Judging books by the ‘frock’ on the cover.

This post is going to have very little of me talking about what’s inside the books, but just a quick look at what’s on the outside.

It struck me today as I was putting some books away that there are a LOT of books with great frocks on the front cover, so I did a bit of browsing, both the shelves and the world wide web, and it seems to be the very thing to have on the front cover at the moment.

It seems to be the cover of choice for a variety of genres, fantasy, paranormal, historical and romance.  While I haven't read all of the books (and this is just a small selection!), I would pick them up simply because they have great covers. I have admitted already that I am a sucker for a good cover, and I have even read one of the books listed below...because I liked the dress on the cover!

So many books...

I think I probably posted something along these lines last year, as it’s a thought that hits me with some regularity, so here I am, sharing my thoughts on the subject again.

You can see to the left the pile of books that are currently in my reading pile.  It’s a big pile, but some may say that it’s only 29 books, so that’s not too bad, that’s easy enough to get through.  Here’s the thing though…the pile NEVER gets smaller, it may get bigger, but never smaller.  There are times when I don’t even get started on the pile, because a new book comes in and I want to read it straight away…so it skips the pile completely.  

Magpies Magazine

The pile represents the books I most want to read, but it’s not everything I want to read. Hundreds of new titles arrive at the shop each month (and that’s just children’s and teenage fiction).  When I stop and think about it, (and like I said I do actually think about this a lot), there is no way I could possible read everything I might like to read.  It becomes even more depressing when I walk into a general book shop or library and see all of the adult and non fiction titles I will just never get to. 

And then the Magpies magazine lands on my desk...and I can see my reading pile growing by the minute!

So I will try to stop thinking about the books I will never read, and I get started on the reading pile instead.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper

From the back of the book:

Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom--the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she's determined to let everyone know it...somehow. In this breakthrough story--reminiscent of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"--from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper, readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability.

This is a book that has shades of Wonder by RJ Palacio and even a bit of Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.  The voice of this inspiring story is Melody, a girl with cerebal palsy.  As a reader we get to be inside Melody’s head and we can see how smart and funny she is, but the rest of the world sees a girl in a wheelchair who can’t talk and dribbles a lot when she eats.

Robert Irwin Dinosaur Hunter

Now I have to tell you that I have had quite a few eye rolls when I show librarians this new series.  The general consensus seems to be that the Bindi books were bad enough, and no one wants poor Robert on the shelves.  These feelings are obviously all about the Irwins, not so much about the books themselves, and while they may not change your life they may be just want certain reluctant readers need.

This new series by Robert Irwin is about…Robert Irwin, and his obsession with dinosaurs.  In the first book he has the opportunity to work on an archaeological dig in about 40km outside the Queensland town of Winton.  While on this fossil finding expedition, Robert finds himself travelling through time, back to prehistoric Australia, where he gets an up close and personal look at the dinosaurs he loves.

This book is perfect for dinosaur loving boys, who won’t read anything but information books about dinosaurs, because basically this book is an information book about dinosaurs.  Yes, there is the story about Robert going back in time, but the bulk of the text is Robert telling us all of the things he knows and then learns about these dinosaurs.  At a glance the other books in the series seem to send Robert all over the world, but I like the fact that the first book starts with an Australian dinosaur.