offended at being lumped in with the airheads  )
“I have always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.” –Jorge Luis Borges
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2159 is a reply to message #2154 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 11:20 |
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Laura
Messages: 196
Registered: October 2008
Location: Midwestern USA |
Senior Member |
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| Susan from Athens wrote on Sat, 25 October 2008 09:58 |
Yes, I'm shallow, I'm very shallow. But if I'm browsing then book covers play a tremendous role in what I pick up. If I am looking for a book by a particular author, or a specific book, or interested in a subject and looking through things then, no, it doesn't matter. If I like the author I will even buy a horrendous cover (I will sometimes look to see if an alternative cover is available however).
But if I am just meandering, cover art is one of the things that will get me to pick up a book and look at it. It never dictates buying the book. I look at the blurb, I read a couple of pages to get the feel of it. But, unfortunately, I am sure there are great books out there that I have missed because the cover didn't do it for me. That's what friends are for: they recommend the book and THEN I'll look at it. We are all shallow in different ways. (Apologies to those with deep and swift running waters of the psyche, who are not so susceptible, if they are offended at being lumped in with the airheads )
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Well, I do this too. My husband is turning me into a bit of a design snob, unfortunately, and I cannot abide those books that only have a cover in order to shout the author's name at you. These are the type of books that get ads in the subway and the author's name takes up 2/3 of the cover space and it's always the same font and placement. (Not that consistency of font is abnormal. It's actually quite common, and not necessarily a bad thing) I guess I just want some sort of attempt at design.
Known on both Ravelry and LibraryThing as thelorelei.
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2160 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 12:05 |
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Laura
Messages: 196
Registered: October 2008
Location: Midwestern USA |
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I am a nerd and keep thinking of new things to add to this thread. I totally dig the new Lioness Rampant cover, even if it's just a shade too babelike for Alanna. At least they got the gold chain mail right! It's nice to see a real drawing with some attention to detail, and I love this interpretation of the Gate of Idramm (even if she wouldn't be standing on it...)
Edited to remove book cover to prevent copyright problems!
[Updated on: Sat, 25 October 2008 19:16]
Known on both Ravelry and LibraryThing as thelorelei.
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2162 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 12:54 |
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This pair are some of my favorite covers. I even have them set as my computer desktop occasionally.
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2176 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 16:00 |
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Many of my favorite covers are done by Kinuko Craft. I love her work. Browse through and see what she's done. Lately most of McKillip's covers are done by Craft.
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2177 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 16:08 |
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Akai
Messages: 76
Registered: October 2008
Location: Seattle, WA |
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Ok, I'm with Susan on this one, too. If I'm just perusing the bookstore/library for a new book and author I do not pick up ones with ugly covers or big author names. (The ones with out the pictures make me wonder if the publisher was just too cheap to pay an artist, which, again, makes me not want to purchase the item.)
Mori-neko, I don't know if you know this or not, but you can purchase those covers off of Michael Whelan's site as posters ( FYI, on his webpage you can get them together, both signed for $70 USD) I think he's a great artist. Prints from the covers of To Green Angel Tower and Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams as well as Exiles by Melanie Rawn are framed and hanging in my bedroom. (I'll upload the pics when I get home.)
[Updated on: Sat, 25 October 2008 16:10]
self respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious.
--H.L. Mencken
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2236 is a reply to message #2177 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 21:12 |
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I think I'd figured that out at some point and promptly forgot it. I think if I/we can get this place cleaned up a bit (okay a lot...), I'll get the set for my boyfriend and I as a present to ourselves. He's actually the one that introduced me to the books in the first place. The other three covers you mentioned are gorgeous as well (I recently re-read the Green Angel Tower trilogy), but Snow/Summer Queen is/are probably my favorite of his covers.
I find that the font on a cover has an untoward amount of influence on me. Some typefaces will make me pick up a book again and again, even if it's not a book I actually like. *shrug* I also get somewhat discomfited when I have to replace a book with a different edition of it that's got different art/fonts (this is most of the reason I haven't replaced my copies of Tamora Pierce's Lioness quartet... my cover-set is SO out of date, and somewhat falling apart).
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2237 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 21:17 |
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the covers are the first thing that catches my eye and then i read the back and then if i have to choose between 2 then i read first page
Bonnie Holmes the faster ahead I go, the more behind I get
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2254 is a reply to message #2176 ] |
Sat, 25 October 2008 23:53 |
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L.R.K.
Messages: 1090
Registered: October 2008
Location: Sweden |
Senior Member |
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| ssshunt wrote on Sat, 25 October 2008 22:00 |
Many of my favorite covers are done by Kinuko Craft. I love her work. Browse through and see what she's done. Lately most of McKillip's covers are done by Craft.
