Welcome back to Top 5 Wednesday. This is a meme started in November of 2013 and is still going strong! If you’re interested in being a part of it please see the group on Goodreads.
This week’s topic is Inaccurate Book Covers. Some of these are inaccurate. Some are just god-awful! I was having trouble figuring out any covers for this week, nothing was coming to mind. But then I started to google the subject and found sooooo many bad covers. Jackpot! I’m going to post the inaccurate one alongside a more proper cover just so we can compare.
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Why Anne, you saucy minx! You finally got rid of the red hair you hate so much, but your attitude?! What would Marilla say? Ooh, what will Gilbert say? … This cover is so inappropriate for the story it’s completely laughable.
This is much more like it. Anne as she should be.
Fantastic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
It’s like Dark Shadows meets Barbarella. Somebody needs to tell the graphic artist what “The Telltale Heart” is really all about. If you wanted to go gothic, then for goodness sakes at least be classy.
Much better. Menacing and of it’s time.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Really now? Nancy Drew, meet Fitz Darcy. So dated! Besides the artwork, what exactly is she so scared of? A dwindling inheritance, impending spinsterdom… oh my god … it’s Mr. Collins! Run Elizabeth, RUN RUN!!
Not only is this cover much better, but it’s even been made into a purse! By the way, you can buy them from this Etsy site, just fyi! I keep promising myself I will buy one. You have to see their selection!
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Are you freaking kidding me? This has got to be the laziest book cover I’ve ever seen. The book is not even about screws! There is no hardware in this book! Were they selling this edition at Home Depot? I hope this is a joke!
This cover does a much better job of highlighting the creepiness of this book.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (Finnish edition)
Ummmm … is that you, Jesus?
This is just. I don’t have words for it. Let’s don’t, and say we did.
This Chinese edition of Return of the King is lovely. I saved the best for last. You should check out more of this artists work at the Tor.com page. They are pretty terrific!
Thanks for playing! I can’t wait to see what you all come up with.
Lost In A Good Book 
Wow – those covers are terrible!! I’m not sure which one is the worst – perhaps the Anne of Green Gables one as that just makes zero sense! Or the Poe … they are all terrible !!
I know right! I really hate the Poe one. What is with the keyhole bathing suit. Ewww. lol
Pretty sure that type of outfit didn’t exist in Poe’s day… such a strange design!!!
It’s so bad!
Love how you had a terrible cover but also an AWESOME one for comparison! Oh no! It’s Mr. Collins, RUN (that line had me actually laugh out loud!).
I tagged you in the New York Times “By the Book” tag I hope you enjoy! https://loisreadsbooks.wordpress.com/2016/10/13/the-new-york-times-by-the-book-tag/
I laughed so hard at the outfit on the horrible Poe cover. What even?? And your comment on the Finnish LotR was genius. It’s like a Ring-halo? Love the Chinese cover though!
I couldn’t get over that halo. Do you think the artist even noticed or was it purely subliminal? ha!
I remember that Anne cover! I don’t know if fans were more outraged over the fact that Anne seems to be sexualized or the fact that the model is blonde!
Also, I love how The Turn of the Screw cover took the title literally. If you didn’t know any better you’d think it was science fiction or maybe actually a book about hardware!
These editions are terrible! I mean I love the purse but my goodness! How hard is it to give us an accurate portrayal of what we are in for? I could rant for days on this topic alone.
Seriously, how did they think they were going to sell these?
I know, I wonder what the sales look like for each edition? I wouldn’t be surprised if for the terrible ones the sales took a dip.
Dark Shadows meets Barbarella. I can’t stop laughing!!! X-D This is so good. Ugh. I can’t believe… these covers are terrible. Have you run into all of these in real life?