Writing a book is no small accomplishment. After countless “final final” drafts, edits, and rewrites, finally holding your manuscript—printed, bound, covered—has to feel pretty much fantastic. The work is done. Now it’s up to the reader to pick it off the shelf or stop their scroll and hit “add to cart.” That’s where words take a back seat to images. Before anyone reads the first sentence you no doubt pored over, they see the cover—and that first impression can make or break everything that came before it.
A well-designed cover might draw someone in and earn a long-term place on a bookshelf or coffee table. A terrible one? Well, it turns out there’s a place for those too. Reddit’s r/TerribleBookCovers is dedicated to sharing some of the weirdest, funniest, and most atrocious examples out there. We’ve stacked a few of our best (worst?) ones for you to check out below.
#1 All That The Rain Promises And More: A Hip Pocket Guide To Western Mushrooms By David Arora
#2 Third Girl By Agatha Christie
#3 Doctor Who Mad Dogs And Englishman
#4 The Great Pantyhose Crafts Book
#5 Agatha Christie – Poirot’s Early Cases
#6 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory By Roald Dahl (50th Anniversary Edition)
#7 Beauty And The Beast (French Edition)
#8 Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte
#9 Emma By Jane Austen (Adapted Version In Chinese)
#10 The Most Unhinged Cover Of The Odyssey I’ve Ever Seen – Found In The Wild In Arkansas
#11 For Your Consideration “Bilbo Le Hobbit!”
#12 Dining Delightfully: Tested Recipes From Adventist Hospital Chefs
#13 Bo-Peep Has Gone Too Far
#14 The Complete Works Of Jane Austen
#15 The Giant Rat Of Sumatra
Never miss a story that brings joy to the world.
#16 Some More Covers Of Classic Books, From The ‘Infamous’, “Editora Rideel”
#17 White Rabbits Can’t Jump
#18 Told My Spouse How Much I Love Terrible Book Covers And He Insisted I Show Y’all My Lord Of The Rings Trilogy
#19 Tortoise Tango By Mary Wine
#20 Wuthering Heights
#21 Brave New World By Aldous Huxley
#22 Against That Day By Rae Simons
#23 The Shadow Over Innsmouth
#24 Ulysses By James Joyce. A Cover That Is As Hard To Look At As The Book Is Hard To Read
#25 Living With Men
#26 Pigsty Princess By Nancy S. Brandt
#27 A J Ayer – The Central Questions Of Philosophy [doggo Was Removed From Newer Edition’s Cover]
#28 “The Fading”. Life’s Treasures Indeed
#29 Quite Possibly The Worst Cover The Could Have Picked. Meditations By Marcus Aurelius
#30 Om Illustrated Classics
#31 “Cold Comfort Farm”… Are They Okay? Maybe They Should See A Doctor???
#32 The One And Only Empress Theresa
#33 Romancing My Werebeast By Violet Ofcourse
#34 “Pride And Prejudice” By Jane Austen
#35 How To Contact Space People By Ted Owens
#36 Mr Sweet Potatoes – Unknown Author
#37 Forgiving Yourself – Bernard Bangley
#38 Stop The Thyroid Madness!
#39 The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
#40 Animal Farm By George Orwell
#41 Skeleton Trail (2021)
#42 How To Keep Your Husband Happy By Dr. William W. Orr
#43 How To Be A Reasonably Thin Teenage Girl
#44 Nerd In Shining Armor By Vicki Lewis Thompson
#45 The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You By Harry Harrison
#46 Cool Cat Stops Bullying By Derek Savage
#47 The Confessions Of Saint Augustine
#48 The Adventures Of Rush Revere Middle School Series
#49 The Metamorphosis, By Franz Kafka
#50 The Gaean Enchantment, T. Jackson King
#51 The Above Ground Pool Done Blowed Up
#52 The Girl Next Door
#53 Bosnian Covers Of Harry Potter Books
#54 How To Make Applehead Dolls By Drena Dotson
#55 “The Iceman Cometh” Is About A Bar Full Of People Waiting For A Patron Nicknamed “The Iceman”, It’s Not About A Literal Delivery Of Ice
#56 Lorilee In Moira’s Footsteps By Lawrence Ambrose
#57 Puppets Go To Church By Wilma Perry And Earl Perry
#58 The Portrait Of Dorian Gray (Brazilian Edition)
#59 Apoca Lips By Piers Anthony
#60 Kissing The Corona Virus By M. J Edwards