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I think her style is so perfect for Patricia A McKillip's books - so right; it's very unusual for covers to match the content so perfectly. Magical, dreamlike, beautiful, yet unsentimental. And I saw she had a few picture-books of fairy tales (this was awhile ago so I might remember somewhat incorrectly) - but those I could certainly get for the illustrations.
Of course when browsing the cover may have some influence - but I very seldom do that any more; I generally buy via the internet. And if there is a choice in the matter - if there are more than one edition of a book with different covers, then I'll generally buy the one I like best even if it's somewhat more expensive (yes, money is an issue, unfortunately...) I want the more colourful Terry Pratchetts for example - they are more right.
What about horrible blurbs/tags or-what-they're-called (I don't quite know which is which)? My edition of Georgette Heyer's "Cotillion" has a perfectly respectable cover - meaning I think the art is nice if not overwhelming in any way, and not embarrassing in the I'd-rather-not-be-seen-with-this-book-way - but the text on the front cover says: "Captivated by a dance of deception and desire"...!!! I'll let anybody who's read the book make up their on comment on the suitability of that! If I hadn't read the author before I wouldn't have touched the book with a barge-pole - and even as it was, if I recall correctly (I bought it in 1992), I was somewhat hesitant, thinking it really couldn't be that bad, could it? Not a book by Georgette Heyer, surely?
If I'm affected by a cover it's generally more being attracted to a nice cover than the reverse - which can be terribly disappointing, too. The sort of book where the cover is the best thing about it...Makes me wish I had a colour printer, because I really can't give space to books I don't intend to re-read just because of the cover...(Well, the one with a little kitten on it is staying - but then I don't claim to be a cat-fanatic for nothing! )
[Updated on: Sat, 25 October 2008 23:56]
Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean, like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2263 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sun, 26 October 2008 00:20 |
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I try to pretend it's not all about the cover but sometimes it really is. If it's a book by an author I am not familiar with I read the back and then I start in on the first page. And I can't tell you how many times I never get past the first page. I am so picky.
My husband is a writer with many books out. Many years ago he had one taken up by a small press, and he wanted to do the cover (he's a photographer as well) but they turned down his beautiful photograph for a terrible drawing. And I mean TERRIBLE. And there was nothing we could do. And even though it got written up very well, it hardly sold at all.
Except now Steve Almond has fallen in love with it and F's (my husband's) new book, and wants to help us get them (re)published. Hey, we'll take all the help we can take.
But a bad cover can mean death to a book.
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2277 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sun, 26 October 2008 01:29 |
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I'm a very holistic reader - everything sensory about the reading experience matters. The cover matters, the size matters, etc. When I read C. S. Lewis' Narnia books, for instance, it's one thing to read a story out of the shiny omnibus and quite another to read one of the little paperbacks which have the same cover I had as a kid - it's like reading entirely different stories, despite having a similar plot. Part of being engulfed in the story is scanning over the details on the cover. Not to say that I won't read books with hideous covers but that it's hard to regard it as the "same book" as a copy with a different cover. The cover of a book conveys the tone of it, I think, and so the same book with different covers feels different to me. I don't know if I'm explaining this well at all...
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2434 is a reply to message #2432 ] |
Mon, 27 October 2008 00:59 |
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I really liked the original art for the Black Jewels as well. I'm not such a fan of it on the individual books, though I love the way the new design works on the Omnibus edition. Also, I seem to have a real fondness for the matte/slightly rough texture on covers....
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2435 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Mon, 27 October 2008 01:11 |
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I just ordered some Anne Bishop because of you people.
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2442 is a reply to message #2435 ] |
Mon, 27 October 2008 01:47 |
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| ssshunt wrote on Mon, 27 October 2008 01:11 |
I just ordered some Anne Bishop because of you people.
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Bwahahaha!
Seriously, though, they're some of my favorites. Enjoy!
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2500 is a reply to message #2159 ] |
Mon, 27 October 2008 15:52 |
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shalea
Messages: 784
Registered: October 2008
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, ... |
Senior Member |
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| Laura wrote on Sat, 25 October 2008 11:20 |
| Susan from Athens wrote on Sat, 25 October 2008 09:58 |
Yes, I'm shallow, I'm very shallow. But if I'm browsing then book covers play a tremendous role in what I pick up. If I am looking for a book by a particular author, or a specific book, or interested in a subject and looking through things then, no, it doesn't matter. If I like the author I will even buy a horrendous cover (I will sometimes look to see if an alternative cover is available however).
