The Quiet Concert: Do you like movie inspired book covers?

Mar

2015

Do you like movie inspired book covers?

Welcome to Thoughts for Thursday! This feature is our outlet to talk with you about whatever we currently have on our minds. It might be bookish, it might not! Now for this week's thought:

Do you like the movie inspired book covers?

My idea for this topic came after I was talking to a friend about reading the book Gone Girl. She went to Barnes and Noble to buy the book but could not find a single version that did not have Ben Affleck on it from the movie poster. She was quite bummed out and I would be too. I totally get that since the movie was coming out that was the version they were pushing in store but it made me wonder if people truly prefer the updated movie inspired book covers.

I feel like I am a purest for the most part when it comes to book covers. I hands down would rather have the book on the right than the book on the left. The older version of Gone Girl just seems more true to the book. After chatting with my friend for some time, I was reminded of my Christmas shopping experience where my husband requested a copy of Ender's Game as one of his gifts. Of course I was excited that he wanted a book for Christmas, so I went on my way to buy him a copy. His only caveat was that he wanted it without any movie characters on it and without any sticker or logo that said soon-to-be motion picture. Which then led me to do a bit of searching and ending up with wrong cover versions until I could get an older copy that was still in good condition.

Do you prefer a non-movie inspired movie cover? Does it not matter to you? Or do you want both version? Does it depend on the movie? or the book? Or am I crazy :) ?

Comments (13)

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Lucia 94p · 523 weeks ago

I prefer non-movie covers. I am buying book because of a book, not because of a movie. The only print copy with movie cover I own, is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. But that is because I am huge fan of books AND tv show AND I already owned hardcover with original cover :)
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Pam@YA Escape · 523 weeks ago

Yeah, I don't like movie covers generally and it does make me wonder who does prefer them. I assume the marketing people have done research and they do it for a reason, but I agree with you. I would much rather buy the book with the non-movie cover (although I usually just buy books in hardback so I avoid this).
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Alexa S. · 523 weeks ago

I generally don't like movie covers! It's just because I separate the two in my mind so strongly that I would like my books to be the same. While I do feel tempted to make exemptions sometimes, I often go for the original cover designs :)
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Kay · 523 weeks ago

I have never been a fan of movie inspired book covers. I would rather not have them and have the original cover. In my opinion I think that most movie inspired book covers don't even look as good as the originals! Sometimes it is super hard to find a non movie cover edition of a book. I have realized that the only good way about getting one is getting it online. In stores they usually only have the movie cover edition. :( I understand the cross promoting or maybe since people are interested in the movie they hope those same people may now want to read the book, but still. It is frustrating for us that just want a copy of the book with the original non movie cover. Done rambling. Hope you could follow that. I love ranting about movie inspired book covers when I come across them. lol Great topic Ashley!

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inspiringinsomnia11 24p · 523 weeks ago

I would never pick up a movie tie-in edition over the original cover, unless I just couldn't find the original cover. (Or if the movie tie-edition is on sale at Book Outlet, and the all bets are off!)

To echo Pam above - who is buying these books? Tweens, maybe? Clearly they're selling, because publishers wouldn't keep printing them. I'm sure the Twilight books, for example, got new editions with Stewart and Pattinson on the cover, and I could see the people who went crazy over those actors wanting to buy those books.

But the Gone Girl one puzzles me. Are there people who heard about the film but weren't aware of the book going to rush out to buy the book because Ben Affleck is on the cover, when they wouldn't have bought the original cover? I also wonder about the cost. Certainly, there were design costs, but I wonder how much they had to pay Affleck, or if appearing on the book covers was part of the overall pay package he received for the film.
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Nick · 523 weeks ago

I've never really thought about this. Maybe if the actors fit my image of the characters, I'd be inclined to, but tbh it's more likely that I wouldn't.
I agree with you on this particular cover though! It's definitely better than the original one.
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amengelhart 68p · 523 weeks ago

Usually I do not, but I think I like the movie-tie in cover for Gone Girl better!

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loveatfirstpage 73p · 523 weeks ago

This is a great discussion! I usually prefer the original book cover, though if I love the movie I'm okay with getting the movie tie-in as well (like Atonement or Pride & Prejudice).
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musicplusbooks 59p · 522 weeks ago

For me, the most important thing is consistency. I will only get the movie cover if I know that all the movie covers will be coming or are already out. And then once I know that, I will choose the prettier one haha! Lovely discussion Ashley!
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mel1704 86p · 522 weeks ago

I also prefer non-movie covers, but sometimes they can be okay. I don't think the one from Gone girl is that terrible! But most of the times I feel the first cover is more accurate for the story.

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Claire · 522 weeks ago

I typically dislike movie based covers. I'd rather stick to the original, especially if I found the movie interpretation horrid *cough* PERCY JACKSON MOVIES *cough*. In terms of Gone Girl, I haven't seen the movie yet but I specifically searched for the original book cover at the bookstore. Although the movie cover book was cheaper, I preferred the original over the movie so much I was willing to pay that little extra;)
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samanthathebookworm 16p · 522 weeks ago

I always prefer the non-movie covers. Sometimes the movie covers aren't too bad though. I remember the City of Bones movie cover being quite nice and I think I actually preferred that to the original cover.
It's so hard to find the original cover after the movie has been released! I think I've only seen the movie cover of Gone Girl for the past few months.

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addlef 1p · 511 weeks ago

I prefer the non-movie cover and in Portugal (where I live) the publishers usually don't print the movie posters in the cover, they simply add a sleeve (I don't know if this is the right word) that can be removed and you have the original cover underneath. Actually, my copy of Gone Girl is like this :)