Pretty Books

I like books that have pretty covers. These are some of the books that I own that have pretty covers. Let us just bask in the beauty of these covers.

1. This is where I leave you by Jonathan Tropper

Yes, this is the book that this movie is based on. I still haven't watched the movie yet but it's suppose to be pretty funny. I didn't love the book that much. It's about this family that comes together for their dad's funeral and stuff ensues. It's suppose to be a funny book but I didn't think it was really all that funny. Don't get me wrong, this book isn't bad or anything it just wasn't my cup of tea.

The cover on the other hand is totally up my alley. I love sans serif fonts. And like typography and minimalism are my aesthetic. So yeah, this fits the bill. Also, I like bright colours. 

2. The perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Again, sans serif font + minimalism + bright colour = something I find visually pleasing. I'm not going to go into the plot of this book because it is fa-mooooose. But this is the book where the quote "We accept the love we think we deserve" comes from.

3. Room by Emma Donoghue

So I clearly have a type going on here haha. I tend to lean towards covers that don't have any photographs on them, illustrations are a maybe but if it's just text on the cover -I'm probably getting it.

This was my favourite book when I was 14, so that would've been 5 years ago...so 2009. I like the idea of this books. If I remember correctly, I think the first half of the book is told from the point of view of a little boy and the other half of the book is told from the point of view of his mother. I like the first half of the book a lot more. Donoghue really captured the innocence of kids and just their ability to absorb and notice everything. Also, because of that, Donoghue really hooks the reader in because you're in the kid's shoes and kids can see what's going on but they don't understand what's going on. That technique creates a lot of suspense.

Truth be told, I would never have picked this book up if it wasn't for the cover. As I've said, I was 14 and adult fiction didn't really interest me that much.

4. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

I remember there were different colours of this book cover and I went for the hot pink one. I think the translation is just beautiful. I hate it when you read a translated book and you can just feel that the translation doesn't quite capture the eloquence of the original. *cough cough*battle royale*cough cough* I think everyone should just read this book, the writing is prettier than the cover and made me feel things in my ice cold heart.

5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This was my first ever F. Scott Fitzgerald book. Anyway the edition I have is a collection of short stories. The other stories in this book is: Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Bernice Bobs Her Hiar, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz.

Again, this book cover fits my aesthetic -typography, minimalist, colourful!

6. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

This is the pretties book I own hands down. This edition caused me like $30 okay. That's a lot of money for a book in my opinion. This edition of Lolita spent months in my wishlist. I literally had a tab of this book opened in my browser for months because I just enjoyed looking at it so much. About a month ago, I caved and shelled out the $30 and bought it.

Anyway, I love Lolita and again, the writing is just sooooooo soo soooooo good. I stopped many times while reading it just to read certain paragraphs again. Honest to God, Nabokov just writes so well. He writes so you symphatise with Humbert Humbert but Humbert Humbert is, to simply put it, plain nasty. He is obsessive, delusional, manipulative and wallows in self-pity.

I love this book but as of now, I've only read it one time. It's a pretty hard read even though the writing is beautiful. I reiterate, Humbert Humbert is nasty. It just creeps me out how he sexualizes children and it's hard to read as he tries to justify his actions.

7. Jane Austen collection

Why you should buy this book:
a) This cover is freaking gorgeous. Just look at how classy it looks.
b) Jane Austen is awesome. Come on, who doesn't love Jane Austen?!?!
c) Do we even need a third reason?
d) What are you still doing here reading this list -go and buy this book it also comes with Lady Susan. Lady Susan, though unfinished, is and will always be better than anything I write.
e) Jane Austen.

One little con to note is that this book is huge and heavy. It's not a book you would read on the train to work/school/wherever. However, a pro is that the paper of this books is so smooth.

8. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll.

This is a collection of stories by Emily Carroll. I've always loved Emily Carroll since I first read His Face all read which you read online for free over here. Also, to save time, while you're already on her website just go ahead and read everything by her because her drawings are amazing. Her stories have a very twisted fairy tale feel to them. As soon as I heard that Carroll was releasing a book, I knew I needed it in my life.

Not only are the illustrations in the book beautiful, the cover is freaking beautiful as well. Below is one of the pretties page in the book!

The stories are kinda creepy and if you are a scaredy-cat like me then don't read it in the dark or do if you want to scare yourself. You do you and I'll do me. 

9&10) The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer

I can't decide which of the two I like better. On one hand The Iliad is so action packed and gory. On the other hand, The Odyssey is such an adventure and that whole scene with Polyphemus made me laugh so much. If you feel intimidated to read these books -don't be. They are easy to read. However, I think The Odyssey is easier to read than the Iliad because The Iliad had so many 'son of....', it was really hard to keep track of who was who and I had to keep referring to this handy summary at the front of the book.

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a retelling of The Iliad. If you want, you could start with the retelling then go on to try The Iliad, followed by The Odyssey. The Odyssesy is kinda like a sequel to The Iliad but you don't have to read The Iliad if you want to start with The Odyssey. The timeline of The Odyssey is after The Iliad. While The Iliad follows a myriad of characters, The Odyssey follows the journey of the arrogant but clever Odysseus.

Now on to the covers, these are the Black Penguin Classics. My dream is to own a whole stack of these Black Penguin Classics because just imagine how pretty they'll look on the shelf [wistful sigh]

So those are the books that I find pretty! Thank you for reading and have a nice day!