But if I am just meandering, cover art is one of the things that will get me to pick up a book and look at it. It never dictates buying the book. I look at the blurb, I read a couple of pages to get the feel of it. But, unfortunately, I am sure there are great books out there that I have missed because the cover didn't do it for me. That's what friends are for: they recommend the book and THEN I'll look at it. We are all shallow in different ways. (Apologies to those with deep and swift running waters of the psyche, who are not so susceptible, if they are offended at being lumped in with the airheads )
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Well, I do this too. My husband is turning me into a bit of a design snob, unfortunately, and I cannot abide those books that only have a cover in order to shout the author's name at you. These are the type of books that get ads in the subway and the author's name takes up 2/3 of the cover space and it's always the same font and placement. (Not that consistency of font is abnormal. It's actually quite common, and not necessarily a bad thing) I guess I just want some sort of attempt at design.
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Some attempt at design, and some artistic ability! My mother is an artist so although I don't need photo-realism, I am very put off by bad cover art. And I will pick up a book that I might not otherwise have been interested in if the cover art is particularly appealing.
And here's a quirk: I don't like glossy covers at all!
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2528 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Mon, 27 October 2008 19:18 |
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Cool! Not many authors do that! (I think.)
I almost had lunch with Robin once. She was here at our U, like nearly 20 years ago now, at the education department, and my good friend was the grad secretary, and they all went out to lunch. But my friend told me, I almost called you--don't you like McKinley?
I was bereft, I tell you. Gloom and doom. Even though I would have probably made a fool out of myself.
[Updated on: Mon, 27 October 2008 19:19]
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #2577 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Mon, 27 October 2008 21:50 |
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i love mercedes lackey's book covers, they make her characters come to life even more.
Bonnie Holmes the faster ahead I go, the more behind I get
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #3074 is a reply to message #3054 ] |
Fri, 31 October 2008 14:54 |
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Akai
Messages: 76
Registered: October 2008
Location: Seattle, WA |
Member |
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| anne_d wrote on Fri, 31 October 2008 07:38 |
I pay more attention to the blurbs than to the cover art, and I prefer abstract covers to covers with people who never quite look like the characters in my head.
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Yeah, the blubs are another way I'll buy a book... if an author I love recommends the book, it can't be TOO bad, since I've pretty much decided their taste is decent.
[Updated on: Fri, 31 October 2008 14:55]
self respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious.
--H.L. Mencken
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #3153 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sat, 01 November 2008 14:37 |
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The Sorceress and the Cygnet was a great book! I had to reread the end like 12 times until I got it, but that's just me.
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #7999 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Sun, 14 December 2008 21:03 |
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Beauty/Anna
Messages: 481
Registered: November 2008
Location: America |
Senior Member |
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In the Once Upon a Time series all the books have lovely covers most of the art work done by Kinuko Y. Craft. And most —or half— of the books are written by Cameron Dokey. I love her writing.
[Updated on: Sun, 14 December 2008 21:06]
"You are your best resource for success"
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #8083 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Mon, 15 December 2008 22:33 |
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Good covers sucker me in, too. Bad book!
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #8401 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Fri, 19 December 2008 15:40 |
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There's a few books that I keep picking up because the covers are so very pretty, then putting down again because I know I REALLY don't want to read it!
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #10304 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Tue, 20 January 2009 12:21 |
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Beauty/Anna
Messages: 481
Registered: November 2008
Location: America |
Senior Member |
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Here is a lovely cover of a book that I am reading right now:
[Updated on: Tue, 20 January 2009 12:23]
"You are your best resource for success"
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #12716 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Tue, 10 March 2009 12:30 |
helbel
Messages: 41
Registered: March 2009 |
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One of my copies of Hero has a cover by (I think) Ian Miller. I saw a similar cover on another book and bought it. It was the same artist and it turned out the book was super! (Waking the Moon by Elizabeth Hand).
[Updated on: Tue, 10 March 2009 12:30]
There is no such thing as too many books, only inadequate shelving
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| Re: Favourite Book Covers? [message #12763 is a reply to message #2143 ] |
Tue, 10 March 2009 21:04 |
kfoster2047
Messages: 138
Registered: January 2009
Location: Charlotte, NC |
Senior Member |
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A great cover (like a great title) will make me pick up a book, even though I may not buy it. I will buy a book with a bad cover but I need to be more sure about it. Even Agatha Christie has some horrendous covers. And no offense to anyone in the UK, but some of the UK covers are really ugly.
Karen
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Seriously, though, I love her books. Every now and then there's something that isn't quite as dear to my heart as the rest of her work, but I love the rest so much that I don't care.
