AW Cover Wars: The Evolution of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Over the last year or so Aimee Bender’s novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake has been a novel that for one reason or another keeps popping up in my life. From seeing Aimee at the LA Times Festival of Books two years ago to Leah’s review and more, I keep seeing it! Perhaps it’s subliminal messages from the publisher trying desperately to get me to read it? (I’m entirely kidding, please note the sarcasm.) No matter what the reason, I’ve seen at least four different covers for the novel and I’m surprised how similar they seem. It’s not often that a cover change stays so closely to the original, but this is one that definitely does even down to the color scheme. Take a look, from oldest to newest…
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As time passes I’m growing more and more fond of the newest cover, though I definitely favor both the covers with the version of “Rose” on them. It all seems so odd to me though, to spend so much time changing a cover only slightly and it makes you wonder if it actually helps sales of the book?
I’m curious, would you be more likely to pick up a latter version of the book or does the cover change not make enough of a difference to even consider it?
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September 4th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
I like the 3rd one.
September 4th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Ha….i bought the 3rd one the week it was released here (ireland) and a few months later the same store had three different versions of the same book..only other book i have seen change so much is ‘to kill a mocking bird’!!!!
I think it must help in some way i find a good cover does make a difference
September 4th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
I like the newest one! However, they are all nice
September 4th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
I like the newer one, and I would buy that based on the cover, but will be buying it anyhow.
September 4th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
I won the third one. However, when the first one, with the beautiful slice of cake, was released, I did want to buy it because of the cake. However, after reading this book, I honestly believe the third cover captures the essense of Rose.
Danielle… did you read the book? If so, did you like it?
The book made me sad but I was absolutely motivated to finish it. The brother….. curious and the biggest question for me. Maybe I already missed your review/discussion of this book but I wanted to comment because the cover changes absolutely intrigued me and I am glad I was not the only one!!! Love your blog.
September 5th, 2011 at 12:24 am
Well the first two covers show the shadow of the girl, which is intriguing, once I get past wanting to eat that cake, which actually looks more yellow than lemon. (Do people use chocolate frosting on lemon cake?)
But I like the third cover the best.
September 5th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
I think the 4th one is ‘beautiful’…but no cake!! Not knowing the story, they 1st one is pretty, but I’d say overall, the 3rd cover would capture my interest the most, the 4th would puzzle me (the whole ‘no cake’ thing).
September 5th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Does the fourth picture even have CAKE in it? This was one of the first books I bought for my Kindle, so the cover didn’t make a huge difference to me. I knew I loved Aimee Bender’s work, and the title was intriguing. (For those pondering getting it - buy it, buy it!)
However, if it was another author, with whom I was unfamiliar… I think the last two covers make me less likely to buy it, because they seem to infer the story is more about a sad (if cute) little girl. I do think being able to put “best-seller” on the cover is a help - if I am browsing trade paperbacks and I see something is a bestseller, I may be more likely to read the back cover or the first page.
September 5th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
I have, and still prefer the very first cover.