Five Minutes Peace

BOOK REVIEW: A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents by Liza Palmer

I loved Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer and thank goodness for that because otherwise I would've looked at the cover of this book and thought 'meh' and probably passed it by... Contrary to the jaunty cartoon image, A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents is a gutsy story of a young woman reconnecting with her family over her estranged father's deathbed.

Yes, it's very funny. Yes, it is packed with quirky characters and witty dialogue. Yes, it is immensely readable. But it's also utterly convincing, emotionally honest, and says many wise things about the nature of family, relationships and loss. 

BOOK COVER: Regeneration

A while ago, I picked up a copy of The Puffin Handbook, a guide to the "70 best books for children." It's great, but one page absolutely infuriated me. It's entitled "5 'Girls' Books It's OK for Boys to Like." 

Obviously just the title made me growl, but then I read on. Number 3 is Regeneration by Pat Barker (one of my all-time favourites). It says: 

"Proof that you should never judge a book by its cover; the soft colours say 'wartime romance' when really this is a gripping and harrowing story of how war affects men - even if it features more male bonding than Top Gun." 

Er. Is it just me? Does that cover really say 'wartime romance'? 

BOOK COVER: My Name is Memory

I love the sound of Ann Brashares new adult novel, My Name Is Memory and these two covers are very pretty too. 

The cover on the left is the UK cover and the one on the right is the US cover. I haven't read the book yet, but I love them both. I think the US one shades it very slightly, but only because sunlight on water makes me very happy. 

What about you? 

Authors share their cover stories

You may have noticed I'm a bit obsessed with book covers and recently a couple of my favourite authors have been blogging about the processes behind their covers. 

Jennifer Crusie shows the many, many rejected covers for her relaunched St Martin's Press books here. (I REALLY love the final covers.) 

YA author Lauren Barnholdt whose chick lit writing course I did YEARS ago (and which actually set me on the road to having my own book published), has also blogged about her covers here, here and here.

Finally, Melissa Walker regularly features authors talking about their book covers on her blog.   

BOOK COVER: The Happy Home for Broken Hearts

I wrote about Rowan Coleman's latest book a little while ago. I'd seen the cover on the left and loved it. I've just seen the cover on the right (which is obviously the full cover including the back) and I love it even more. In fact, it's one of the nicest covers I've ever seen, which is funny since I'm not a fan of cartoon covers in general (as you may have noticed!). I just think this one is cute and fresh and gorgeous. 

You may notice the title's different too. From The Home for Broken Hearts to The Happy Home for Broken Hearts. Which cover do you prefer? And which title? 
 

BOOK COVER: If I Grow Up

  

If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser is a young adult novel about gang violence. The cover on the left is the US paperback, the middle is the UK paperback and the right is the US trade paperback. 

When I saw the UK cover (middle), I must admit it made me sigh a little. It's just so full-on and obvious. In combination with the title, I think it's a bit too much. The US cover on the left is really interesting. I love the skyscraper shadows and the baby blocks, but it doesn't entirely make sense. Baby blocks are too young (the main character is a teenager, not a baby!) and the cover looks like an adult novel. I think the one on the right is okay - it features a teenager, at least - but it wouldn't tempt me to pick it up. 

What do you think? 

BOOK COVER: The Carrie Diaries

Are we looking forward to reading this? I'm not entirely convinced. I *will* read it, I'm sure, but I can only imagine I'll be picturing 40-odd year old Carrie at high school. Which would be weird. (In case anyone has missed this news, The Carrie Diaries is basically Carrie as a teen.)  

Cover-wise, I much prefer the UK cover on the left. What about you? 

BOOK REVIEW: The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne

I absolutely love Hester Browne's Little Lady Agency series, so despite being a little disappointed not to be catching up with the Little Lady Agency's Melissa/Honey, I was excited to read about a completely new character in The Finishing Touches.

As a baby, Betsy was found in a Cooper's Marmalade box outside the Tallimore Academy, a venerable London finishing school. Despite being adopted and raised by Frances and Pelham Tallimore, Betsy didn't attend the academy herself and, at 18, moved to Scotland to attend university. Back in London following Frances's death, Betsy is shocked to find the academy close to closure and vows to do everything she can to bring it into the 21st Century. But that's not all. She also wants to finally find out who her real parents were. 

BOOK COVERS: New cover for Sittenfeld's Prep

I haven't actually read Prep, but I'll definitely get around to it soon since it's been highly recommended. It's actually being reissued by a new publisher, following the enormous success of Curtis Sittenfeld's latest novel, American Wife.  

The original cover is the one on the left. The new cover is on the right. I know there's been debate about whether or not it's YA and the new cover looks more "teen" than the original to me. What do you think? And which cover do you prefer? 

BOOK COVER: The Home for Broken Hearts

I love Rowan Coleman's books and I really love the cover of her latest book, The Home for Broken Hearts (I love the title too, by the way). It's so fresh and summery and - hurrah - it's a photograph rather than an illustration.  

Not out until August, it's actually listed on Amazon as The Happy Home for Broken Hearts, which I like even more. 

What do you think?