Both art styles and literary genres have emerged in various trends throughout the centuries. These forms collide through the world of books. I believe it is simple to question how intense this intersection is, or perhaps even how important. With regard to this subject matter, I feel that the relationship between the two is highly significant to book lovers, and to the artists and writers themselves.
The beauty and imagination of art and literature are represented by the cover of a book. Their similarities are presented through opposite forms of storytelling, resulting in this case in the form of a book.
Literature itself, whether fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry, is a story in the written word. Art – to contrast this – is a story presented visually, which in relation to books, is the cover. The importance of their relationship then, falls to whether a book’s cover should sway our judgement on our purchasing of the book. I believe it should.
When you walk into a bookstore, the first thing that attracts you to a book is its cover. You approach it, swooning at its colour and design. It is then natural and evident that you turn to read its synopsis, then to open the book, read the first paragraph of the first chapter, and soon enough, you are at the till ready to buy and read the entire thing. It’s a huge cycle, and all part of the intention of the visual art form of the book cover.
The artist of the cover is telling a story with the same intention that the author provides a story – to allure and engage the viewer or reader. A book’s cover is an introduction to the story; its intention is to attract. The cover must allude to the book’s content in at least one way, as its purpose is to sell the book.
An example where this was not the case was the US edition of the book, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Garmus herself replied to a post on Goodreads that felt angered at its cover, feeling it completely belittled the book and its intention. Bonnie replied stating, “I have to agree—and I’m the author!” Its pink cover entirely destructs the whole concept of the book, which is about transgressing things deemed as stereotypically female. It was through the cover of the book that people couldn’t help but be disappointed by its detachment from the author’s intention with her work. The unison of art and literature within these instances is significant of the reader’s opinion.
I believe our attraction to art nowadays is heavily influenced by trends and aesthetics. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are famous for trends like Bookstagram, BookTok and BookTube. Here people share their favourite reads, alongside picturesque, aestheticised images of their favourite books by cover.
From dark academia to bright animation to abstract covers, there is an array of styles made popular by media representation of aesthetics and trends. An example for dark academia: The Secret History by Donna Tartt, that has a stark black cover with a large font for its title. For brightly animated (typically romantic books): Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Lastly, for the abstract, Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami.
These styles go viral and are shared worldwide via social media. The public photograph their books, which, the majority of the time on these platforms, are taken to be presentable photos that capture the viewer’s eye. This encourages viewers to buy the book, resulting in an online cycle. Our exposure to media and trends that share popular covers and aesthetic art styles can influence our opinion of whether we decide to purchase.
The visual art on the cover can also influence the image in our minds of the book. It can be that we have a certain visual in our heads influencing how we perceive a character, or how we envision a setting in the book, or perhaps even the atmosphere. It is then reading the book that adds these details to the image in our head. This combination of art and literature within the publishing world creates the complete image, and can persuade the entirety of our judgement upon a story.
