The Best (Recent) Book Covers Including MINE!

2018-03-02 · review / recommendation · Hank · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing · mode: Advice & reviews · tags: self promotion

Arguing that you can't not judge a book by its cover, Hank reviews favourite covers of recent years (It Devours, Twilight, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Fault in Our Stars, A Darker Shade of Magic) and reveals the cover of his novel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, out September 25th.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — You can't not judge a book by its cover: genre conventions in fantasy and sci-fi covers

★★ Hank says you can't not judge a book by its cover: that is what the cover is for. (playful) — 00:00:02

“you can't not judge a book by its cover”
★★ Genre covers look alike: fantasy has chiseled words over high-contrast illustrations with serif fonts, while a sans-serif font signals sci-fi. (playful) — 00:00:13

00:00:29 — Hank will share his book's cover; release date and pre-orders

★★★ Hank will share the cover of his book An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, available September 25th and open for pre-order now. — 00:00:31 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

00:00:46 — Hank's subjective list of the best recent book covers, from Watchmen to A Darker Shade of Magic

★★ Hank calls the 1986 Watchmen cover mysterious if you haven't read it, yet bold and eye-catching, with logo-like title placement, one of the most iconic covers ever, though not on his list. — 00:00:46
★★ Hank loves the cover of It Devours by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, which recalls Watchmen in colour and bold comic-like font, and likes the current trend of radial designs. — 00:01:10
★ Of another unnamed radially designed cover, Hank likes that the title itself becomes the cover. — 00:01:25
★★ Though he generally dislikes photographic covers, Hank praises Twilight's pale arms and bright red centerpiece, a widely imitated colour scheme, and its bold, tiny title and author name. — 00:01:34
★★ Hank loves the cover of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda for its bold colours and its interesting take on the headless-figure trend and cloud-like handwritten fonts. — 00:02:01
★★ Hank says young adult fiction long had a trend of cutting off people's heads on covers, he thinks to give viewers something to relate to, but not too much. (hedged) — 00:02:08
★★★ Admitting bias, Hank calls Rodrigo Corral's cover for The Fault in Our Stars one of the best of the decade: a departure that leveled up young adult literature. (hedged) — 00:02:24 · Rodrigo Corral, The Fault in Our Stars
★★ Hank says the TFIOS cover feels almost branded and started, or was part of, a really important and necessary trend in cover design. (hedged) — 00:02:36 · The Fault in Our Stars
★★ Hank praises V. E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic for thoughtful colour choice and a cover that feels full of institutional knowledge about the book. — 00:02:43

00:02:59 — Reveal and discussion of the cover of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

★★ Hank admits bias about his own cover, says he had minimal input, and calls the process very scary but is happy with the result. — 00:03:07 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
★★ Hank says the font feels pulp, adventurous and comic, while the background draws you into something mysterious and a bit creepy, exactly as he wanted. — 00:03:20 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
★★ The ostentatious colours fit the main character, April, a graphic designer very into colour choice, who would like that the cover stands on its own as an identity for the book. (hedged) — 00:03:30 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
★★★ All the English-language publishers like the cover, so it will be the same in the UK, Canada and Australia. — 00:03:51 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia

In the description and comments

★★ The description explains the process: the designer read the manuscript and sent three sample covers Hank did not like. — video description · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
★★ The description asks viewers to pre-order An Absolutely Remarkable Thing at hankgreen.com. — video description · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
★★ After rejecting the first mockups, Hank sent the designer three non-cover images he liked, with bold colours, repeating patterns and an illustrated feel, plus a few favourite recent book covers and under 400 words on what he hoped for. — video description · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
★★ Hank's brief said he had worked hard to mix high energy and fun with deadly serious in the novel, and that this may be impossible to hope for in a cover. — video description · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
★★ Hank received five designs, three of them colour variations on the final cover; he asked for other colour treatments and suggested adding eyes to one of the Carls, but went with one of the original colour schemes. — video description · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Threads in this video

result reported · John asks Hank to tell viewers when An Absolutely Remarkable Thing has a cover (2018) — Hank shares the cover of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing with viewers. (00:00:31)
milestone · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: announcement and publication of Hank's first novel (2017) — Hank reveals the cover of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, which will be the same in the UK, Canada and Australia. (00:03:55)
asked · Hank asks viewers to pre-order An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018) — The description asks viewers to pre-order An Absolutely Remarkable Thing at hankgreen.com. (video description)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Hank asks viewers to pre-order An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (2018) — promotion (not a request); last: reminder, 2018-09-11
John asks Hank to tell viewers when An Absolutely Remarkable Thing has a cover (2018) — reported back; last: result reported, 2018-03-02
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: announcement and publication of Hank's first novel (2017) — completed; last: looked back, 2025-12-09

Mentioned

Central: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing · Book cover

Also: People: Neil Gaiman

Works: A Darker Shade of Magic · It Devours! · Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda · The Fault in Our Stars · Twilight · Watchmen

Concepts: fantasy · science fiction · young adult literature

Places: Australia · Canada · United Kingdom

Characters: April May

Only in the description or credits: Carl · Jeffrey Cranor · Joseph Fink · Rodrigo Corral · V. E. Schwab

Also centred on Book cover: How a Book Cover Gets Designed · My First Novel in Nine Years Has a Cover

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