I don't own a television. However, I watch television. This isn't hard to do with friends and a job that requires me to possess "situational awareness". Also, I have Internet. When at work, I have only so many channels available to me and, often times, HLN is on. For those of you not familiar with HLN, they're the CNN channel that covers trial news like it's the only thing happening in the entire universe (i.e. George Zimmerman, Jodi Arias, and Casey Anthony). Books, of course, come out of these very real and very publicized cases. Let's have a look.
To my knowledge, we're going to have to wait on the book about George Zimmerman until the trial is over, assuming there's enough of a "fan base" for that story. If I was a book publisher, I would have to guess "crazy girlfriend brutally kills boyfriend" beats "young party mom kills her own toddler" beats "obsessed neighborhood watchman (possibly racist) goes too far to protect his turf".
Think about the images here. What is the effect of using these particular images and colors? And especially think about what a browser in a bookstore might think if these books, given their content, had illustrations rather than photography for the cover.
Ok, real quick, banned book: "Are you there God? It's Me Margaret" by Judy Blume. Below are just a few of the many covers created for this "classic(?)". I had the third cover in from the right on the first row.
I discovered this book in my house when I was maybe ten-years-old (I had two older sisters born in the late 70's.) Published in 1970, this young adult novel is about a twelve-year-old girl who struggles with religious and spiritual views as well as coming into adolescence. It's been so long since I've read it, but I can't remember if it was something that was banned at my school or a popular book. I felt like everyone kind of knew about it, but that it was meant more for a twelve-year-old girl and not a ten-year-old, so I think that made me feel mature that I had read it so young. I'm curious to know if anyone else read it.
I remember reading it and feeling like I was reading something that I was too young for but that it was written in an insincere or cheesy manner. I remember hoping I would never be as annoying as Margaret, like it was a cautionary tale to young girls to kind of get over it. That sounds awful, doesn't it? But of course, no matter how contrived a book is, it should never be banned. Funny various takes on the cover, don't you think?
