Cover art is always, always, always evolving, as I'm sure you know if you've been an avid reader for some time. It's always been something that's fascinated for me, and while some trends work for me, others really don't. I think that, first and foremost, covers need to work with their content, so if they don't, that tends to lead me astray…but, as you know, there are always the exceptions to the rule!

I Love…Distorted Faces, Words as Cover Art & Backs on the Cover

I Love…Movement on Covers, Bright Colours, Partial Faces

I Love…Mirror Effects, Illustrations, Repetition, Objects Instead of People

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

Let's Talk is a weekly feature here at i swim for oceans. I think it's important that we all have our say, and there's something to be said for raising our voices. Simply put, here on the little old blog, I like to host some of my very own discussion posts because, well, I like to converse with you all.

And so, Let's Talk will feature questions or prompts, which I will answer, too. Love it or hate it, weigh in or don't, it's my hope that Let's Talk will at least get you thinking...and maybe even get you discussing with the rest of us!

What cover trend would you like to see continued in the coming year? Is there anything you hope is discontinued in 2014?

It's no secret on this blog that I'm a cover slut. It's also no secret that I took a nearly 8 month hiatus from book blogging simply to regain my sanity and, to be honest, rediscover my love of this blog, the blogosphere and what we do. In that time, I read a lot of the books that have spent months unread on my shelves, and I missed a lot of the new cover trends for 2013. That said, I began to rediscover them in full force once I started up again, and here are a couple of the biggest trends that I noticed.

Words as the Focal Cover Art

Distorted Faces

Backs on the Cover

Movement on the Covers

Some of these actually fall into multiple categories, now that I look closer at them. Here's the thing. For the most part, I don't mind these trends. I really, really love that fonts and the titles of novels are becoming more prominent. That, specifically, is something I'd love to see more of. I'd still really like to see less of girls in pretty dress, and I think that the dystopian/broken city in the background is becoming tired. There are better ways to show a post-apocalyptic world. One trend I'd really like to see more of us underwater covers. They were big in 2012, and I loooooved them

Let's Talk is a pseudo-regular feature here at i swim for oceans where we create an open forum for all bloggers to discuss issues not only pertinent to the blogging world, but to simply weigh in on the little things. In this case, it's book covers. 

You all know that I'm a cover slut. Truly. I pick a book with my eyes before ever reading a single sentence. It's petty, I know, but I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that does this.

I was looking at my shelves the past few days, and I noticed a lot of really interesting (and odd) trends going on in the young adult market. The most prominent one was a phenomenon I now refer to as simply:

"The Year(s) of the Girls in Dresses"

You all ready for this?

Everneath by Brodi Ashton & Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White & Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini & Die for Me by Amy Plum

Now, don't get me wrong, I love the vast majority of these books. I also happen to think they're hella pretty. A lot of these covers don't need girls in dresses though (yes, Paranormalcy is relevant, I know), but otherwise...I'm perplexed. Love the eye-catching visuals though!

What other cover trends have you seen lately, and what do you wish you could see more of?